As the Princess of Wales has been recovering through her health struggles with cancer, she has had a flurry of wellwishers from both loved ones and the nation.
But she is sure to have ardently appreciated the quiet support she got from her ‘rock’ – little sister Pippa Middleton – who has staunchly been by her side from when they were young.
This weekend, she was on hand for moral support as Kate, 42, made her second public appearance following the news that she is receiving preventative chemotherapy with an attendance at the Wimbledon final on Sunday.
The royal mother-of-three appeared in high spirits as she enjoyed the day with her daughter and sibling.
Pippa’s unwavering loyalty to her sister over the years may signal a chance that she has a future role in the monarchy as a lady in waiting or ‘companion’ when Kate becomes Queen; but experts are torn.
This weekend, Pippa (right) was on hand for moral support as Kate, 42, (left) made her second public appearance following the news that she is receiving preventative chemotherapy
Speaking to FEMAIL, Richard Fitzwilliams said that while Pippa, 40, is definitely showing up for her older sister during a trying time, there is nothing to signal a future official role.
‘At William and Catherine’s wedding there was enormous interest in Pippa Middleton who was Maid of Honour,’ he explained.
‘Yet attention on that level is a two edged sword, especially with the world’s media being obsessed by the royal family.
‘She soon discovered this after wearing a gorgeous white figure-hugging dress.
‘There is no doubt that Catherine and Pippa are close. Her presence along with Charlotte at Wimbledon was publicly supportive. We also saw Michael and Carole Middleton at Royal Ascot which was a rare public appearance.
‘Yet at a time when, having recovered from major abdominal surgery, Catherine is undergoing preventative chemotherapy for cancer, the support of her own family as well as of William and the royal family is absolutely pivotal.’
Richard said he ‘cannot see Pippa wanting an official role such as a lady in waiting and there is no sign whatsoever that this is in the pipeline’.
‘It would also lead to enormous pressure and she has her own family with three children,’ he added.
‘At the moment the quiet but unstinting support that she and her parents undoubtedly offer is what Catherine both wants and needs.’
Pippa’s unwavering loyalty to her all this year’s may signal a chance that she has a future role in the monarchy as a lady in waiting or ‘companion’ when Kate becomes Queen; but experts are torn. Both pictured in 2007
Pippa was introduced to the world as Kate’s bridesmaid at her wedding to Prince William in 2011
However, speaking to The Sun, another added that there is a chance Kate could follow in Camilla’s lead and appoint her younger sister with a special role.
Author Phil Dampier told the outlet: ‘I certainly think there could be a role for Pippa as a lady-in-waiting or companion type role.
‘This needs to be someone the then Queen can trust and rely on, and who better than her sister?
‘Pippa has some commercial interests but I’m sure by the time Kate becomes Queen she would be happy to fulfil that role if required… It’s not necessarily a full time job so she would be available.
And as reported by InStyle, historian Kate Williams told True Royalty TV’s The Royal Beat: Back in Time that by the time Kate will be Queen, she will likely require assistance with the level of attention and work she’ll be receiving.
‘I think she will have to appoint some ladies-in-waiting,’ she explained. ‘I think traditionally, we might expect Catherine to appoint her sister Pippa, because Catherine is so famously close to her family.
‘She doesn’t have companions because she’s so close to her mother and her sister. I think we might possibly expect that Pippa might be someone she might appoint.’
However, the expert also noted it’s not clear if it’s something Pippa – who ‘has a busy life of her own’ – would want to take on.
Kate is sure to have ardently appreciated the quiet support she got from her ‘rock’ – little sister Pippa Middleton – who has staunchly been by her side from when they were young. Pictured revealing her cancer diagnosis earlier this year
Pictured: Kate was joined by her sister and daughter Princess Charlotte at her Wimbledon appearance
Pippa appeared to be on auntie duty as she enjoyed chatting with Charlotte during the sunny outing
The Princess of Wales’s sister was grinning as she chatted with her young niece at Wimbledon yesterday
Kate – who this year revealed that she’s been diagnosed with cancer – will be relying on her sister’s support after an ‘incredibly tough’ few months for her family. Pictured at Wimbledon last week
From living together in a Chelsea flat in their 20s to sharing their motherhood journey with three children, Kate and her sister have always been incredibly close.
Pippa has been by her sister Kate’s side both in public and in private throughout their lives, and now lives just a stone’s throw away from the Princess’s home in Adelaide Cottage on the Windsor Estate.
And now more than ever, Kate – who this year revealed that she’s been diagnosed with cancer – will be relying on her sister’s support after an ‘incredibly tough’ few months for her family.
Pippa was introduced to the world as Kate’s bridesmaid at her wedding to Prince William in 2011 as she carried her sister’s train up the steps to Westminster Abbey and even sparked romance rumours with her brother-in-law Prince Harry due to the giggles the pair shared on the day.
But after the royal wedding, Pippa has remained a rock for her sister, albeit while living a quieter life than the Princess of Wales – particularly since she moved to Berkshire with her husband James Matthews and their three children Arthur, Grace and Rose.
