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 his wife Carole (née Goldsmith), who was a former flight attendant. Her father's family came from Leeds, now in West Yorkshire, and one of her great-grandmothers, called Olivia Lupton, belonged to a business family active in Leeds for many 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 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, 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 first educated at St Andrew's School, Pangbourne, then at Downe House, a girls' boarding school in Cold Ash, and finally at Marlborough College, Wiltshire, which she attended on a sports/all-rounder scholarship. 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.

Adult life

Following graduation, in 2008 Middleton worked for a short time for 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. 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, focusing on her social life and her lifestyle.

Pippa Middleton (far right) on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after her sister's wedding

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

Royal wedding

The official announcement of her sister's engagement came on 16 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.