Meet Kate Middleton’s Sister Pippa & Brother James

Oct 02, 2022 by apost team

The entire world watched on Apr. 29, 2011, when Prince William and Catherine Middleton wed in a beautiful ceremony at Westminster Abbey, London. The heavily publicized wedding prompted all kinds of celebrations, including street parties across England, William and Kate merchandise and plenty of speculation about how the royal couple would navigate their roles as the Prince and Princess of Wales. 

The couple is particularly prominent in the royal family, given that William is next in line to the throne after his father, King Charles III, who ascended on Sept. 8, 2022, after his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, passed. At the time of their marriage, the couple had been together for eight years after they started dating when they were both students at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, where the two completed their undergraduate degrees. 

A lot has happened since those days, including the couple’s official engagement announcement on Nov. 16, 2010, followed by their wedding, which took place in April 2011. Since then, the Prince and Princess of Wales have been busy building a family, which includes the future king, Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4. 

Kate has been focusing much of her time on raising her own family and growing brood of three, and it must surely help that she herself came from a household of three children. Much like her children now, she grew up with the guidance of two loving parents and a brother and sister. Read on to learn more about them and what they’ve been up to since their sister’s move to Buckingham Palace.

Kate was born in Reading on Jan. 9, 1982, to upper-middle-class parents Michael Middleton and his wife, Carole. A year later, her sister Philippa, better known as Pippa, would be born on Sept. 6, 1983, followed by the baby of the family, younger brother James, on Apr. 15, 1987. While their father had ties to the royal aristocracy, their mother came from a family that descended from coal miners. The children grew up comfortably and attended prestigious schools. While Kate attended the University of St Andrews, both Pippa and James attended the University of Edinburgh, although James dropped out before graduating.

Pippa first caught the attention of the public during William and Kate’s wedding, where she served as her older sister’s maid of honor. She had heads turning as her best features were perfectly accentuated when she helped adjust Kate’s train. 

Prior to the royal wedding in 2008, socialite Pippa had already courted fame by being named “the Number 1 Society Singleton” by Tatler, as reported by Time magazine, which later also included her in its Time 100 Most Influential list in 2012. By now, she was the top tabloid fodder in Britain, and the public was hungry for more news about the princess’s sister, especially about her love life. 

Pippa had been linked romantically to personalities such as millionaire Alexander Spencer Churchill, former England cricketer Alex Loudon and stockbroker Nico Jackson, but it was former professional racing driver and hedge fund broker James Matthews who eventually won her heart. The pair married in 2017 and have three children – a son born in 2018, a daughter born in 2021 and another little girl born in June 2022. 

With both Kate and Pippa going through the trials and tribulations of motherhood, let’s take a look at what James has been up to.

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With his sisters attracting most of the media’s attention, James has taken a backseat when it comes to the spotlight. He told MailOnline in 2016 that he was quite used to playing third fiddle.

“It’s always been, whether at school or now, that I am Pippa and Catherine’s little brother. It’s probably going to be the story of my life. (But) I am James Middleton. I am very proud to be ‘the little brother of…’ but, equally, they are proud that I am who I am,” he told the outlet.

Despite this, James hasn’t just been sitting on his laurels. The enterprising man has ventured into business several times, and while he has not always seen success, James has consistently toughed it out and tried to do better the next time around.

In 2011 at the age of 23, James registered three business ventures and was set to expand his main focus, the Cake Kit Company. However, the company folded in 2015. He then set to work launching Boomf, a “printed marshmallow business.” But this, too, was a failure, reporting losses of almost £1 million (approximately $1.1 million) in 2015.

James also struggled in his personal life. Already dyslexic, James found himself spiraling into depression in his early 20s.

“Suddenly, and very publicly, I was being judged about whether I was a success or a failure. That does put pressure on you. Because in my mind I’m doing this irrespective of my family and events that have happened,” he told Tatler in 2019.

James later told the Telegraph that his big sister Kate played a big role in helping him to get through that tough season in his life. Now, James is settling down into married life after exchanging vows with French financial analyst Alizée Thevenet in 2021.

What do you think about Kate Middleton’s family? Does Pippa or James bear any similarities to their famous older sister? Let us know, and don’t forget to pass this on to family, friends and fans of the royal family.