PIPPA’S £120K moneymoon

A 15-minute flight that cost £500. A £250 Michelin-starred lunch with raw kangaroo meat. Designer bikinis galore. A postcard from Pippa’s bank-busting honeymoon

SHE managed to marry a billionaire. Now comes the task of honeymooning like one — and you may not be entirely surprised to hear Pippa Middleton has risen to the challenge with aplomb. So much so that her post-wedding holiday with new husband James Matthews has been dubbed Pippa’s ‘moneymoon’.

From private beaches and personal round-theclock butlers to first-class flights and their very own seaplane — not forgetting the seemingly endless array of designer outfits modelled by Pippa — the newlyweds have travelled in style, while taking in some of the most exclusive luxury destinations in the Southern Hemisphere.

The estimated bill so far is more than £120,000. And the Matthews moneymoon, now entering its third week, is by no means over yet.

For it seems Pippa, 33, is well and truly in the mood to spend, despite the estimated £1.2 million already lavished on her wedding, a grand affair in the grounds of the Middleton family home in Bucklebury, Berkshire, on May 20.

Her getaway with James, 41, is costing more than 30 times the average for British couples, who are thought to spend about £3,164. Pippa has spent more than that amount on her honeymoon wardrobe alone.

Here, Femail tots up what she has managed to spend so far …

NO CATTLE CLASS FOR PIPPA — THE FLIGHTS

AS A wealthy hedge fund manager, with plenty of family money behind him to boot, travelling cattle class with his new bride is out of the question for James Matthews.

But if they did travel first class, surely even he would have blanched when handing over his credit card to cover the website price of £12,906.27 each — that’s £25,812.54 — for return tickets on a British Airways flight from Heathrow to Los Angeles.

That would only cover the first leg of their trip: the best seats available — business class — from Los Angeles to the island of Tahiti (in order to get to private resort The Brando, on the French Polynesian atoll of Tetiaroa) could have set them back a further £3,276 each; £6,552 in total.

After their stay at The Brando, the happy couple were off again, to Sydney, via New Zealand. The cost of two business- class seats with Air New Zealand would have been a relative snip at the advertised price of £2,862 for two.

Come Thursday, it was time to head to the Northern Territory — two one-way business-class tickets to Darwin would have cost £2,670 in total — en route to one of the world’s last great wildernesses, The Kimberley, or Ayers Rock.

Even in the unlikely event of this turning out to be their final port of call before heading home, they will still need further flights to get them from Darwin back to Los Angeles, which could easily be another £6,500. COST: £44,396.54

RAW KANGAROO — THE FOOD AND DRINK

ALL food and drink was covered in the £5,000-a-night cost of their villa at The Brando. But it was far from an all-you-can-eat buffet at double Michelin-starred Parisian chef Guy Martin’s sophisticated on- site French restaurant.

When they fancied something with more of a kick, there was also a choice of top-notch East-West fusion food at Bob’s Bar, plus cocktails galore, many of them said to be named after the resort’s A-list guests.

Then, arriving late on their first night in Australia, the pair are thought to have opted for dinner at their hotel, where the tasting menu — a favourite of Pippa’s — included slow-cooked wagyu beef cheek and Tasmanian salmon, with matching wines. That was a relative bargain, at £84 a head.

On Wednesday they ventured out to some of Sydney’s most renowned restaurants. Lunch at Cottage Point Inn, on Wednesday, meant a starter of kangaroo tartare for Pippa and duck for James, followed by the degustation menu, a sevencourse selection of mini- dishes, including roasted quail and smoked eel, for £80 a head, plus £43 each for paired wines, making a grand total of £246. Dinner on Wednesday was at the Flying Fish, where main meals cost up to £100. Specials that night included oysters, crab and octopus.

With starters, desserts — there was passionfruit soufflé, ricotta cheesecake and coffee praline to choose from on the night — and a decent bottle of wine, that could easily have been another £300 out of the coffers. COST: £714

£1,000 ON SWIMWEAR — THE WARDROBE

PIPPA hasn’t disappointed fashion lovers this past week, modelling an eye- catching array of expensive dresses and bikinis.

