The Princess and the (soon-to-be) Duchess: As Olivia Henson prepares to marry the Duke of Westminster in Prince William's presence... how her life aligns with Kate's - from siblings to school writes CLAUDIA JOSEPH

On April 29, 2011, Kate Middleton walked down the aisle into the arms of Britain's most eligible bachelor, Prince William.

Now, 13 years later, Olivia Henson is following in her footsteps, having landed the country's wealthiest heartthrob, Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster.

The parallels between the two women are quite extraordinary – to the point where Olivia, 31, has been compared to a young version of the Princess of Wales, who is 12 years her senior.

Both women grew up with two siblings – a brother and a sister – in the Home Counties.

Both attended the exclusive public school Marlborough, where fees are currently £15,665 a term. And Olivia's lineage is even more aristocratic than Kate's too. 

While Kate, 42, became the Duchess of Cambridge on her marriage to William, Olivia will become the next Duchess of Westminster on Friday.

And, while Kate's wedding to William was the hottest ticket in the world, Olivia's ceremony, at Chester Cathedral, will be the society wedding of the decade.

The pews of Chester Cathedral will be - like Westminster Abbey was 13 years ago - crammed with royals and aristocrats.

Prince William will be an usher at the ceremony and his son Prince George, who is the Duke's godson, is expected to be a pageboy. 

The King - Hugh's godfather - has been invited but cannot be there because of his ongoing cancer treatment and the fact that he will be in Normandy the day before the ceremony to lead commemorations at the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

And although Grosvenor is also close to Prince Harry - he is godfather to his son Archie - the Duke of Sussex will not be attending amid his deep rift with his brother William. 

Regardless of which royals will be there, comparisons between Olivia and the Princess of Wales have been inevitable since the Duke and his fiancée announced their engagement on April 23 last year.

Even their family history is not dissimilar. Although much is made of Kate's mining ancestors, her mother Carole is actually related to the aristocratic Bowes-Lyons, the family of the late Queen Mother.

And she and William are both descended from 17th century nobleman Sir William Blakiston of Gibside Hall and his wife Jane. 

In fact, she and William are 12th cousins once removed though the Blakiston lineage.

Olivia too has aristocratic pedigree as well as Royal connections: she is the elder daughter of Rupert Henson and his wife Caroline, who is a scion of the Hoare banking family and the Marquess of Bristol.

And Caroline's twin sister Angela is married to Charles Gordon, who is the Grand Master of Scottish freemasons and Scotland's senior freemason.

Olivia is also descended from John Manners, the 5th Duke of Rutland, and is a distant cousin of the Manners sisters Lady Violet, Lady Alice and Lady Eliza.

Kate grew up in the Berkshire villages of Bradfield Southend and Bucklebury, while Olivia was raised 30 miles away in the village of Longworth, in the Vale of the White Horse.

Kate's sister Pippa, 40, became known as her 'Royal Hotness' after the royal wedding and is now a mother-of-three.

Her brother James, 37, and his wife Alizée share son Inigo, seven months.

Olivia's brother Jasper, 29, works in asset management for a property company, and her sister Emilia, 26, is a brand relationships manager at the beauty box company Latest In Beauty.

Kate was educated at St Andrew's School in Berkshire before going to Marlborough. 

She then graduated with a 2:1 in history of art at Scotland's University of St Andrews, where she met William.

Meanwhile, Olivia's education began at the private Dragon School in Oxford, alongside Emma Watson. 

She then followed Kate to Marlborough, where she was a contemporary of Princess Eugenie. 

She graduated with a 2:1 in Hispanic studies and Italian from Trinity College, Dublin,

But while Kate is now the Princess of Wales, juggling chemotherapy with being a mother to her three children George, ten, Charlotte, nine, and Louis, six, Olivia is still working.

She is a senior account manager for the ethical food company Belazu, which sources 'loved and trusted chef-grade ingredients' from the Middle East and Mediterranean 'for chefs, food lovers and, friends'.

However, her life will change the moment that she has a ring on her finger. 

She and the Duke plan to move to Cheshire after their wedding and no doubt we will soon hear the patter of tiny feet.