A wedding that’s big on money and short on class
All that’s missing are the gaudy matrimonial thrones for the newlyweds to be photographed on by Hello! magazine.
The couple are clearly in love and I wish them every happiness. But with 300 ‘close’ family and friends, a £40,000 dress, a £100,000 glass marquee and 17lb of Beluga caviar, it seems the only thing Pippa Middleton’s wedding is short of is good taste.
To be fair, Pippa always faced a dilemma. How could she compete with the pageantry of sister Kate’s nuptials? By throwing money at it, that’s how! Experts estimate the cost must be nearly £1 million.
But when your intended, James Matthews, is a hedge-fund multimillionaire, money and vulgarity are not in short supply. Only class is.
Perhaps the groom’s brother, Spencer, has been advising them. The colourful reality TV show star became well known on E4’s Made In Chelsea — he was booted off I’m A Celebrity after confessing to taking bodybuilding steroids.
One might have thought that, as sister to the future Queen, Pippa would have planned something more discreet — especially as Prince George and Princess Charlotte will be pageboy and bridesmaid, and Kate and William will be there.
The royal presence explains why mobiles and cameras are banned. There is also a dress code forbidding revealing outfits and an etiquette rule discouraging guests from talking to the Royals, unless spoken to first.
The irony is it was Pippa’s Clingfilm dress, showing off every curve of her shapely derriere to perfection, that seemed to be a cynical attempt to steal the show at Kate’s wedding.
We’re told it’s a private event, but I wonder if self-promoting Pippa would be too upset if some photos reached a wider audience.
THEy would be perfect to illustrate a weddingthemed sequel to her book Celebrate, for which she got a £400,000 advance. yes, every bride is entitled to her dream day, but I’m afraid this jamboree is crassly insensitive in this age of austerity. And it is hardly fair to Kate, who has not put a nude lK Bennett stiletto wrong as a modern royal.
As I say, I hope Pippa and James’s marriage will be as happy as Kate’s and William’s and as enduring as parents Carole’s and Michael’s.
I just wish it all wasn’t such an unabashed display of opulence. And let’s trust the couple keep those wedding photos to themselves.