Born in Perivale and brought up in Southall, London, Middleton was educated at Featherstone High School before working as a private secretary.
Carole Elizabeth Goldsmith was born on 31 January 1955 in Perivale, London, the daughter of Ronald (1931–2003) and Dorothy Goldsmith (née Harrison; 1935–2006), great-granddaughter of Jane Harrison (née Liddle; c.1839–1881) whose great-great-grandfather was aristocrat Sir Thomas Conyers, 9th Baronet.
[6] She spent her early years in council housing in Ealing before moving to a small Victorian apartment in Southall, west London, attending the local High School.
Middleton first began the business "at her kitchen table" and distributed thousands of leaflets to advertise locally.
[20] Goldsmith married colleague, flight dispatcher Michael Middleton on 21 June 1980 at the Church of St James in Dorney, Buckinghamshire.
[21] Her husband descended from a prominent Yorkshire family with aristocratic roots; his grandmother Olive Middleton was a V.A.D.
[25] In 2002, Middleton and her husband bought "with cash" a flat in Chelsea, London, in which their children lived after completing their university studies.
[28] The gold chevron on the coat of arms commissioned by her husband that year is in reference to Middleton's maiden name of Goldsmith.