Pippa signs up Posh and Becks’ PR mastermind
SINCE she was accused of trying to steal the show at her sister’s wedding with her pert posterior, Pippa Middleton has made the most of her fame.
Now she has gone one step further, by hiring a hard-nosed PR guru responsible for Brand Beckham.
The Duchess of Cambridge’s sister Pippa, 33, has engaged Jo Milloy to provide advice in the run- up to her wedding at St Mark’s Church in englefield, Berkshire, to hedge fund millionaire James Matthews.
The nuptials on May 20 will be followed by a reception for 350 guests in a marquee in the garden at the Middletons’ Grade II-listed manor house in Bucklebury.
The blonde PR maestro has burnished Victoria Beckham’s public image over the past 12 years, helping to turn ‘ Posh and Becks’ into a multi-million-pound brand.
Milloy, 46, is credited with overseeing Victoria’s successful transition from pop star to respected fashion designer, and is considered ‘ one of the best operators in the business’.
until 2005, Milloy was a co-director of House PR Ltd with Pop Idol creator Simon Fuller, who has also managed David and Victoria Beckham.
Milloy’s services don’t come cheap. It is thought she will be employed initially on a short-term contract, which will run into tens of thousands of pounds. Happily, Pippa’s beau James, 41, has no shortage of cash after founding a hedge fund named after his parents’ eden Rock hotel in the Caribbean.
He has even invested £100,000 in his future brother- in- law James Middleton’s struggling marshmallow company, Boomf.
But the society couple are perhaps keen for a PR boost, after Pippa’s 2012 party- planning book, Celebrate, was panned by critics and spawned a parody Twitter account called Pippa Tips.
With Brand Beckham’s image guru on board, no doubt Mr and Mrs Matthews’ fairytale ending will be as well- crafted as Pippa’s yet- to- be unveiled designer wedding dress.
Jo Milloy declined to comment.