Pippa Middleton: May 2011-May 2017

[Dman]

I do think Pippa is different. Her book is not intended at all to be scholarly - it's for fun for everyday people who want to throw theme parties. Additionally, I doubt Tom has ever been lionized in the press for his bum.

And thank heavens Pippa is no Martha Stewart - as a recovering Martha devotee it took me years to unlearn her uncompromising zeal for perfect everything - as if everything CAN be perfect. I drove my family nuts for years following her zealous antics for the home/hearth/table.

I agree that family should be able to support Pippa as Camilla supports Tom. However as Pippa pointed out, she's known because of her sister and her bum. So I find it a loving gesture that her sister NOT show up and direct the spotlight away from Pippa. While Camilla can show up and not have the press go mad over the cost of her frock, Kate cannot. I think the sisters understand that and that this was their choice for Pippa's time to shine. I'm sure they chatted on the phone throughout the day. Good for them. I think it was a great UNSELFISH choice.

As a guy it may sound weird for me to say this but I'm also a fan of Martha's. She comes off has perfect but Martha will be Martha. Yes, you can drive your family nuts by following Martha's ideas.

I don't think William & Catherine would've allowed the media attention to stop them for coming out and supporting Pippa if they could've made it. It's great that she is having her time to shine and see that there's more to her than her bottom. I think she is showing everybody, including the media, that she have a brain and skills and her bottom is not the only thing she have going for her.

I think if people and media are going to treat Tom Parker Bowles with some respect over his books and promotions , the same should be done for Pippa. Fair is fair.

Two reasons are people are being harsh on Pippa for doing the same thing that Tom has done.

1) She's a Middleton
2) She's a woman

I agree. That's a shame if you as me.

I also hear some journalist are upset that Pippa hasn't done any major interviews or TV appearences to help promote "Celebrate."

 

[Duke-of-Earl]

Two reasons people are being harsh on Pippa for doing the same thing that Tom has done.

1) She's a Middleton
2) She's a woman

You hit the nail on the head!!

 

[hkittybaby]

Pippa Middleton dating banker brother of Made In Chelsea star Spencer Matthews | Mail Online

 

[Kataryn]

A positive review:

Partying like Pippa Middleton: fun, but all too perfect for me - Telegraph
The reviewer resumes: "Will I keep the book? Yes, because while the prose makes me wince, it’s a nice compendium of very British jollity. And you never know, I might even make a seating plan this year."

 

[Queen Penelope]

Two reasons people are being harsh on Pippa for doing the same thing that Tom has done.

1) She's a Middleton
2) She's a woman

I think the reason is because the press still continues to hype her up, calling her "perfect pippa" and "her royal hotness" for wearing a dress a year and a half ago. Had there been no articles and such written about Pippa after the wedding frenzy went out, I don't think many would be so harsh. Fair play to her for taking advantage of opportunities as they come. I don't find Pippa annoying at all, but the press building her up and such is what I find annoying. Maybe that's the problem people have with the Middletons? We're not use to hearing about the in-laws of the royals.

 

[Mirabel]

A positive review:

Partying like Pippa Middleton: fun, but all too perfect for me - Telegraph
The reviewer resumes: "Will I keep the book? Yes, because while the prose makes me wince, it’s a nice compendium of very British jollity. And you never know, I might even make a seating plan this year."

Of course she should keep the book!

(This may be a digression, but one of my pet peeves is someone who reads a book and then returns it to the store! That is so tacky.
If you've read it, you should pay...or else take it out at the library!)

 

[Dman]

I think the reason is because the press still continues to hype her up, calling her "perfect pippa" and "her royal hotness" for wearing a dress a year and a half ago. Had there been no articles and such written about Pippa after the wedding frenzy went out, I don't think many would be so harsh. Fair play to her for taking advantage of opportunities as they come. I don't find Pippa annoying at all, but the press building her up and such is what I find annoying. Maybe that's the problem people have with the Middletons? We're not use to hearing about the in-laws of the royals.

Well, I think with this advanced media age, the Middletons are in a tough spot. True, there's a lot of media hype about Pippa and the rest of the family but that's not their fault, so I don't think people should take their anger out on them because they haven't done anything wrong.

All Pippa and her family can do is try to handle the media attention the best way they can. It can't be easy for them to have the tabloids stalking them and their business.

I think those journalist at the Daily Mail, Sun, Telegraph, etc are just waiting for that family to slip up, especially the online commentors.

I personally would be a little paranoid, I think.

