A little more than six years ago, Pippa Middleton became the “ultimate bridesmaid” at her big sister Kate’s wedding, in a form-fitting dress that showed off her pert derriere to the world.
Now the 33-year-old socialite — dubbed Her Royal Hotness after her appearance at the Westminster Abbey nuptials — is getting married Saturday. She will tie the knot with a 41-year-old financier and aristocrat, James Matthews, at a picturesque church in rural England.
A media frenzy surrounds Pippa’s wedding, even if it can’t compare to Kate’s exchanging vows with Prince William in April 2011. Every detail is being pored over by the British newspapers — from the $140,000 glass marquee built at the Middletons’ home for the reception to the so-called “Leg School” in London where the “gym-rat” bride has been toning her gams.
“It’s big news that the sister of our future queen is walking down the aisle,” royal biographer Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, tells The Post.
“[Pippa’s] parents are throwing an over-the-top celebration that will be the upper-class equivalent of a Posh and Becks’ wedding,” said Seward, referring to the 1999 union of soccer superstar David Beckham and ex-Spice Girl Victoria “Posh” Adams. “They are really giving it their all.”
Neither the bride nor groom is a royal, but the blockbuster event boasts plenty of blue bloods. Thirty-five-year-old Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, is expected to give a reading while her 34-year-old husband, William, Duke of Cambridge — second in line to the throne — tops the VIP guest list. William and Kate’s children will also take part: Prince George, 3, will be the page boy and Princess Charlotte, 2, one of two tiny bridesmaids.
Another guest of honor is William’s younger brother, Prince Harry, 32, attending with his girlfriend of 12 months, American actress Meghan Markle, 35. Pippa reportedly made an exception to her “no ring, no bring” rule (whereby only engaged partners are invited) so that the star of TV’s “Suits” could be there. This will further cement Meghan’s relationship with Harry and fuel rumors of an upcoming marriage to the dashing Afghanistan war veteran.
As at many weddings, a certain amount of choreography is expected for the sake of protocol.
“I don’t think for one moment that Meghan Markle will be going to the church service,” Seward says. “If she has any sense at all, she will tell Harry, ‘No way am I going to do that.’ It would be totally unfair on the bride to upstage her by being photographed at the church with Harry.”
Others, however, including UK Sun royal reporter Emily Andrews, expect Meghan to slip into the church through a back entrance to avoid attention.
Pippa’s own love story began as long ago as 2007, when she vacationed in St. Barth’s with her family and met Matthews. He is the eldest son and heir of car dealer-turned-hotelier David Matthews, the Laird of Glen Affric. Matthews Sr. bought the title — which indicates entry into the Scottish gentry — when he purchased a 100,000-acre Scottish Highlands estate in 2008. Following James’ inheritance of his father’s lairdship, Pippa will be given the title of Lady Glen Affric.
She was in a relationship at the time, but the pair stayed in touch and briefly dated in 2012.
Best-selling author Katie Nicholl, a former royal correspondent whose books include “Kate: The Future Queen,” says, “James knew Pippa was The One from the moment he set eyes on her, but Pippa was taken and he had to bide his time.”
Pippa would go on to have a three-year relationship with a stockbroker before reuniting with Matthews in 2015. Within a year, he proposed to her with a $318,000 engagement ring.
According to a friend, who spoke to The Post on condition of anonymity, Matthews earned the nickname “The Campaigner” in their circle “because he wooed Pippa for a decade.”
Another source close to the Middleton family says: “He was someone whom Pippa once dated and maybe she thought she could do better. But then she decided she couldn’t.”
Nonetheless, the pair appears happy. Says Nichol, “It’s a real romance — he adores her and, by all accounts, she is very in love and looking forward to being Mrs. Matthews.”
Matthews, who owns a $22 million house in London and a private jet, can certainly afford to keep Pippa in the manner to which she has become accustomed. Until now, she had been largely financed by her wealthy parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, a k a The Bank of Mum and Dad. The parents run a successful online party supply business called Party Pieces.
Although their roots are working- and middle-class, the Middletons’ amassed fortune has given their children access to rarefied circles: Kate met William at the University of St. Andrew’s, while Pippa attended the posh boarding school Marlborough College. Carole, a former air hostess, has been ridiculed by British snobs as a social climber.
As Seward points out, “Pippa hasn’t really done anything, except be Pippa Middleton.”
That said, in 2012, she was paid a $560,000 advance by Penguin Books to write a guide to party planning.
Titled “Celebrate,” it was widely mocked for stating the obvious, such as cooling drinks by adding ice.
The lively brunette later went on to make short-lived contributions to upscale publications, such as the UK’s Spectator, Vanity Fair, The Sunday Telegraph and the supermarket magazine Waitrose. It’s also claimed she was considered for a States-side role of roving reporter for NBC.
“Unfortunately, she’s not really qualified for anything,” says Victoria Arbiter, royal contributor for CNN and the daughter of Queen Elizabeth’s former press secretary, Dickie Arbiter. “Her writing career tanked and she was rumored to be pseudo-auditioning for the ‘Today’ show, but that came to nothing.
“But now, she is marrying a multi-gazillionaire and will never have to worry about money for the rest of her life.”
Also in Pippa’s favor is her improved public image. The party lover was criticized for her commercial ventures and, in 2012, was pictured in a sports car with an upper-crust friend wielding a gun at photographers.
She has embraced philanthropy, too, taking part in swimming and cycling races around the world for charity.
“She has achieved some amazing athletic feats and raised a fair amount of money,” says Arbiter. “When you look at the Kim Kardashians and Paris Hiltons of this world who use their positions for their own personal gain, she is someone to be admired.”
Carole and Michael Middleton want their younger daughter to be the star of her estimated $650,000 wedding. It starts at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at St. Mark’s Church, six miles from the bridal family’s $9 million Georgian manor set on 18 acres in Bucklebury, Berkshire.
There has been much speculation about Pippa’s wedding dress, a $130,000 creation from high-society designer Giles Deacon. Insiders say she has gotten in shape for her big day by working out at the exclusive $70,000-a-year Grace Belgravia gym, called “Leg School for the Stars,” because the club, in Knightsbridge, London, promises to create the perfect Hollywood pins.
Some 150 guests — including Pippa’s fellow alumni from Edinburgh University — will pack the small, 12th-century venue before a champagne toast at a nearby stately home.
Members of the public who are parishioners of the church also have the right to attend. A lunch reception follows at the Middletons’ home, held inside a 140-foot-long “crystal palace” shipped from Belgium.
“No common or garden canvas tents for Pippa,” quips Arbiter.
In line with British tradition, speeches will be delivered by Matthews, father Michael Middleton and best man Spencer Matthews, the groom’s bad-boy younger brother, who has boasted of bedding more than 1,000 women.
Former steroid addict Spencer, 27, who appeared on the popular UK reality TV show “Made In Chelsea” in 2011, has apparently been warned to tone down his ribald speech in front of the royals.
As for Pippa’s sister, Kate, last week she expressed concern at a Buckingham Palace garden party that her kids might misbehave, especially at the church. But she is delighted George and Charlotte have such important roles in the ceremony — especially since she can’t be a bridesmaid or maid of honor herself.
“Kate is the future queen and she would never proceed behind someone in a service-type role,” explains Arbiter, referring to British custom of the wedding party following the bride down the aisle. “It wouldn’t be fitting for her position.
“But even if she were in the wedding party, the comparisons would be ridiculous.
“How could even Kate compete with the most famous bridesmaid on the planet?”