Details still mostly under wraps for Pippa wedding
The young royals will attend, but there’s a lid on most points
Pippa Middleton is getting married Saturday and you are not invited.
Also barred from the celebration: Most of the media mob hoping to sneak a peek of her nuptials, her dress and her royal relations — especially nephew Prince George and niece Princess Charlotte, who will be page boy and bridesmaid.
Another target for the media: Meghan Markle, Prince Harry’s American actress girlfriend. Will she be in the church or just the reception? And what will she wear?
Although this is a private wedding, as Pippa’s publicist, Joy Milloy, has insisted, the presence of the young royals — older sister Duchess Kate of Cambridge, her husband, Prince William, and her children, as well as Prince Harry — makes it a semi-public affair.
Why do we care? Because Pippa, 33, became an unexpected star as a bridesmaid at sister Kate’s 2011 royal wedding.
Now she’s the headliner at her own nuptials, anointed by the media as Britain’s society wedding of the year.
Because the Middleton clan has worked hard to keep a lid on blabbing and leaks, not much is officially known, leaving the media to speculate.
Here’s what we know:
THE GROOM Pippa is marrying James Matthews, 41, millionaire scion of a wealthy family and a former race car driver-turned-financier, who runs a London hedge fund, Eden Rock Capital Management. They announced their engagement in July. They are longtime pals; they dated briefly back in 2012, and he returned full time to Pippa’s life in 2015.
THE DRESS A big secret, so far, but the name Giles Deacon keeps coming up. According to multiple British reports, he was spotted visiting Pippa and mother Carole Middleton before Christmas, with garment bags. The designer, favored by celebrities (Kendall Jenner walked his runway for London Fashion Week in February 2015), has refused to comment.
Naturally, all are agog about Pippa’s dress because a dress is what helped make her so famous she nearly stole the show at her sister’s royal wedding. Her clingy bridesmaid dress, by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, fit her to a T, especially her derrière, which soon had its own Twitter account.
THE RINGS We already know about her engagement ring, an Art Deco-style 3-carat Asscher-cut center diamond in an eight-sided halo setting, probably made by jewelry designer Robinson Pelham (he’s not commenting), according to
The Telegraph, and worth more than $250,000, according to People. But the wedding ring is still a mystery.
THE CHURCH The wedding will be at St. Mark’s Church, in Englefield, the local church for the Middleton family estate in Bucklebury, about 50 miles from London, where Pippa was raised. The resident priest, Rev. Nick Wynne-Jones, is officiating. The exact number of guests invited (estimates range from 150 to 350) is unconfirmed but the church is small and for sure it won’t be anywhere near the 1,900 guests who packed Westminster Abbey for the royal extravaganza on April 29, 2011.
THE RECEPTIONS The wedding will be followed by a cocktail reception at Englefield House, the private estate nearby (the church is part of the estate), followed by an evening reception at the Middleton manse, where dinner will be served in a large outdoor tent, or marquee as the British call it, on the lawn.
THE ROYALS We know what roles George and Charlotte will play, which is different from typical American weddings where ring-bearers are common and bridesmaids are usually adults. But the presence of a flock of little bridesmaids in their frilly best has long been a tradition at royal weddings.
Kensington Palace confirmed the children’s roles but said noth- ing about Kate’s role in the wedding party, which under ordinary circumstances would be matron of honor. Since that runs the risk of overshadowing her sister, she likely will do a reading, as her brother, James Middleton, did during her own wedding, according to royals watcher Judy Wade. (James Middleton will be there with his longtime girlfriend, singer/actress Donna Air. )
As the wedding approaches, attention is shifting to the presence of Prince Harry’s girlfriend, especially after Markle, 35, was spotted earlier this month cheering on Harry, 32, at a charity polo match. But is she an invited guest? The Telegraph and the
Express reported over the weekend that she is, despite not being officially engaged to Harry.
“As a relatively little-known style entity, Markle’s choice of look for the day will be a key moment in her gradual transition from philanthropic, social-media star to de facto member of the royal family,” declared Telegraph fashion editor Bethan Holt on Monday.
THE WEDDING PARTY Matthews’ best man will be his younger brother, Spencer, a reality star in Britain with a colorful reputation.
If Kate is not going to be the matron of honor, who will be matron or maid? Still a mystery, but Pippa has plenty of close girlfriends among the rich and aristocratic circles she moves in.