Pippa Middleton

Philippa Charlotte "Pippa" Middleton (born 6 September 1983) is an English party planner, socialite and 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), who is now a businessman.

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.

Adult life

Following graduation, in 2008 Middleton worked for a short time for a public relations firm promoting luxury products, then she took a job with Table Talk, a company based in London which organises events and parties. Also in 2008, Tatler magazine named Middleton "the Number 1 Society Singleton", beating singer-songwriter James Blunt and Princess Eugenie.[16] 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.

The Daily Telegraph reported in 2010 that Middleton's parents had ambitious plans to expand their company, Party Pieces, and wanted her to take an increasingly prominent role. She now spends two days a week editing the web magazine Party Times, a spin-off from Party Pieces.

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 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.

After the wedding, Kate Reardon, editor of Tatler, commented in the New York Times "Every magazine in the Western world now wants her on the cover. She will be having job offers hurled at her".

Ancestry

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.

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.