Pippa is the sister of future queen consort, Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge. In recent years she has reclined from the public’s eye. This was after she shot to global stardom following her sister’s 2011 royal wedding.
Her outfit plastered front pages around the world, many commenting on how her elegance stole the show.
She soon became the royal-by-proxy more known for her glamour, glitz, and party lifestyle – fuelled by her job as a professional party planner.
The newfound fame offered things like lucrative TV contracts – reports suggest she was offered £300,000 to appear on Oprah but turned it down – and glossy magazine columns.
Two writing posts she took up saw her feature regularly in The Spectator magazine and Vanity Fair.
Pippa Middleton: The royal challenged Boris Johnson to a game of ping pong (Image: GETTY)
Boris Johnson: Pippa and Boris pictured at a 2013 dinner (Image: GETTY)
In a 2013 column for The Spectator, she issued the then Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, an ultimatum, and asked: “What are you scared of, Boris?”
It came as she detailed her challenge put to Mr Johnson – a game of ping pong between the two.
The politician, however, on first accepting the match failed to follow it up – with Pippa exposing him.
She said: “The last time I wrote in these pages, I issued a challenge to Boris Johnson to take me on at ping pong.
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The Spectator: Boris was editor of the right-wing political magazine between 1999 and 2005 (Image: GETTY)
“The Mayor said he’d be up for it, and his office duly contacted The Spectator to arrange the details.
“Team Johnson insisted that the match should be held at a venue of their choosing.
“I said by all means. And then — nothing.
“The Spectator has tried to follow up, but now it’s radio silence from the Mayor’s office.
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David Cameron: Boris and the former PM David Cameron pictured at The Spectator’s 180th anniversary (Image: GETTY)
Royal wedding: Pippa stole the show at Kate and William’s 2011 with her outfit (Image: GETTY)
“Is Boris scared or what? He should be.”
Pippa is known not to turn down a challenge, excellently outlined in her taking on the responsibility of organising Kate and William’s after wedding party.
It didn’t come without problems, however, with the Daily Mail’s Rebecca English in 2011 revealing tales of how the royal staff had reached loggerheads with Pippa and her plans.
A “determination to introduce a younger atmosphere” to the after party meant some major adjustments to the splendour of the Windsor household.
Middleton family tree: Pippa is one of two of Kate’s siblings (Image: Express Newspapers)
For example, Pippa’s suggestion to erect “glitter balls” in the throne room was initially met with fierce opposition.
Yet, in the end, “Pippa won the day”.
Ms English explained that Kate’s sister had “utilised her company connections to help organise every last detail of the party being thrown for 300 of William and Kate’s closest friends”.
The tiff didn’t end at the royal courtiers.
It did, Ms English revealed, extend into the heart of the Royal Family itself.
With Pippa intent on sourcing the party’s food through Table Talk, Prince Charles stood in and had the final say on the night’s menu.
Pippa Middleton wedding: Pippa married James Matthews in 2017 in an intimate ceremony (Image: GETTY)
An insider told the Mail: “Originally they wanted to use their own caterer, but then Prince Charles, who is funding the entertainment, stepped in and demanded they use his favourite, Mosimann’s.
“It didn’t go down well with the caterers Kate and her sister were intent on using, but there was nothing they could do.
“Pippa’s choice of turning the throne room into a nightclub set-up also went down like a lead balloon with Palace aides, who tried to have it stopped.
“But William stepped in and insisted that he wanted the evening event to be very different from the formal champagne and canapé reception being thrown by the Queen immediately after the wedding.
“He wants it to be very young and cool, so the old guard caved in and gave their approval.”
