Pippa and James Middleton were both informed by their older sister of her upcoming engagement to Prince William before the public was officially told later in 2010
Kate, the Princess of Wales gathered her siblings and informed them of her engagement in a very non-royal fashion, her younger brother has revealed.
Princess Kate, 42, became engaged to Prince William, also 42, in 2010, amidst swirling rumours her younger brother, James Middleton, called a “terrific buzz throughout the country”. While the engagement announcement, like any other significant royal engagement, was heavily managed by the Firm, the then-charity worker informed her family of her move days before the public.
James, 37, the youngest of the Princess’ two siblings, has told how in 2010 she sat him and their sister Pippa, 41, down to tell them of the upcoming engagement in public. But both she and her brother and sister were forced to keep things quiet, making the moment that much sweeter.
Writing in a new book, serialised in the Daily Mail, the entrepreneur told how he, Kate and Pippa went out to a “local pub” in a village nearby their home, where the future royal broke the news in hushed tones. He said: “Catherine, Pippa and I go out for a walk with Ella and Tilly to our local pub in a village close to Bucklebury. We sit in a corner, chattering quietly.
“Catherine whispers the news and says it will become public in the next day or so. Pippa and I want to be visibly excited, but we have to tamp down our emotions so no one suspects a thing.” James told how the trio also made a sweet vow in the quiet of the moment nearly 15 years ago.
“We make a quiet acknowledgement that we’ll always be there for each other, look out for one another, support each other. No matter how crazy things get.” James said that, at the time, William had earned his approval, and that he knew the royal was the right man for his older sister.
He said he felt “reassured” in their love, adding: “It was beautiful to see how he brought out her confidence. She’d blossomed. I knew he’d look after her, and he does to this day.” William and Kate proved their long-lasting love in a special video shared last week after it was announced the Princess had finished a round of chemotherapy treatment.
The video, which served as a creative health update for the royal, featured snaps of her and the rest of her family, with the Prince and Princess looking very much besotted with one another. The footage also offered a glimpse of royal life in Norfolk, with the Waleses recently spending time in Anmer Hall.