In September, just ahead of Pippa’s 40th birthday, it was reported she and James had swapped their £17 million Chelsea residence for a quieter property in the county of Berkshire where she and her siblings spent much of their childhood.
As children, Kate and Pippa, who are less than two years apart in age, bonded over their shared love of exercise and sport. In particular, the pair were known to enjoy hockey, tennis and athletics while both pupils at Marlborough College.
The sisters’ mother Carole previously revealed a glimpse into the girls’ childhoods in an interview with the Telegraph.
Speaking in 2018, the owner of now defunct business Party Pieces revealed that, as s working mother, she instilled a strong work ethic in both Pippa and Kate, who were similarly focused on their studies at school.
When they weren’t at school, Carole said the sisters ‘did a lot of modelling’ for Party Pieces, revealing: ‘Catherine was on the cover of one of the catalogues, blowing out candles. Later on, she did some styling and set up the First Birthday side of the business. Pippa did the blog. I still value their ideas and opinions.’
The sisters remained close when they reached university age and both chose to study in Scotland – Pippa at Edinburgh and Kate at St Andrews (after a brief stint in Edinburgh herself).
When they had completed their studies, the siblings moved down to the Big Smoke where they shared an apartment in Chelsea together.
During their early twenties while Kate worked for Jigsaw and Pippa moved into a PR and events career, the sisters frequented the London nightlife scene and were often pictured together visiting clubs beloved by high society in the noughties.
Although Pippa has previously been described as the more ‘outgoing’ of the two sisters, she remained a support to Kate during the Princess’s engagement to Prince William.
Shortly before the wedding, a source told the Daily Mail: ‘It’s all Kate, Kate, Kate for the moment, because [Pippa is] her closest ally and, genuinely, they are best friends. But even if they weren’t, Kate would struggle to trust anyone who wasn’t family.’
Pippa and Kate, both avid tennis fans, have been spotted in the Royal Box at Wimbledon numerous times over the years. Both pictured in 2012
In 2019, Kate and Pippa were sat in the Royal Box with Kate’s sister-in-law, the Duchess of Sus𝓈ℯ𝓍
As they got older and big sister Kate married into the royal family, their nights out together turned into trips to sporting events like Wimbledon – where the pair have often been spotted in the Royal Box together.
And for a while, it seemed as if Pippa would turn her status as the future Queen’s younger sibling into a lucrative career.
In 2012, it was announced Pippa had landed a book deal from Penguin worth £400,000 for a party planning tome.
In the foreword to her party planning guide Celebrate Pippa wrote: ‘It’s a bit startling to achieve global recognition before the age of 30 on account of your sister, your brother-in-law and your bottom. One day I might be able to make sense of this.
‘I certainly have opportunities many can only dream of. But in most ways I’m a typical girl in her twenties trying to forge a career and represent herself in what can sometimes seem rather strange circumstances.’
However, reaction to her party planning book, Celebrate, was grim. There was a critical panning and and sales were poor.
That same year, Pippa became a regular columnist for several publications, and contributed several articles to The Spectator magazine, and it was reported that NBC would offer Pippa $600,000 to be a royal correspondent but this was denied by the network.
She started having a food column in the supermarket magazine Waitrose Kitchen beginning in spring 2013.
At the time, it was said that ‘Pippa’s Friday Night Feasts’ would advise on the best meals to start the weekend off with friends.
In June 2013 she was named a contributing editor of Vanity Fair and wrote a series of columns for the magazine.
Pippa also began started writing a fortnightly sports and social column for The Sunday Telegraph that September.
And in 2014, according to the Daily News, the freelance columnist hoped for a deal ‘upward of $500,000’ to report on lifestyle and health issues for NBC.
Pippa was in talks with the ‘peacock network’ for a new job after she was interviewed by Matt Lauer, and the network was reportedly in serious talks with Pippa for months about becoming a lifestyle and health correspondent.
However the deal never materialised and, within months, Pippa also parted ways with The Telegraph.
Meanwhile her last columns for the Spectator and Vanity Fair magazines were published in 2015.
Pippa famously stole the spotlight during the Royal Wedding in 2011 when she donned a curve-hugging white bridesmaid’s gown for the ceremony
(L-R) Carole Middleton, Michael Middleton and Pippa Matthews leave after attending the ‘Together at Christmas’ community carol service at Westminster Abbey on, 8 December 2021
Now, she’s seemingly left all thoughts of being a lifesyle influencer and writer behind and is running the Bucklebury Gift and Farm Shop set deep in the Berkshire countryside, near to Pippa’s £15 million country home.
Pippa bought the 77-acre site with husband James Matthews in 2020 and hopes to turn it into thriving commercial enterprise.
The farm project – dubbed Pippa’s Playground – already has a petting zoo, a cafe and cabin accommodation for 30 guests, as well as hosting birthday parties with tractor rides.
