Philippa Charlotte Middleton Biography

Summary

"Philippa Charlotte 'Pippa' Middleton" (born 6 September 1983) is an English party planner and socialite, and the only 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 Queen Elizabeth II.

Early life

Middleton was born in 1983, the second of the three children of Michael Middleton who was then a British Airways flight dispatcher, and Carole Goldsmith, who was a former flight attendant. Her father's family came from Leeds, West Yorkshire, and one of her great-grandmothers, called Olivia Lupton, belonged to a business family active in Leeds for generations. Carole Middleton's mother's family were labourers and miners from County Durham. The third child of the family is James Middleton (born 1987), now a business man.

In the mid 1980s, when her two eldest children were at a pre-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 which now sells 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, and since then the Middleton parents are reported to have become millionaires.

In 1995, the Middletons moved to Bucklebury, Berkshire.

Like her sister, Middleton was initially educated at St Andrew's School, Pangbourne, then at Downe House, a girls' boarding school in Cold Ash, and finally at Marlborough College, Wiltshire. She then followed her sister to higher education in Scotland, attending the University of Edinburgh to study English literature. 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.

Career

Following graduation, in 2008 Middleton took a job with Table Talk, a company based in London that organises events and parties. Also in 2008, "Tatler" magazine named Middleton 'the Number 1 Society Singleton', beating singer-songwriter James Blunt and Princess Eugenie. Since then, she has often been described as a socialite. As part of a duo with her older sister, Middleton has received wide press coverage, focussing on her social life and her lifestyle.

Pippa Middelton (far right) on the balcony of after .

The "Daily Telegraph" reported in 2010 that Middleton's parents had ambitious plans to expand their company, Party Pieces, and wanted their daughter Pippa to take an increasingly prominent role.

Author Plum Sykes has written of her

Royal wedding

The official announcement of her sister's engagement came on 23 November 2010.

After being widely expected, Pippa's appointment as maid of honour was confirmed on 14 February 2011. At the Royal 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. Some reports of the wedding suggested that Pippa Middleton had 'stolen the show'.

Personal life

In 2009, Middleton took up tobogganing on the Cresta Run at St Moritz, with the multi-millionaire Trevor Baines as her instructor. She is also a good shot and in 2008 shot twenty-three game birds in a day in Scotland.

She was reported in 2010 to be dating the City trader and former England cricketer Alex Loudon.

Ancestry

Middleton's ancestors include Sir Thomas Leighton ("ca." 1530-1610), Governor of Guernsey from 1570 to 1609, and his wife Elizabeth Knollys (1549-1605), who was a cousin of Queen Elizabeth I.

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.

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.