Pippa’s bridesmaid bid to end rift with naughty uncle Gary
PIPPA Middleton is set to heal the rift between her ‘black sheep’ uncle Gary Goldsmith and the rest of the family – by inviting his daughter Tallulah to be her bridesmaid.
Gary, the younger brother of Pippa’s mother Carole, has been kept at arm’s-length by the Middletons since 2009 when he was caught cutting cocaine and boasting about his Royal connections at his rudely named Maison de Bang Bang villa in Ibiza.
Although Gary was invited to Westminster Abbey in 2011 to see his niece Kate marry Prince William, he was kept well away from the family photos.
Carole was later said to be mortified that the businessman revealed details of a private conversation he had had with the Duchess of Cornwall at the reception. He claimed Camilla told him: ‘Don’t worry about the bad press – I get the same.’
Last year, Gary was notably absent from his sister’s 60th birthday celebrations, while Carole did not attend his 50th birthday bash either.
But now Pippa, 33, has taken the bold step of telephoning her wayward uncle to discuss a role for Tallulah at her wedding to hedge fund tycoon James Matthews. A source close to Gary tells me: ‘Pippa called him about two weeks ago and they had a very friendly conversation.
‘Gary knows he’s on shaky ground so he’s desperate not to put a foot wrong by spilling the beans. All he will say for now is that he’s hopeful that Tallulah will be walking down the aisle behind her cousin as a bridesmaid. Tallulah is thrilled at the prospect.’
The 14-year-old is a student at a private school in the South of England that Gary has described on his Twitter page as a ‘posh prison’.
Gary regularly posts snaps of his daughter on his page, in which he can be seen beaming with pride. If Tallulah does become Pippa’s bridesmaid, she’ll be expected to keep a close eye on boisterous Prince George, who is expected to be a page boy at the wedding.
The ceremony is set to take place in May at St Mark’s Church in Englefield, Berkshire, followed by a reception at Bucklebury Manor, the Middletons’ £6million mansion.