While there was little call for anything except swimwear in the 75-degree heat during their week at The Brando, Pippa will have fitted in perfectly, thanks to her love of Melissa Odabash bikinis, which retail at £190 a set.

She was also photographed in a Biondi Antibes under- wire bandeau bikini, which cost £115, in white, to show off her tanned and toned physique.

Another day saw her photo- graphed on a paddleboard wearing what appeared to be a Heidi Klein two-piece in blue, which retails at £190.

Assuming she isn’t doing too much laundry on holiday, and has worn at least three different bikinis, that’s £495 on swimwear — more than the £400 the average woman spends on her entire honeymoon wardrobe.

Once the couple were in Sydney, Pippa gave several pieces by her favourite designer of the moment, Kate Spade, an outing, including a blue and white print dress (£ 335), teamed with Castaner wedge lace-up espadrilles (£58), perfect for a stroll along the sand in cooler climes.

That evening she wore another Kate Spade, a red and pink tile-print dress (£318) with LK Bennett sandals (£70).

And for a ride in a water taxi, she chose a black and white Talita dress (£ 464), again with her favourite espadrilles.

For the flight to Darwin, Pippa sported a rather regal broderie anglaise Orla Kiely blouse (£210) with jeans and espadrilles.

Meanwhile, long-limbed James lazed around The Brando in Vilebrequin swim shorts, which cost £165 a pair — for three pairs, that’s £495.

His city-break wardrobe appeared to consist of Church’s shoes (approximately £380), Emmett shirts (about £145 each, so that’s £ 1,015 for seven) and Oliver Spencer chinos (about £170 a pair, making £510 for three pairs). COST: £4,350

DESIGNER LUGGAGE — THE ACCESSORIES

EvEry smart woman knows that when you’re on holiday, you need to pack accessories that work for both day and night.

Pippa, an adept traveller, has managed this to perfection. Her chain- strapped black Aspinal Lottie handbag (£425), crafted from Italian calf leather, made its first public appearance early on Wednesday in Sydney, as did her Italian retro sunglasses by Persol (£192), a brand that has had iconic status since acting legend Steve McQueen sported them.

Both also served as the perfect accompaniments to her evening attire for the couple’s posh dinner at the Flying Fish.

Jetting to Darwin on Thursday, Pippa opted for more spacious and practical hand luggage — the Sensi Studio straw tote bag, again topped off with her Persol specs.

Given that the tote was handcrafted in the Andes and took three days to make, it could be considered a bargain at £150.

To keep track of time in the most stylish way, Pippa also wore a rolex Oyster Perpetual watch with a mother-of-pearl dial, estimated to be worth £8,000.

Throughout, of course, her engagement ring, a huge diamond circled by a cluster of smaller diamonds and valued at about £200,000, twinkled in the sunlight. COST: £8,767 (engagement ring extra)

DOGS ON A JET — THE SCOTTISH LEG

THE Matthewses are expected to round off their no-expense-spared honeymoon with a visit to one of James’s family homes in the Scottish Highlands — which, thankfully, will only cost them the price of a flight.

However, a source says it is almost certain they will fly by private jet to Inverness — which, assuming they fly from London, would cost around £ 4,000 — accompanied by their beloved dogs, which they are said to have missed while Down Under.

From there, they will embark on the 45-minute drive to the Glen Affric Estate, which is 14 miles from Loch Ness.

As the eldest Matthews son, James will one day inherit the title from his father David, who also owns a hotel on the Caribbean island of Saint Barthelemy, and become laird of the 10,000-acre estate. Pippa would then be able to use the courtesy title of Lady Glen Affric.

Glen Affric’s eight- bedroom luxury lodge comes complete with chefs serving locally sourced meat and fish, and a full team of staff to meet a presumably exhausted Pippa’s every whim.

After all, so much travelling is sure to tire a girl out. Isn’t it? COST: £4,000