It’s been forever since we’ve had any kind of update on Pippa Middleton and Terrible Moderately Wealthy James Matthews! I actually kind of missed hearing about them. Pippa gave birth to their (as of yet) only child Arthur Michael William Matthews in October 2018. The family lives a quiet life in London these days, in a really nice townhouse. Pippa barely does any charity work or any kind of sporty activities (the kind she used to do before she got married). My guess is that Pippa is living Kate’s dream – a rich (or moderately wealthy) husband with zero work expectations. Pippa just gets to be a rich man’s wife and a stay-at-home mom. And now for the update: James and Pippa are looking to buy a little country estate:
An escape to the country might mean a little thatched cottage with roses over the door for most of us, but Pippa Middleton could soon be making a much grander move out of the city – to a 72-acre estate. Pippa and hedge-fund billionaire husband James Matthews are said to be close to buying the land which, handily, is just a stone’s throw from her parents’ £5 million mansion in idyllic Bucklebury, Berkshire.
The couple currently live in a £17 million six-bedroom home in London. The huge countryside site they are said to have their eye on is known as Bucklebury Farm Park and operates as a safari park and petting zoo. Originally on sale at £1.5 million, agents Knight Frank have confirmed it is under offer, but refused to comment further citing client confidentiality. A spokesman for James, 45, and Pippa, 37 – younger sister of the Duchess of Cambridge – described the potential purchase as no more than a ‘business opportunity’ for Mr Matthews, denying the couple had any plans to move there.
But Bucklebury has been awash with speculation ever since Farm Park was put up for sale in October then suddenly withdrawn after less than a week. A villager living in neighbouring Stanford Dingley commented: ‘We heard that the site had been offered to the Middletons before it went on the market.’
And at Bucklebury’s interior design store, Lynda Tillotson said the rumours hadn’t just ‘come out of thin air’. ‘It makes sense that Pippa and James would want to be close. It’s the perfect location for them to build a family home,’ she added.
And it would no doubt delight the Middleton parents, Carole, 65, and Michael, 71, to have Pippa, James and their two-year-old son Arthur on their doorstep. The family home for their other grandchildren – Prince George, seven, Princess Charlotte, five, and two-year-old Prince Louis – is 150 miles away in Norfolk. Current owner of Farm Park is Old Etonian Rupert Hartley-Russell, the son of Bucklebury’s Lord of the Manor, Willie Hartley-Russell. He declined to comment.
I wonder if this is the property with the pot farm?? Probably not, especially since we never learned who owned the building/property where there was a large grow operation, and it was described as “nearby” or “adjacent to” Middleton Manor. I also just doubt that Pippa and James want to be that close to Carole and Mike Middleton. Carole clearly has a favorite daughter and it’s not Pippa, and I just can’t see TMW James wanting to be that close to his in-laws. Plus, his family already has an extensive estate in Scotland, right? Yeah – they own 10,000 acres in Scotland called Glen Affric. And they have that huge hotel in St. Bart’s. Maybe TMW James is financing the Middleton’s pot farm expansion…???
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
That was my first thought! Someone has to run the pot farm!
These girls are helpless without their mother.
Kate def is but I think Pippa is a bit more independent.
Maybe so but is that such a bad thing? I see it more of a blessing – they have such a close-knit family, parents who raised them well and continue to stay in their lives. And what is independence worth if you cannot count on your family?
Raised them well is up for debate. Non of them are independent. It looks to me they were micro managed to the point of dependency. Non of them ever held a job.
I actually do believe the source of that says it’s a business opportunity. People do buy land with one big house, demolish it, build a few more houses on the same land and then sell them. Or it could be their “country getaway” or something.
My parents have passed away and my in-laws are 3 states over. I have young kids and I so wish I lived close to parents. I haven’t had a break or any sort of support this year.
I hear you. I would love to live near my mother.
72 acres? Sounds like it is only a “moderately” large estate.
I mean a petting zoo would require so much upkeep. But I can imagine that they could split the house into smaller cottages and create a sort of escape to the country tour? James would definitely have to approach this from a business perspective.
Pippa seems to really like London life so I would be surprised if they did move to Bucklebury, but maybe this is just in case they change their minds down the road?
Given that both Pippa and her husband are not accepted by aristocracy, I doubt they would want to buy property in the countryside and as it was mentioned they have properties in Scotland and St. Barts that they can go to without having to kow tow to the aristos.
Pippa has such bad taste in clothes.
Yeah I could see them sticking to London and not trying to do the aristo cosplay thing. Especially since they have so many other get-away options, including Middleton Manor! I wonder if they’ll have more kids. I’m kind of surprised that hasn’t happened yet (though of course you never know what the situation is/what struggles they might have on that front).
Pippa is pregnant apparently according to PageSix
Ha I spoke too soon!
Who knows, maybe TMW James and Pippa prefer to have their own space when visiting her family. I could see that. Good for them for not kowtowing the aristos.
Puppy definitely lives the LIFE! And honestly – what has she to show to be so lucky? An average person in every aspect. It’s all about luck in life. She is rich, she is ensconced in a close-knit family, her husband is comfortably boring, AND she doesn’t have to do anything she doesn’t want to do ever. Remember that interview for a TV gig in the US? The one she turned down supposedly because she didn’t want to be so far from home for so long? How many professional women would have jumped at the chance, and would’ve been devastated if they were passed over? But for Pippa it all works out. She is one lucky gal.
Let’s not play revisionist history here. Pippa isn’t particularly charismatic or interesting. People only got interested in her not because her sister is HRH The Duchess of Cambridge but because of her arse. Her interview (was it with Matt Lauer or something?) didn’t leave much to be desired. Hence why she quickly fizzled out after 2012
Her party planning book was a flop. Yes she leads a quiet life but let’s not act like this is what she secretly wanted all along when pap strolls and her attempts at being an aristo are well documented. She’s got a great life now but it’s not the one she wanted.