Kate and Pippa Middleton

[hellosally]

I'm reading about Pippa's new £15 million home and another pregnancy. I am sure both sisters are lovely people but looking at their lives, it seems like neither ever had any intention of working and used school and university to get themselves mixing in affluent circles to bag a wealthy man to fund their lifestyles.
Do people like this still really exist? I know we all have choices but at times in my life when I have mixed in more affluent circles in university and London, men would spot gold diggers and women who would need to be financially supported a mile off and would not contemplate taking them seriously. I dont know any women who havent have some kind of career or any men that want someone who hasnt worked.
is there anyone bringing up their daughters(or sons) like this in this day and age? would you bankroll them if it all went wrong? just curious.

Like Bridgerton.

I don't know if ''sorry'' for her is the right word but I remember thinking, she was just trying to find her path, find her man (all very normal) and the palace had slapped down her cookery book, perhaps fair enough) but she was treading a difficult tightrope, she had to marry somebody posh enough not to embarrass her sister, but not so posh they'd accuse her of social climbing. And she also had to quite like them presumably. I think Pippa Middleton had a tightrope walk to navigate there. She pulled it all together in the end.

*who likes to talk a lot

It's very patronising to PM and misogynistic to Carole to say that ''they'' found James. Like Pippa had less say in that than her mother.

I went to a posh private school - virtually none of my contemporaries are SAHM and the couple that are had careers beforehand that they will go back to. I don't know anyone who just hung out looking for a husband in their 20s. The Middleton sisters are unusual even within that demographic I think.

Even Beatrice and Eugenie were more career minded!

@PinguIglu
yes I also know a couple of guys who married into family money. One is now a ‘writer’ - actually he’s a really good writer but doesn’t make much money from his books as they’re quite niche. Definitely not enough for their lifestyle - nice detached house in London suburb, kids in private schools etc. - the money comes from his wife’s family. She’s also a writer (similar - doesn’t make any money). But it gives them something to say when asked what they do for a living. It’s quite frowned upon to just say ‘I live off my inheritance’ somehow 😂

He's now living in the countryside breeding cocker spaniel... Would love his lifestyle too! He's literally living my dream!

So much jealousy and spite. It's up to them how they live their lives. Kate certainly does have a job, one most of us would hate. I couldn't do it for any amount of money. Pippa has two children already and is pregnant. If she can afford to be at home with them, why shouldn't she?

@WeAreGoingOnASummerHoliday I find it appalling that SAHDs are applauded whilst SAHMs aren’t. I don’t like it when there is a level of superiority coming from working Mums or stay at home Mums, but I do think it’s very difficult women being stuck in catch-22 situations so often.

What an incredibly bitchy post. Did it make you feel good about yourself OP?

Do you not know any SAHMs?

I think that the problem is when you try to discuss something like this people somehow think it’s a stark choice when it isn’t like that. It’s more what you are brought up with as normal and what to expect.

On the flip side, I have known young women who have ‘known’ (again, subconsciously I think) that getting pregnant young is probably their best move.

@Classicblunder And not everyone can be or wants to be career-minded! Each to their own. I think it’s incumbent on us as women to support women who are free to make their own life choices and decisions. Why should we race to put ourselves down?

This thing about being social engineering or something of that ilk doesn’t sit well with me. Pippa and Kate already have a wealthy background so they already had a different social circle from the get go. I think it seems unfair to tar Kate’s mother as a Mrs Bennet wanna-be.

All of this in spades.

Didn’t Kate go and work in her family business when she started getting hounded by the press so they could protect her? I work in my family business and I’m not lazy! Obviously her life is different now she married into the Windsor family but saying she’s never worked isn’t fair, no one knows how hard she used to work as her family like every family would protect and support her

@JenniferBarkley
But James Middleton did try very hard with various business ideas to get rich too. And the Middleton name got him loads of investment for his marshmallow business which ultimately went bankrupt.
He admitted that he was never very academic so careers like investment banker, barrister etc were never an option for him. But I do admire how he has been very honest and open about his mental health struggles and he seems to have found his way now.

“How do you pass a degree with a distinction and how do you know that?”

masters degrees are often pass, merit or distinction. I only ever got merits in mine so if she has got a distinction she’s done very well.

id quite fancy Pippa’s life- not Kate’s though. Being wealthy enough to not have to work must being a degree of freedom. There are plenty of people around who have a huge amount of financial security and that buys choices. My husband went to uni with a girl whose graduation present was a Notting hill flat. Instead of doing the typical flat hunting game that most new grads do when moving to the city she just moved into her £800k flat which is probably worth about £3-4 million. It sure what she’s doing now (will look her up later) but I’ll be amazed if she’s working still.

I do think there are women like this spent a couple of decades in big 4 accountancy firms. Every year amongst the grads there were a some of the new starters who were clearly there to find rich husbands. Some went for the grad most likely to make partner, others cut out the uncertainty and just went straight to the partner who had already made it!

Of course the men who participate generally do the extremely predictable, trophy wife, pay for kids to go through private school, ponies, dancing etc etc. bloke has several affairs, runs off with whoever is currently on call when the carousel stops and kids have finished school/university. Woman left alone with no career bloke left with young woman tied to his hip because she knows exactly what type of bloke he is and is petrified of losing her cash cow once bloke realises. It would be quite funny to watch in its boring predictability if so many people weren’t hurt.

At the RG university I work at, masters degrees are graded Pass With Distinction for marks over 70 percent. It's the post-grad equivalent of a first. As to how anyone would know, our graduation lists are available to download so anyone can see people's qualification and classification.

Do you see how bitchy your post is?

I’d happily give up work and be a lady who lunches. If a man wants to go out and earn or live of his parents wealth them so be it. Good luck to you all of your in the same boat.

Good luck to them, wouldn’t want their lives, especially Catherine’s. All that smiling, waving, meeting & greeting, looking perfect all the time, I don’t think I could do it, if I am fed up, it shows 😂

I teach STEM subject in a RG university and I agree. They are really hardworking and ambitious and it's been very exciting following early-career alumnae as they forge careers in academia and industry. Many of them come and inspire current students on things like IWD, alumni meet ups, career talks, AMA etc and I don't think Kate or Pippa even enter their consciousness.

I wouldn't have wanted Kate or Pippa's lives, or husbands, though. Some of the money wouldn't go amiss, but I'd keep anonymous ...

As I said her upthread ex prior to William was Rupert Finch who married Lady Natasha Rufus Iassacs (also very beautiful) so these are the circles the girls were part of. Rupert is a very successful city lawyer so she would have had a lovely life had they married also..
I think people forget the middleton family were never "one of us", they were extremely wealthy & used their wealth to give their three children the best education possible. Carol was propably your typical middle class mother, ambitious & aspirational for her children. Our nearby schools are full of mom's like that, Carol was no different..

Exactly, pot kettle black isn't it? Some posters on here never cease to amaze me.