Pippa Middleton

Pippa Middleton
Prince Philip and Pippa Middleton at the royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton on 29 April 2011.
Born	Philippa Charlotte Middleton (1983-09-06) 6 September 1983 (age 28) Reading, Berkshire, England
Education	BA English
Parents	Michael Francis Middleton Carole Elizabeth Middleton, née Goldsmith
Relatives	Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (sister) Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (brother-in-law) James William Middleton (brother)

Philippa Charlotte "Pippa" Middleton (born 6 September 1983)^{[better source needed]} is an English socialite and the younger sister of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. On 29 April 2011, she was the maid of honour at her sister's wedding to Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, second in the line of succession to Elizabeth II.

Early life

Middleton was born on 6 September 1983, the second of three children of Michael Middleton, who was then a British Airways flight dispatcher, and his wife Carole Middleton (née Goldsmith), a former flight attendant.^{[better source needed][1]} Her father's family came from Leeds, now in West Yorkshire,^[2] and one of her great-grandmothers, Olivia Lupton, belonged to a business family which had been active in Leeds for many generations.^[3][4] Carole Middleton's mother's family were labourers and miners from County Durham.^[5] The third child of the family is James William Middleton (born 1987), who is now a businessman.^{[3][better source needed]}

In the mid 1980s, when her two eldest children were at a nursery school and the family was living at Bradfield Southend, Middleton's mother set up 'Party Pieces', a company which began by making party bags and went on to sell party supplies and decorations by mail order. By 1995 the firm, run by both parents, was so successful that it moved into a range of farm buildings at Ashampstead Common,^[6][7] and since then the Middleton parents are reported to have become millionaires.^[8] While at Bradfield Southend, Middleton and her sister were members of the local St Andrew's Brownie pack.^[9]

In 1995, the Middletons moved to Bucklebury, Berkshire.^[6][10] Like her sister, Middleton was first educated at St Andrew's School, Pangbourne, then at Downe House School, a girls' boarding school in Cold Ash, and finally at Marlborough College, Wiltshire, which she attended on a sports/all-rounder scholarship.^[11] She then followed her sister to higher education in Scotland, attending the University of Edinburgh to study English literature.^[12] There she shared a house with Lord Edward Innes-Ker, a son of the Duke of Roxburghe, and with Earl Percy, heir of the Duke of Northumberland.^[12]

Career

Following graduation, in 2008 Middleton briefly worked at a public relations firm promoting luxury products, then she took on an events management job with Table Talk, a company based in London which organises corporate events and parties.^[11][13] Also in 2008, Tatler magazine named Middleton "the Number 1 Society Singleton", ahead of singer-songwriter James Blunt and Princess Eugenie of York^[14], although in the same Tatler article she was snarkily described as someone who "goes to a lot of parties, but mainly as the caterer." Since then, she has often been described as a socialite.^[15] As part of a duo with her older sister, Middleton has received wide press coverage, focusing on her social life and her lifestyle.^[16][17] In April 2012, Time Magazine listed Pippa as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. ^[18]

Middleton currently works two days a week for her parents' company Party Pieces, editing the web magazine Party Times.^[11][19]

Penguin Books has paid Middleton a £400,000 advance for a book on party-planning which has the working title of Celebrate. Publication is expected in the autumn of 2012, and Middleton has said she is not using a ghost writer.^[20]

Royal wedding

Pippa Middleton's coat of arms, based on those of her father. This lozenge shaped version, supported by a blue ribbon, denotes a spinster and can be used by no one else.^[21][22]

The official announcement of her sister's engagement came on 16 November 2010. Middleton served as the maid of honour.^[23] At the wedding, Middleton's white figure-hugging dress, which like the bride's was created by Sarah Burton, was highly praised in the media. Made of ivory crape fabric, it was styled with a cowl at the front and organza-covered buttons at the back.^[24][25]

Ancestry

Middleton's ancestors include Sir Thomas Fairfax (1475–1520).^[26] Her later ancestors include The Rev Thomas Davis, a Church of England hymn-writer, whose grand-daughter Olive Christiana Lupton was one of the grandmothers of Michael Middleton.^{[better source needed]} Her maternal great-great-grandfather John Goldsmith was married to Esther Jones at St John's Hoxton in 1850.

Film

In William & Kate, a television movie released on 18 April 2011 about her sister's romance, the part of Pippa Middleton was played by Mary Elise Hayden.^[27][28]

References

External links

• IMDB.com

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