Although Kate’s life has changed significantly since she married Prince William, Pippa has previously revealed their sisterly relationship hasn’t been affected by the Princess of Wales’s role as a senior royal.
Speaking to Today in the US in 2014, Pippa said she and Kate ‘spend a lot of time together’ despite the ‘pressures’ her sister faces in her public role.
Pippa added: ‘We still do a lot together as a family and I think that’s really the heart for all of us is having a really close family that we can sort of be normal with each other, treat each other normally. And that’s sort of kept us all, you know, affixed to the ground.’
The second Middleton sibling also revealed she is able to call Kate any time she wants a little bit of ‘girl talk’ and that the pair have a ‘normal, sisterly relationship’.
Kate Middleton (R), her mother Carole Middleton and sister Pippa Middleton arrive at The Goring Hotel after visiting Westminster Abbey on April 28, 2011
She said: ‘We’re very close. And, you know, we support each other and get each other’s opinions and things.’
After Pippa shot to fame in her Alexander McQueen bridesmaid dress at William and Kate’s royal wedding in 2011 which was watched by millions around the world and hosted at Westminster Abbey, the younger Middleton sister again played down the significance of the event, proving that Kate’s royal status does not faze her, nor does it affect their relationship.
She told NBC: ‘It sounds funny to say, but we saw it as just a family wedding. And actually, I didn’t realise, perhaps, the scale of it until afterwards. We all took on the roles as any family would.’
As Kate has stepped up her role as a senior working royal in recent years, Pippa has remained supportive of her older sister, including accompanying her on a tense outing to Wimbledon with Meghan Markle in 2019.
In the months prior to the joint engagement, rumours had started to circulate of tensions between the two royal wives and the Wimbledon day out was a high profile opportunity to put them to bed.
So it’s no wonder that Kate invited her sister along for support on the much-scrutinised occasion.
Pippa sat alongside Meghan in the Royal Box and was seen laughing and joking with Prince Harry’s wife to keep the mood light.
She has attended the Princess’s Carol Concert in Westminster Abbey every year since Kate has been hosting the event – and even took part in a display of solidarity at the concert two years ago.
In December 2022, when the date of the Christmas event fell on the same day that Harry and Meghan’s explosive Netflix series landed, Pippa was one of many women in Kate’s inner circle to rally around the Princess as they all arrived at Westminster Abbey wearing the same coloured outfits – a shade of burgundy.
It’s likely that the outfits were planned in advance of the Netflix series, however the image of solidarity was striking amid explosive accusations levelled at Kate and William by the Sus𝓈ℯ𝓍es.
The Princess of Wales’s parents looked to be in high spirits on the fourth day of Wimbledon – in their second public appearance since their daughter’s cancer diagnosis
The Middletons’ outings come after their daughter Kate – who has been receiving chemotherapy for an undisclosed form of cancer since February – made a spectacular return to public life during Trooping the Colour last month
It follows their cheerful appearance at Royal Ascot last month, when they joined members of the Royal Family, including their son-in-law Prince William, at the lavish occasion
Now, as Kate announces to the world she has been diagnosed with cancer, she will no doubt be leaning on her sister more than ever.
A source told the Times: ‘The three siblings are incredibly tight … Pippa not only as a sister but as a best friend she can confide in. They are extremely loyal to one another.’
The newspaper noted the pair had shared a trip to the ski resort of Meribel with their husbands and children last winter – something that had been kept out of the public eye.
Royal insiders have told the Daily Mail that the family will ‘come back stronger’ from the shock of both the King and the Princess being diagnosed with cancer.
And, with her loyal and loving sister by her side, royal fans can rest easy knowing she has the very best support from a strong unit.
Last week, Pippa made her first appearance since her sister the Princess of Wales‘ cancer diagnosis.
Looking effortlessly elegant in a stylish floral jumpsuit from Claire Mischevani, Kate’s younger siblingday 12 of Wimbledon.
Pippa – who also carried a chic woven clutch – was all smiles as she grinned for the cameras, accessorising her look with a pair of shades to keep the sun out of her eyes.
Elsewhere, Pippa’s parents Carole and Michael Middleton appeared in good spirits as they enjoyed watching the action from the Royal Box earlier that month.
The couple also appeared very focused as they took in the second round match between Serbia’s Novak Djokovic and Britain’s Jacob Fearnley.
Both also laughed as they chatted with other attendees, including Sebastian Coe, the President of the International Association of Athletics Federations, who was seen sharing a giggle with an animated Carole.
Dressed in all their finery, the beaming couple looked in good spirits as they arrived side-by-side for the prestigious event in London.
It follows their cheerful appearance at Royal Ascot last month, when they joined members of the Royal Family, including their son-in-law Prince William, at the lavish occasion.
The Middletons’ outings come after their daughter Kate – who has been receiving chemotherapy for an undisclosed form of cancer since February – first made a spectacular return to public life during Trooping the Colour last month.
The Princess of Wales had made a triumphant appearance, joining the Royal Family to celebrate the King’s official birthday.