 

[Queen Penelope]

Well, I think with this advanced media age, the Middletons are in a tough spot. True, there's a lot of media hype about Pippa and the rest of the family but that's not their fault, so I don't think people should take their anger out on them because they haven't done anything wrong.

All Pippa and her family can do is try to handle the media attention the best way they can. It can't be easy for them to have the tabloids stalking them and their business.

I think those journalist at the Daily Mail, Sun, Telegraph, etc are just waiting for that family to slip up, especially the online commentors.

I personally would be a little paranoid, I think.

I agree. The hype is not their fault, and The Middletons have handled the media attention exceptionally well. Yes, they've done nothing wrong, but unlike other royal in-laws we hear about them regularly, so right or wrong there's bound to be some backlash if you are in the press frequently. IMO, I think the reason people are harsh about Pippa's book is that without the royal connections, one doubts the book would have been published. Again, fair play to her, but she doesn't appear to have merit it in her own right, but rather, is riding the attention from the wedding and connection to Kate. That, IMO, is where people have a problem.

 

[Dman]

I agree. The hype is not their fault, and The Middletons have handled the media attention exceptionally well. Yes, they've done nothing wrong, but unlike other royal in-laws we hear about them regularly, so right or wrong there's bound to be some backlash if you are in the press frequently. IMO, I think the reason people are harsh about Pippa's book is that without the royal connections, one doubts the book would have been published. Again, fair play to her, but she doesn't appear to have merit it in her own right, but rather, is riding the attention from the wedding and connection to Kate. That, IMO, is where people have a problem.

You never know, Pippa may still have published a book on party planning and entertaining. Her family's business came along way before there was a William & Catherine. You can say the same about Tom Parker Bowles. He probably would've went on to publish his cookbooks, even if his mother wasn't linked and married to Charles. They are both using the media attention they have to their advantage and I would be doing the samething, if I was in their shoes.

I do think because Pippa is a Middleton and a woman, the media and others are giving her a harder time than they have done to Tom. Then again, despite the backlash, Pippa is handling all of this beautifully. She just glowed at her book launch and she look like she had a great time playing with the children at the party.

Also, I think being an royal in-law in todays media age is more difficult that what Diana's family went through in the eighties. Although Diana's family was already part of the aristocratic circle, after her marriage, the Spencers were at many society events, balls, Wembledon, etc. I'm sure even then people got a little tierd of seeing their pictures in the papers.

I also don't see people complaining when Crown Princess Mary's family are seen places or Charlene's. I just think the British media is just harsher on the Middletons and their non-aristocratic background. I think Mary and Charlene's family are happy they don't have to deal with the British media.

 

[NGalitzine]

Also, I think being an royal in-law in todays media age is more difficult that what Diana's family went through in the eighties. Although Diana's family was already part of the aristocratic circle, after her marriage, the Spencers were at many society events, balls, Wembledon, etc. I'm sure even then people got a little tierd of seeing their pictures in the papers.

I doubt Diana's brother would have got his gig as "royal correspondent" for NBC had his sister not married The Prince of Wales.

 

[Dman]

I doubt Diana's brother would have got his gig as "royal correspondent" for NBC had his sister not married The Prince of Wales.

True and he has also written books, sell a collection of furniture and travel all over the place doing lectures. Also, Diana's sister (Lady Sarah McCorquodale) took up a informal role as the Princess of Wales's Lady-in-Waiting. Just the thought of Pippa doing something like this would have members of the media and others throwing themselves out of windows or something.

So the royal sibilings are all in a tight spot but they also take advantage of the opportunities as well. I think they know the opportunities comes with it's pitfalls too.

 

[Mirabel]

So the royal sibilings are all in a tight spot but they also take advantage of the opportunities as well. I think they know the opportunities comes with it's pitfalls too.

Well, who doesn't take advantage of family connections?
The children of famous actors get parts because of their relatives, not their talent.
If you attend an Ivy-League school, your children become a legacy and will be admitted more quickly.
If you hold a high position in a business, you can get your children a job.
It's the same everywhere.
So why target royalty?

 

[EIIR]

Tom was an established writer before his mother married Prince Charles.

This is entirely beside the point. Camilla was one of the most famous women in Britain for, literally, decades before she eventually married Charles. The entire country knew that Camilla and Charles were together for many years before finally tying the knot. As a result Tom, as the son of the woman closest to the future King, had an enormous leg-up in terms of name recognition, contacts within the upper echelons of society, and the huge press coverage that the Parker-Bowles family received.

From what I can remember, Tom was not a trained chef or a successful restauranteur, which are usually the two main paths that people have to go down for any hope of a deal to write a cookbook. He's made the most of his hugely fortunate and privileged position, to which I think we all would say, bravo.

