Philippa Charlotte "Pippa" Middleton (born 6 September 1983) is an English party planner, socialite

Socialite

A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....

 and younger sister of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. On 29 April 2011, she was the maid of honour

Bridesmaid

The bridesmaids are members of the bride's wedding party in a wedding. A bridesmaid is typically a young woman, and often a close friend or sister. She attends to the bride on the day of a wedding or marriage ceremony...

 at her sister's wedding to Prince William, Duke of Cambridge

Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton

The wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine Middleton took place on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London. Prince William, the eldest son of Charles, Prince of Wales, first met Catherine Middleton in 2001, when both were studying at the University of St Andrews. Their...

, second in the line of succession

Line of succession to the British Throne

The line of succession to the British throne is the ordered sequence of those people eligible to succeed to the throne of the United Kingdom and the other 15 Commonwealth realms. By the terms of the Act of Settlement 1701, the succession is limited to the descendants of the Electress Sophia of...

 to Elizabeth II's sixteen thrones.

Early life

Middleton was born in 1983, the second of the three children of Michael Middleton, who was then a British Airways

British Airways

British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...

 flight dispatcher, and his wife Carole (née Goldsmith), who was a former flight attendant

Flight attendant

Flight attendants or cabin crew are members of an aircrew employed by airlines primarily to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers aboard commercial flights, on select business jet aircraft, and on some military aircraft.-History:The role of a flight attendant derives from that of similar...

. Her father's family came from Leeds

Leeds

Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

, now in West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire

West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....

, 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

County Durham

County Durham is a ceremonial county and unitary district in north east England. The county town is Durham. The largest settlement in the ceremonial county is the town of Darlington...

. 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

Nursery school

A nursery school is a school for children between the ages of one and five years, staffed by suitably qualified and other professionals who encourage and supervise educational play rather than simply providing childcare...

 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

Mail order

Mail order is a term which describes the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote method such as through a telephone call or web site. Then, the products are delivered to the customer...

. By 1995 the firm, run by both parents, was so successful that it moved into a range of farm buildings at Ashampstead Common

Ashampstead Common

Ashampstead Common is a common in the English county of Berkshire, within the civil parish of Ashampstead.The common lies north of the M4 motorway, near to Ashampstead, Lower Basildon and Yattendon....

, and since then the Middleton parents are reported to have become millionaires.

In 1995, the Middletons moved to Bucklebury

Bucklebury

Bucklebury is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire. The village is about north-east of Newbury and about north of the A4 road. It has a population of 2,066.-Geography:...

, Berkshire. Like her sister, Middleton was first educated at St Andrew's School

St Andrew's School, Pangbourne

St Andrew's School is an independent preparatory school in the hamlet of Buckhold, near Pangbourne, Berkshire, England.-History:The school was founded in 1934 as a boarding school for boys...

, Pangbourne

Pangbourne

Pangbourne is a large village and civil parish on the River Thames in the English county of Berkshire. Pangbourne is the home of the independent school, Pangbourne College.-Location:...

, then at Downe House, a girls' boarding school in Cold Ash, and finally at Marlborough College

Marlborough College

Marlborough College is a British co-educational independent school for day and boarding pupils, located in Marlborough, Wiltshire.Founded in 1843 for the education of the sons of Church of England clergy, the school now accepts both boys and girls of all beliefs. Currently there are just over 800...

, 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

University of Edinburgh

The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...

 to study English literature

English literature

English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....

. There she shared a house with Lord Edward Innes-Ker, a son of the Duke of Roxburghe

Guy Innes-Ker, 10th Duke of Roxburghe

thumb|right|Portrait by [[Allan Warren]]Guy David Innes-Ker, 10th Duke of Roxburghe , is a British aristocrat. He was the elder son of the 9th Duke by his second wife Elisabeth McConnel...

