One of Princess Kate’s Secret Weapons During This Difficult Time? Her Sister, Pippa Middleton Matthews

It was nearly 13 years ago when the world collectively became familiar with Pippa Middleton; as the maid of honor at her older sister Kate’s April 29, 2011, wedding to Prince William, Pippa held the train of Kate’s stunning Alexander McQueen wedding gown up and supported her sister as she walked down the aisle at Westminster Abbey. Now, as Kate battles cancer, Pippa is still holding her sister up and supporting her as she walks through this unexpected health crisis, The Sun reports.

Kate will rely on her younger sister Pippa during this moment in her life, the outlet reports, and royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said the “strong” bond between the two sisters—as well as the rest of their immediate family, parents Michael and Carole Middleton and brother James—will be “absolutely pivotal” to Kate right now.

“We know that she’s [Kate] got a very close and support[ive] family, and secondly, that the support is under the radar,” Fitzwilliams said. “The Middletons are clearly a very, very important part of her and William’s life. At the moment, absolutely pivotal, I would say. We know that there is a tremendously strong bond between her mother [and] her parents, also siblings, and also that they live in close proximity or relatively close proximity. So yes, absolutely, I think that this is important.”

He added “I think the Middletons will be her rock, and they will be also tremendously helpful, and especially regarding the children,” referring to the Prince and Princess of Wales’ three kids, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.

Kate and Pippa, two-and-a-half years apart in age, have always been close, from their childhood to sharing an apartment in London’s fashionable Chelsea in their twenties to Pippa now living not far from Kate’s home, Adelaide Cottage, on the Windsor Estate. (Pippa married James Matthews in 2017, and they share three children themselves, Arthur, Grace, and Rose. The Matthews family lives in Berkshire, where she and Kate spent a significant part of their childhood.)

“Growing up, the sisters bonded over a love of exercise and sport,” The Sun reports. “Both attended Marlborough College where they enjoyed hockey, tennis, and athletics.” Speaking to The Telegraph in 2018, their mother, Carole, said that the girls helped out with the family business, Party Pieces: “Catherine was on the cover of one of the catalogues, blowing out candles,” Carole said. “Later on, she did some styling and set up the First Birthday side of the business. Pippa did the blog. I still value their ideas and opinions.”

When both Kate and Pippa went off to university, both chose to study in Scotland, Kate at the University of St. Andrews and Pippa at Edinburgh. After graduating, they shared a home in Chelsea together, Kate working at Jigsaw and Pippa working in events and public relations. “The pair were often spotted enjoying London’s nightlife and pictured going to the fashionable clubs of the day,” The Sun writes. 

Upon Kate’s engagement to William in 2010 and their subsequent wedding in 2011, “It’s all Kate, Kate, Kate for the moment, because [Pippa is] her closest ally and, genuinely, they are best friends,” a source told The Daily Mail at the time. “But even if they weren’t, Kate would struggle to trust anyone who wasn’t family.”

After Kate’s wedding, Pippa shot to fame, and wrote in the foreward to her 2012 book Celebrate “It’s a bit startling to achieve global recognition before the age of 30 on account of your sister, your brother-in-law, and your bottom. One day I might be able to make sense of this. I certainly have opportunities many can only dream of. But in most ways, I’m a typical girl in her twenties trying to forge a career and represent herself in what can sometimes seem rather strange circumstances.” 

Today, Pippa and her husband James run the Bucklebury Gift and Farm Shop in the Berkshire countryside, near to her £15 million country home. The couple bought the 77-acre site in 2020 with plans to turn it into a commercial enterprise, The Sun reports. “The farm shop is already equipped with a petting zoo, a café, and cabin accommodation for 30 guests [as] well as provision[s] to host birthday parties and tractor rides,” the outlet writes.

Pippa said in 2014 that she and Kate “spend a lot of time together” despite the “pressures” Kate faces: “We still do a lot together as a family and I think that’s really the heart for all of us is having a really close family that we can sort of be normal with each other, treat each other normally,” Pippa said. “And that’s sort of kept us all, you know, affixed to the ground.”

Pippa also said she calls Kate whenever she likes for a bit of “girl talk” and that they have a “normal, sisterly relationship.”

“We’re very close,” Pippa said. “And, you know, we support each other and get each other’s opinions and things.” Of Kate’s wedding—perhaps one of the most watched in this generation—“It sounds funny to say, but we saw it as just a family wedding,” Pippa said. “And actually, I didn’t realize, perhaps, the scale of it until afterwards. We all took on the roles as any family would.”

That continues today. Kate and Pippa frequently attend Wimbledon together, sitting in the Royal Box at the famed tennis tournament; Pippa also regularly attends Kate’s Christmas carol concert at Westminster Abbey each December and now will support her sister as she fights cancer. “The three siblings are incredibly tight,” a source told The Times. “Pippa not only as a sister but as a best friend she can confide in. They are extremely loyal to one another.” 

As Kate continues recovery, sources speaking to The Sun said that Kate will “come back stronger” than ever from this. No doubt Pippa will be by her side through it all.