Pippa was already well known before Kate married William, appearing in the society pages of the newspapers and magazines. She'd been writing a newsletter for Party Pieces (one of the most successful companies of its type in the UK) with tips on entertaining for several years. It's not at all obvious that she would never have got a book deal. The deal she got was probably more lucrative as a result of her sister's marriage, but it's difficult to say with any degree of certainty how successful or otherwise she would've been if circumstances were different.

 

[Dman]

Well, who doesn't take advantage of family connections?
The children of famous actors get parts because of their relatives, not their talent.
If you attend an Ivy-League school, your children become a legacy and will be admitted more quickly.
If you hold a high position in a business, you can get your children a job.
It's the same everywhere.
So why target royalty?

I agree. In the professional world in some cases it's not what you know (despite your knowledge in the field) but it's who you know. Trust me when I say, if my sister or brother was a senior member of a royal family, a actor or actress and well known in business, I too would try to take the advantages and make the most of it in a postive way.

 

[EIIR]

It happens in all walks of life. For example, I studied law at university and was trying to decide if I wanted to go on and become a solicitor or a barrister. The lecturers and tutors o nmy course told us, in no uncertain terms, that unless we had some contacts within the legal community, we had no hope of making it as barristers. The reason being that barristers rely on being referred cases by solicitors, so if you didn't know many solicitors you simply would not get work. Barristers without those connections would struggle to earn over £10k per year in their early years in the profession, whereas top ranking barristers can make £1 million annually.

Contacts and connections are the oil that keeps the cogs turning in many different walks of life, not only in the UK, but all over the world. It may not be fair, it's the way things are.

 

[miche]

If being a party planner is not merit on it on to write a party planning book I don't know what is. Of course we have some people (The Daily Mail) who wants the Middleton close or sell their business I soon as Kate started dating William

 

[Queen Penelope]

If being a party planner is not merit on it on to write a party planning book I don't know what is. Of course we have some people (The Daily Mail) who wants the Middleton close or sell their business I soon as Kate started dating William

Pretty sure this is directed at my comment (sorry if it's not )

Please re read my post...
"Again, fair play to her, but she doesn't appear to have merit it in her own right, but rather, is riding the attention from the wedding and connection to Kate. That, IMO, is where people have a problem"

To paraphrase what I said, this book deal was (arguably) based mostly on the attention of her appearance at the royal wedding/connection to Kate and not so much on her talent as a party planner (nothing wrong with that either!). She could very well be Pippa James (not Middleton) and have her book published, but in that case we would not be questioning that she got the book on her own merits. Her situation reminds me of that old saying that EIIR alluded to "it's not what you know, but who you know".

I say good for her for not wasting opportunities. She's making her own money and she should be proud of her efforts. I read excepts in "The Mail on Sunday" and it looked fun, the recipes seem easy to follow.

 

[Dman]

That's just what she doing, she's putting her talents of writing and experience in the party planning business forward. She didn't use a ghost writer, she wrote 'Celebrate' herself. Pippa had the media following her before her sister married into the royal family. Although the wedding did put her and her family on the worlds map even more.

 

[EIIR]

I think there is a huge amount of jealousy among critics being demonstrated too, though. It's one of the more distasteful characteristics of British people generally - we're instinctively somewhat suspicious and sceptical of people who do make it up the social scale.

Allied to that is the resentment that many of these newspaper hacks have no likelihood of having a book of their own published because the vast majority of people don't know who they are and don't care to.

 

[miche]

Most if not the majority of people who have their book published are because of who they know and the connection they have made. Their own merits in most case mean "Networking"

That the way most business work and I don't see why we should go after others for using their connection.

 

[EIIR]

It's funny because Nigella Lawson (the TV chef) has a series on in the UK at the moment called 'Nigellissima'. It's themed around Italian food and Nigella's experiences of much time spent there. She's been getting bucket loads of criticism about her recipes not being 'authentic', that she doesn't understand Italian cuisine and that she's offering the British public a 'bastardisation' of Italian food.

In much the same way, I've seen some criticism from the Scottish media ripping Pippa to shreds because of how 'incorrect' her Burns Night party tips are.

In both cases people are being deliberately harsh and unnecessarily scathing. Neither Nigella nor Pippa have sold their respective books as the definitive in their particular niches. They're not claiming to be foremost experts in their field. All they're doing is giving their own personal takes on the topics they've chosen to write about. It's important that we all take these books for what they are - not the ultimate 'bible' in how Italians eat or how Scots celebrate Hogmany, but inoffensive personal recommendations that we can either choose to buy or to leave on the shelf.

