Philippa Charlotte Matthews[3] (née Middleton; born 6 September 1983) is a British socialite, author and columnist. She is the younger sister of
Catherine, Princess of Wales.
In 2017, Middleton married
James Matthews, a
hedge fund manager, former racing driver, and heir apparent to the
lairdship of
Glen Affric. The couple has three children. As the wife of the heir of Glen Affric, Middleton is accorded the title Mrs. Glen Affric the Younger in Scotland.
Following her graduation, Middleton briefly worked in 2008 at a
public relations firm promoting luxury products. She then had an events management job with Table Talk, a company based in London that organises corporate events and parties.[13][17] In 2008, Tatler magazine named Middleton "the Number 1 Society Singleton", ahead of singer-songwriter
James Blunt and
Princess Eugenie of York,[18] although in the same Tatler article she was 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.[19] As part of a duo with her elder sister, Middleton has received wide press coverage, focusing on her social life and her lifestyle. In April 2012, Time magazine listed Middleton as one of the
100 Most Influential People in the World.[20]
Middleton worked part-time for her parents' company Party Pieces, editing the web magazine Party Times.[13][21]Penguin Books paid Middleton a £400,000 advance for a book on party planning. The book, entitled Celebrate, was published in autumn 2012, and had lower than anticipated sales as many reviewers mocked it for the obviousness of its content.[22][23] In March 2013, Middleton parted from her literary agent.[24]
Middleton was also a regular columnist for several publications. She has contributed articles to The Spectator magazine since December 2012[25] and began having a food column in the supermarket magazine Waitrose Kitchen beginning in spring 2013.[26] In June 2013 she was named a contributing editor of Vanity Fair. She went on to write a series of columns for the magazine.[27] Beginning in September 2013, Middleton also wrote a fortnightly sports and social column for The Sunday Telegraph.[28] Middleton discontinued writing for The Telegraph in May 2014.[29]
In May 2013, she became the sole director and shareholder of PXM Enterprises Limited.[30] The company was headquartered at 19 Portland Place in London.[30] Middleton closed the company down in mid-2017.[31]
Philanthropy
In April 2013, Middleton became an ambassador to the Mary Hare School for deaf children in Berkshire.[32] In June 2014, Middleton became an ambassador to the
British Heart Foundation (BHF).[33] That month, she took part in the
Race Across America, a 3,000 mile cycling race across the United States, followed by the
Bosphorus Cross-Continental Swimming Race, a 6.5 km swimming competition in Istanbul, as two fundraising opportunities for the BHF.[33] Her bicycle was also auctioned on
eBay for the BHF.[33] She then attended the BHF's Roll out the Red Ball at the
Park Lane Hotel on 10 February 2015.[34] She auctioned one of her
L.K.Bennett dresses at the ball.[35]
In June 2015, she collaborated with the British brand Tabitha Webb on designing a floral pink dress and a lightweight scarf, with the proceeds from selling the items donated to the BHF.[36] She took part in the London to Brighton Bike Ride for the BHF on 21 June 2015. In September 2015, Middleton participated in a
47-mile swim-run competition in Sweden alongside her brother and her future husband, James Matthews, to raise money for the Michael Matthews Foundation, a charity founded in honour of Matthews' brother who died descending from the peak of
Everest.[37] In September 2016, Middleton released her second book, Heartfelt, whose proceeds go to the British Heart Foundation.[38]
Personal life
Middleton served as the
maid of honour at her sister Catherine's
wedding in 2011 to
Prince William.[39] At the wedding, Middleton's dress, which was created by
Sarah Burton of
Alexander McQueen, who also created the bride's dress, was highly praised in the media. Made of ivory
crêpe fabric, it was styled with a
cowl at the front and
organza-covered buttons at the back. Copies of the dress were soon available on the
High Street[40][41] where there was a great demand for them.[42][43][44] Similar to her sister, Middleton was reported to have had her own effect in sales of particular products and brands, a trend which was referred to as the "Pippa Middleton effect".[45][46][47]
In April 2011, the Middleton family contacted the
Press Complaints Commission (PCC) to complain about Pippa and her mother facing "harassment" by photographers.[48] The PCC contacted newspaper editors with an advisory notice to remind them of their ethical obligations.[49] In May 2011, the family complained to the PCC after photographs of Pippa Middleton, her sister, and their mother in bikinis while on holiday in 2006 on board a yacht off
Ibiza were published in the Mail on Sunday, Daily Mail, News of the World, and Daily Mirror.[50] One of the photographs showed Pippa Middleton topless, which prompted the family to complain about newspapers breaching the editors' code of practice by invading their privacy.[50] In September 2011, Daily Mail, the Mail on Sunday, and Daily Mirror all agreed to have the images removed from their website and never publish them again following a deal negotiated by the Press Complaints Commission.[51] In September 2016, Middleton's iPhone was hacked. The Sun reported it had been approached by a hacker who claimed to have 3,000 images from her iCloud account and demanded £50,000 for them. The hacker was arrested that same month.[52]
In July 2016, in the
Lake District, Middleton became engaged to
James Matthews, a hedge fund manager who is a former professional racing driver. The couple married on 20 May 2017 at St Mark's Church, at
Englefield Estate, Berkshire, near
Bucklebury Manor, the Middleton family home.[53] James Matthews' father is
Laird of
Glen Affric, a 10,000 acre estate in Scotland. Pippa will acquire the title Lady Glen Affric upon her husband's inheritance of the
lairdship. Presently, she can use the
courtesy title Mrs Matthews of Glen Affric
the Younger.[54][55][56][57]
Pippa and James have three children: a son named Arthur Michael William, born on 15 October 2018 at
St Mary's Hospital, London,[58][59][60] a daughter named Grace Elizabeth Jane, born 15 March 2021,[61] and a daughter named Rose Louise Victoria, born in June 2022.[62] The family lives on the Barton Court estate on the banks of the
River Kennet near the village of
Kintbury,
West Berkshire.[63]
Per pale Azure and Gules, a
chevron Or, cotised Argent, between three
acorns slipped and leaved Or (Middleton).