, and with Earl Percy, heir of the Duke of Northumberland

Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of Northumberland

thumb|Portrait by [[Allan Warren]]Ralph George Algernon Percy, 12th Duke of Northumberland DL is a British peer. He is the son of Hugh Percy, 10th Duke of Northumberland and Lady Elizabeth Montagu Douglas Scott....

.

Adult life

Following graduation, in 2008 Middleton worked for a short time for a public relations

Public relations

Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....

 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

Tatler

Tatler has been the name of several British journals and magazines, each of which has viewed itself as the successor of the original literary and society journal founded by Richard Steele in 1709. The current incarnation, founded in 1901, is a glossy magazine published by Condé Nast Publications...

magazine named Middleton "the Number 1 Society Singleton", beating singer-songwriter James Blunt

James Blunt

James Hillier Blount , better known by his stage name James Blunt, is an English singer-songwriter and musician, and former army officer, whose debut album, Back to Bedlam and single releases, including "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover", brought him to fame in 2005...

 and Princess Eugenie of York

Princess Eugenie of York

Princess Eugenie of York Eugenie Victoria Helena; born 23 March 1990) is the younger daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York...

. Since then, she has often been described as a socialite

Socialite

A socialite is a person who participates in social activities and spends a significant amount of time entertaining and being entertained at fashionable upper-class events....

. As part of a duo with her older sister, Middleton has received wide press coverage, focusing on her social life and her lifestyle.

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

Sarah Burton

Sarah Burton is an English fashion designer, currently creative director of fashion brand Alexander McQueen. She designed Catherine Middleton's wedding dress for her wedding to Prince William, Duke of Cambridge in April 2011....

, was highly praised in the media. Made of ivory crape

Crape

Crape is a silk, wool, or polyester fabric of a gauzy texture, having a peculiar crisp or crimpy appearance....

 fabric, it was styled with a cowl

Cowl

This article is about the garment used by monks and nuns. For other uses, see Cowl or Cowling .The cowl is an item of clothing consisting of a long, hooded garment with wide sleeves. Originally it may have referred simply to the hooded portion of a cloak...

 at the front and organza

Organza

Organza is a thin, plain weave, sheer fabric traditionally made from silk. Many modern organzas are woven with synthetic filament fibers such as polyester or nylon, but the most luxurious organzas are still made of silk. Silk organza is woven by a number of mills along the Yangtze River and in the...

-covered buttons at the back.

Ancestry

Middleton's ancestors include Sir Thomas Fairfax

Thomas Fairfax (Gilling)

Sir Thomas Fairfax was an owner of Gilling Castle, near Gilling East, North Yorkshire, England. He is the last known ancestor of both the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.-Sir Thomas Fairfax :...

 (1475–1520)
Her later ancestors include The Rev Thomas Davis

Thomas Davis (clergyman)

Thomas Davis was a Church of England clergyman and hymn writer.-Life:The son of the Rev. Richard Francis Davis DD , by his marriage to Sarah Stable, Davis was born at Worcester, where his father had been Rector since 1795, and was educated at Queen's College, Oxford, graduating Bachelor of Arts in...

, a Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

 hymn-writer, whose grand-daughter Olive Christiana Lupton was one of the grandmothers of Michael Middleton. Her maternal great-great-grandfather John Goldsmith was married to Esther Jones at St John's Hoxton

St John the Baptist, Hoxton

The Church of St John the Baptist, Hoxton, usually known as St John's Hoxton, is an urban Anglican church in Hoxton, Hackney, a host borough of London2012....

 in 1850.

Film

In William & Kate

William & Kate

William & Kate is the first of two unrelated American television films about the relationship between Prince William and Catherine "Kate" Middleton , directed by Mark Rosman and written by Nancey Silvers. The film was a ratings success, despite the negative reception from critics...

, a television movie released on 18 April 2011 about her sister's romance, the part of Pippa Middleton was played by Mary Elise Hayden

Mary Elise Hayden

Mary Elise Hayden is an American actress born in West Palm Beach, Florida. She is best known for her role as Pippa Middleton in the 2011 Lifetime TV movie William & Kate....

.