 

[Al_bina]

I prefer Nigellas Lawson because she is not tanned. 'Bastardisation' is a correct word to describe many endevaours of various western chefs and party planners.

 

[VictoriaB]

From what I can remember, Tom was not a trained chef or a successful restauranteur, which are usually the two main paths that people have to go down for any hope of a deal to write a cookbook. He's made the most of his hugely fortunate and privileged position, to which I think we all would say, bravo.

Neither is Nigella Lawson. The shelves in my local bookstore are filled with other books written by non-chefs or restauranteurs.

Tom is a restaurant critic/food writer and they are often not trained chefs or restauranteurs.

I think the difference is that Tom generally does not get very much publicity at all except when promoting his books, Pippa has not been out of the press since the wedding despite having done nothing (until her book was published) to warrant the attention, wished for or not.

It's all very well saying she's treated unfairly because she is a woman, the flip side is that because she's a woman she's had far more free publicity than a man in her position (her brother for example).

 

[Queen Penelope]

Neither is Nigella Lawson. The shelves in my local bookstore are filled with other books written by non-chefs or restauranteurs.

Tom is a restaurant critic/food writer and they are often not trained chefs or restauranteurs.

I think the difference is that Tom generally does not get very much publicity at all except when promoting his books, Pippa has not been out of the press since the wedding despite having done nothing (until her book was published) to warrant the attention, wished for or not.

It's all very well saying she's treated unfairly because she is a woman, the flip side is that because she's a woman she's had far more free publicity than a man in her position (her brother for example).

Well said. Just to stray off track for a second, I think part of it is that Tom is Camilla's son. She was the most reviled woman in the UK at one point, so in a way you could look at it as that any success he has had has been in spite of his parentage. Just like any success Pippa has will almost be despite the fact that she's a Middleton.

 

[EIIR]

Neither is Nigella Lawson. The shelves in my local bookstore are filled with other books written by non-chefs or restauranteurs.

Tom is a restaurant critic/food writer and they are often not trained chefs or restauranteurs.

I think the difference is that Tom generally does not get very much publicity at all except when promoting his books, Pippa has not been out of the press since the wedding despite having done nothing (until her book was published) to warrant the attention, wished for or not.

Nigella Lawson is the daughter of the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Nigel (now Lord) Lawson. Her brother Dominic was the editor of the Sunday Telegraph. She became very famous in the UK as during one of her cookery series we could see that her journalist husband was fighting cancer, and actually died from the disease during filming. She's now married to Charles Saatchi, a multi-millionaire advertising tycoon and modern art collector. Nigella had the sort of opportunities which, I have no doubt, helped get her on TV and a book deal.

The most popular cookbooks in the UK, by a country mile, are written by trained chefs and restauranteurs - Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsey, Heston Blumenthal, Raymond Blanc, James Martin etc.

TomParker-Bowles is featured regularly in the society pages of newspapers and magazines, not only when he's selling his books. I've seen him on TV several times.

Pippa gets press attention because people are interested in her. I know this for a fact because I bought the handbag she carried outside the Goring Hotel the day after the wedding. It cost me £149 and I sold it for almost £400 on eBay, with messages from people all over the world wanting to buy it. Whether she deserves the attention is basically irrelevant at this stage.

 

[NGalitzine]

Off topic but I like Nigella. She is great to look at, funny, doesn't take herself or her cooking too seriously and really doesn't care what other people think of her which I find quite refreshing.

 

[Mirabel]

I prefer Nigellas Lawson because she is not tanned. 'Bastardisation' is a correct word to describe many endevaours of various western chefs and party planners.

Even if that's true, so what?
There's hundreds of these books on the market, each offering a different take.
And what some consider dull and boring, others consider low-key and charming.

People are free to buy them or to let them alone.

 

[Al_bina]

Well ... there is nothing wrong with the disposable trashy culture.

 

[Mermaid1962]

I don't think that it's only British people. I've run into it on this side of the ocean as well. Some of it has to do with how the person who "done good" treats the people that they knew "back when." A person who "never forgets where s/he came from" is generally better thought of. Take the first Lord Beaverbrook. He's hugely respected in his home province because he continued to support the area in spite of having become a British Peer.

I think there is a huge amount of jealousy among critics being demonstrated too, though. It's one of the more distasteful characteristics of British people generally - we're instinctively somewhat suspicious and sceptical of people who do make it up the social scale.

 

[Duke-of-Earl]

What will James say? Pippa Middleton steps out with mystery man at Mayfair members club | Mail Online

I really like Pippa and she certainly has no problem attracting posh men