The Shadiest Details That Have Surfaced About Pippa Middleton

Back in the day, Pippa Middleton had a reputation for being somewhat of a party girl, though it was a characterization she staunchly refuted. "People see me as someone privileged who has used my position to advantage; that I don't really work, that I am a socialite — that word really irritates me — and that I'm a party girl without any substance," a freshly engaged Middleton lamented to the Daily Mail in 2016. 

These days, however, the sister to the future queen of England has developed a rep for being shady. "People here just don't like her," the editor of Majesty Magazine, Ingrid Seward, told The New York Times. "She is not a cook, not a writer, and has not really done anything but get this all off the back of her sister. Generally, there is a feeling that she is simply capitalizing off the situation." Unfortunately, purportedly piggybacking off of her big sister's royal success isn't the only example of Pippa's behavior being called into question. 

Long before Kate Middleton started dating Prince William, Pippa Middleton was plotting her ascension into the most exclusive social circles — but don't just take our word for it. "I don't know whether this was something encouraged by her mother Carole, but as soon as she arrived, she made sure she joined the right circle," a source told the Daily Mail about Pippa's arrival at Edinburgh University. 

As it turns out, Pippa was equally as selective when it came to her romantic interests. Prior to marrying her billionaire beau, James Matthews, she carved out quite the roster for herself, being romantically linked to banking heir JJ Jardine-Paterson, Scottish aristocrat Billy More Nisbett, Winston Churchill relative Alexander Spencer-Churchill, former professional cricketer Alex Loudon, the late financier Thomas Kingston, and hedge fund manager Nico Jackson. Phew! Talk about a lineup.

Your secret is not safe with Pippa Middleton! Sadly, her own sister, Kate Middleton, reportedly learned that the hard way. The story goes that Kate was hyper-protective of a secret family chutney recipe — even politely declining requests to donate jars of it to various charity events, per the Daily Mail. But that all changed in 2012, when Pippa shared the classified family recipe in the confines of her very first book, "Celebrate: A Year of British Festivities for Families and Friends." According to the book, the marrow chutney recipe was passed down by Kate and Pippa's grandmother and is chock-full of zucchini mixed with raisins, onions, brown sugar, malt vinegar, and simmered to perfection (via People).

As it turns out, the recipe is so near and dear to Kate that she even made some for Queen Elizabeth II as a gift during her first Christmas as a royal. "I decided to make my granny's recipe of chutney," she revealed during the 2016 ITV special "Our Queen at Ninety" (via E! News). Fortunately for Kate, the queen was a big fan. "I was slightly worried about it, but I noticed the next day that it was on the table," she recalled. (Forget copying Chip and Joanna Gaines' Magnolia brand — maybe this is where Meghan Markle got her idea to start peddling homemade jams and jellies via American Riviera Orchard, subsequently signaling her own shady side.)

Pippa Middleton became a household name overnight in 2011, following her grand entrance as a bridesmaid at her sister Kate Middleton's red-carpet royal wedding to Prince William. "Our interest stemmed from the fact that a pretty young woman entered Westminster Abbey as a sister of a bride, and emerged as a global phenomenon in the space of an hour," David Notman-Watt, the executive producer for TLC's "Crazy About Pippa" documentary told ABC News about Pippa's sudden and meteoric rise to fame.

Alas, Pippa made a few enemies during her own high-profile 2017 nuptials to billionaire James Matthews. It quickly became apparent that the couple spared no expense, including a gigantic glass tent set up on the Middletons' Berkshire estate to the tune of £100,000 and a £300,000 Spitfire flypast, per The Guardian. All in all, the couple's big day clocked in at more than £1 million, according to the Daily Mail. 

Unfortunately, many were offended by such a sheer display of wealth. One reader even took to the comments section of The Guardian article to let their voice be heard. "This looks astonishingly vulgar," they wrote. "I don't know why they can't just have a quick church or registry marriage, a bottle of something bubbly and a nice lunch with friends and give the £250,000 to charity. Awful people." 

Pippa Middleton's wedding was further criticized after it was reported that she had instituted a "no ring, no bring" rule. Basically, what that means is unless you're married, you're not getting a plus one. As one can imagine, this put then-boyfriend and girlfriend Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in a rather precarious situation. "She saw how all eyes were on Meghan rather than Lara last week. The situation was also stressful for Harry. Pippa and her mother Carole wonder whether Meghan's presence could cause a great deal of unnecessary chaos," a friend of the bride's told the Daily Mail about the controversial decision.

In the end, however, Pippa did eventually extend an invitation to Meghan ... sort of. While Meghan did not attend the church ceremony, she was present at the evening reception, though not seated anywhere near her date. "Per Pippa's request, no couples sat together," royal experts Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand penned in their book, "Finding Freedom" (via the Daily Mail). 

There goes the neighborhood! In 2022, Pippa Middleton and James Matthews plunked down a whopping £15m for a 145-acre estate in Berkshire, per the Daily Mail. Two years later, the couple got to work adding some significant upgrades to the larger-than-life property, including an 82-by-19-foot swimming pool and a tennis court. To do that, however, they had to 86 a garden and some age-old stone walls. As one can imagine, local council members were not thrilled with this idea, including one conservationist in particular. "I have a number of concerns," the conservation officer told the Daily Mail. Among those concerns was the idea that the couple was opting for "recreational/leisure use" over "horticultural use," as well as loss of "historic fabric." Perhaps, however, that's the least of their worries. " An archeologist claimed that digging a new pool could "have an impact on surviving archaeological deposits."

Alas, it was the couple's decision to block off a footpath on the property that was previously open to the community that really ruffled their neighbors' feathers and even resulted in Pippa being labeled as a spoiled princess by the locals. "I like to walk, and I don't see why I can't walk there. I have been walking along there for 50 years," one of the residents told the Daily Mail. "When Sir Terence had it, he had no objections. I think we should have a right to roam."