Symbolism
The dividing line (between two colours) down the centre is a
canting of the name 'Middle-ton'. The acorns (from the
oak tree) are a
traditional symbol of England and a feature of west Berkshire, where the family lived. The three acorns also denote the family's three children. The gold chevron in the centre of the arms is an allusion to Carole Middleton's maiden name of Goldsmith. The two white chevronels (narrow chevrons above and below the gold chevron) symbolise peaks and mountains, and the family's love of the
Lake District and skiing.[64]
Bibliography
Middleton, Pippa; Loftus, David; Heeley, Gill (2012). Celebrate: A Year of Festivities for Families and Friends. Michael Joseph.
ISBN9780718176785.
^"Pippa Middleton will one day receive a noble title of her own". Nine Digital Pty Ltd. 13 June 2018.
Archived from the original on 16 September 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2018. For now, they are able to use the "courtesy titles" of Mr and Mrs Matthews of Glen Affric the Younger, which hold sway across the Commonwealth.
^Sisavat, M. (21 May 2017).
"Pippa Middleton Just Received This Royal Title After Marrying James Matthews". Yahoo News Network. Archived from
the original on 16 September 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2018. Pippa did receive a title of her own. Because James is heir to the Scottish title of Laird of Glen Affric (a position his father currently holds), Pippa will now be able to use the courtesy title of Mrs. Matthews of Glen Affric the younger. Once James's father dies and he will become the Laird of Glen Affric, Pippa will known as Lady Glen Affric.
^"The Christening of Prince Louis: guests and godparents". The Royal Family. 9 July 2018.
Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2018. The following guests will today attend the christening of Prince Louis at The Chapel Royal, St James's Palace: ... Mr. and Mrs. Michael Middleton, Mr. and Mrs. James Matthews, and Mr. James Middleton ...
^Lambert, Victoria (29 March 2014).
"Why everyone wants a Marlborough missus". The Telegraph (UK).
Archived from the original on 10 February 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2015. Having a famous partner can cut both ways these days. There will be a Mr Pippa Middleton and a Mr Princess Eugenie. And can we ever think of old Marlburian male Mark Phillips as an equestrian without adding "the former Mr Princess Anne"?
^Chilton, Martin (12 November 2012).
"Pippa Middleton's New Book". Business Insider.
Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
^Betts, Hannah (22 July 2016).
"Kate, Pippa and how to spot 'old money' and 'new money'". Daily Telegraph. UK.
Archived from the original on 26 July 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2016. It's been reported that, in time, Pippa will even acquire a title: the suitably racy sounding "Lady Glen Affric",...
^Whitworth, Damian (15 May 2017).
"Pippa maid of honour no more". The Times. UK. Retrieved 23 May 2017. (Glen Affric Estate/Lodge) has been expensively refurbished and is let out to hunting parties wishing to enjoy its splendid 10,000 acres. That may not be a patch on Balmoral's 50,000 acres, but Glen Affric is regarded as a particularly beautiful estate and it comes with a title: Laird of Glen Affric. The prospect of photographers stalking in the hills might be off-putting to Pippa, but she might enjoy spending the start of her married life playing at being Lady Glen Affric. The Times.
^Sisavat, M. (21 May 2017).
"Pippa Middleton Just Received This Royal Title After Marrying James Matthews". Yahoo News Network. Archived from
the original on 16 September 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2018. Pippa did receive a title of her own. Because James is heir to the Scottish title of Laird of Glen Affric (a position his father currently holds), Pippa will now be able to use the courtesy title of Mrs. Matthews of Glen Affric the younger. Once James's father dies and he will become the Laird of Glen Affric, Pippa will known as Lady Glen Affric.