Last Saturday, Pippa Middleton launched her new column in The Daily Telegraph, one of Britain’s biggest newspapers. Titled “Sport and Social,” the column will appear every other week. For her debut, Pippa wrote about her new-found interest in boxing. The Daily Telegraph proudly announced her column on its front page.
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This is surprising given that, at least according to British tabloids, Pippa is supposed to be a complete disaster. Her party-planning book, “Celebrate,” was a flop, filled with inane advice. Her writing is bad. The royal family tries to keep her out of the spotlight.
In April 2011, Pippa skyrocketed to fame at her sister Kate’s wedding to Prince William. She wore a slinky white bridesmaid dress that earned her the tabloid nickname “Her Royal Hotness.” At the time, many people assumed she would have the usual 15 minutes of fame. But after two-and-half years, Pippa’s career has risen to new heights.
She got off to a bumpy start in 2012 when she published a book titled “Celebrate: A Year of British Festivities for Families and Friends.” Expectations were sky high. “Celebrate” did make the New York Times bestseller list, but it was not a runaway success. The British tabloids delighted in calling it a “flop” and reporting that some bookshops slashed the price in half.
Part of the problem was that Buckingham Palace barred Pippa from giving any promotional interviews. Another problem was her writing style, which was mocked for being overly simplistic. Pippa worked for a high-end party-planning firm in London for several years. But in “Celebrate,” she kept her advice very basic. For instance, she wrote, “Turkeys are perfect for feeding larger gatherings.”
This inspired @pippatips, a spoof Twitter account that tweets advice like “enjoy a glass of water by getting a clean glass and pouring in water from a tap or bottle” to 59,000 followers. Pippa wrote in The Spectator magazine that she thinks @pippatips is “all good fun.” But that did not stop her lawyers from attempting to shut the account down.
Pippa’s career was rebooted in February when Waitrose, an upscale British supermarket chain, announced she would write a monthly cooking column for their in-store magazine. British tabloids predicted the relationship would be as big of a “flop” as “Celebrate.” However, figures released last month show the magazine’s circulation has grown by over 17 percent since Pippa joined, making it the fastest-growing magazine in Britain.
In the May issue, Pippa describes how to prepare a romantic picnic. The Daily Mail mocked her recipes’ expensive ingredients, but the issue was so successful that Waitrose ordered another print run.
William Sitwell, editorial director of the company that publishes the Waitrose magazine, has praised her work ethic. “She is a good cook and writer and works very hard,” he told the New York Times. “She has impressed the whole team here.”
In addition to Waitrose and The Daily Telegraph, Pippa has writing gigs with The Spectator and Vanity Fair. Her articles tend to follow a set formula. The topic is either party planning or her love of sports (she attended a private high school on a sports scholarship). She usually starts by making a few self-deprecating jokes, then shares an anecdote from her childhood, often involving her famous sister. For instance, in a piece for The Spectator, she talks about running cross country with Kate (“we’d get caked in mud from head to toe, in our tiny athletic shorts”) as their mother cheered from the sidelines. Her articles, especially the ones for Vanity Fair, are accompanied by a glamorous photo spread. The online version of her Daily Telegraph column featured 12 flattering photos of Pippa throwing punches.
Pippa obviously wouldn’t be published as much if she weren’t the sister of the future queen, but she seems to have a genuine interest in writing. She majored in English literature at the University of Edinburgh. Long before she turned heads at the royal wedding, she was the editor of The Party Times, the online magazine of her parents’ retail website, Party Pieces.
Professional life is a minefield for those with royal connections. Sophie, the wife of the Queen’s youngest son Prince Edward, had to resign from her public-relations company in 2002 after a tabloid reporter posing as a potential client recorded her talking about members of the royal family. Pippa has been cautious and avoided any serious scandals up to now.
Initially, some royal watchers predicted Kate might appoint Pippa as her lady-in-waiting. Princess Diana appointed her sister to that role when she married Prince Charles. Pippa seems to prefer a more entrepreneurial job. This runs in the family. Her parents are self-made millionaires.
At least part of the reason British tabloids criticize Pippa is that she does not cooperate with them to bolster her image. She has never given a single interview. When she has something to say, she does it in one of her articles.
Public interest in Pippa is still very strong. Any story about Prince William and Kate has a Pippa angle (What kind of aunt will she be for baby George? How is she supporting new mom Kate?) Between that and her writing, we will be hearing a lot more from Pippa in the years to come.