James William Middleton

James Middleton
Born James William Middleton
15 April 1987
Education St Andrew's School, Pangbourne, Marlborough College, and Edinburgh University
Parent(s)

James William Middleton (born 15 April 1987)[1] is an English businessman and member of the Middleton family. Middleton runs the Cake Kit Company, which make themed cakes and cake-making kits for birthdays and other occasions. He is the brother of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and read the lesson at her wedding to Prince William, Duke of Cambridge.

Personal life

Marlborough College

Middleton was born in 1987 in Reading at the Royal Berkshire Hospital,[1] the youngest child and only son of Michael Francis Middleton (b. 23 June 1949) formerly a British Airways flight dispatcher,[2] and Carole Goldsmith (b. 31 January 1955), formerly flight attendant.[3][4][5] His father came from a long line of solicitors who resided in Leeds, in Yorkshire, and one of James' great-grandmothers, Olive Middleton (1881-1936), was a member of the Lupton family who are described by the City of Leeds archives as "landed gentry; a business and political dynasty".[6][7] Carole Middleton's mother's family were labourers and miners from County Durham.[5][8][9][10] His elder sisters are Catherine Elizabeth (born 1982) and Philippa Charlotte (born 1983).[11]

Middleton was educated at St Andrew's School, Pangbourne, followed by Marlborough College. He started a degree in Environmental Resources Management at Edinburgh University in 2006 but left after one year to start his business.[12][13] He has acknowledged that he is dyslexic and is speaking out to raise awareness about the condition.[14]

Since February 2013, Middleton has been in a relationship with TV presenter Donna Air.[15]

Business

Middleton's cake-making business was inspired by reading that a mother’s baking is a highly evocative childhood memory – he wanted to supply baking kits so home bakers would be able to get all the ingredients in one place for adventurous creations such as "football cakes". He started baking himself, using the family kitchen, then expanded into a freight container and his business now bakes in converted barns. Themed cakes are baked for companies such as Jigsaw, 3 and Ralph Lauren.[12] "The entrepreneur was said to have caused 'shudders' at Buckingham Palace" after taking part in the Hello photoshoot and making 21 different cakes for them. "Each was iced with one of the magazine's memorable front pages, several of them depicting members of the Royal family, including, Diana, Princess of Wales".[16] Birthday cake baking kits are created for the domestic market with themes such as dinosaurs and football, which are then distributed through his parents' company, Party Pieces.[12][17]

Middleton's Cake Kit Company business has been nominated for several awards and won Smarta 100 and Haines Watts Young Entrepreneur awards. In April 2011 he registered three more businesses: Nice Cakes, Nice Wine and Nice Group London and has indicated that he plans to further expand the Cake Kit Company.[12][16]

The Daily Telegraph describes Middleton as a "young entrepreneur" who regularly works 14-hour days.[18]

Middleton also runs Boomf, a company that makes marshmallows with edible pictures on them. In February 2015, Middleton said that "my work focus at the moment is just on Boomf".[19]

Royal connections and ancestry

Middleton read the lesson at the wedding of his sister Catherine to Prince William. This was the Romans chapter 12, verses 1–2 and 9–18. The reading was from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible rather than the traditional Authorized Version of King James.[20] Due to his dyslexia, he had to learn the lesson off by heart, in order to not mix up the words.

Through his father's gentry Lupton lineage, Middleton is descended form Sir Thomas Fairfax (d.1520), whose wife, Agnes Gascoigne, was a descendant of King Edward III.[21] On his mother's side, he is descended from Sir Thomas Conyers, 9th Baronet (1731-1810), himself a descendant of King Edward IV.[22]

Film

In William & Kate, a television movie released on 18 April 2011 about his sister's romance, the part of James Middleton was played by Calvin Goldspink.[23]

Arms

Arms of James William Middleton
Notes
The Arms of James William Middleton are the Arms of his father differenced by a gold label. In heraldry, the label is the mark of the first son.
Escutcheon
Per pale Azure and Gules, a chevron Or, cotised Argent, between three acorns slipped and leaved Or, labeled Or

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Nicholl, Katie (August 12, 2012). "The Other Middleton". GQ (UK). Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  2. ↑ Rayner, Gordon (16 November 2010). "Royal wedding: Kate Middleton's family background". The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  3. ↑ Ancestry of Kate Middleton at wargs.com, accessed 4 January 2011
  4. ↑ Berlau, John (28 April 2011). "The Entrepreneurs' Princess". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Bradford, Sarah (29 April 2011). "Like the Queen Mother and Diana, Kate has the common touch". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  6. ↑ - A Photographic Archive of Leeds, Leodis. "Headingley Castle". Leodis - UK Gov. Leeds. UK Leeds Gov. Retrieved October 19, 2014. The Luptons of Leeds were landed gentry; a political and business dynasty.
  7. ↑ The Leeds connection in Yorkshire Evening Post
  8. ↑ Duncan, Pearl (24 April 2011). "http://www.hnn.us/articles/138656.html". History News Network. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  9. ↑ Marquand, Robert (29 April 2011). "Royal wedding: Kate Middleton makes history as she walks down the aisle". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  10. ↑ "Kate Middleton's relatives revealed - the postman, the fishmonger and the burlesque dancer". Now Magazine. 12 May 2011. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  11. ↑ Party Pieces Princess in News of the World (21 November 2010), pg. 4
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Zoe Brennan (27 Apr 2011), "The very ambitious Mr Middleton", Daily Telegraph
  13. ↑ "5 Things You Didn't Know About James Middleton". US Weekly. 28 April 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  14. ↑ "James Middleton finally speaks up for dyslexia". The Telegraph. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  15. ↑ http://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/yes-we-are-an-item-james-middleton-and-donna-air-go-public-8589263.html
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Eden, Richard (24 April 2011). "Kate Middleton's brother wants a bigger slice of the cake". Telegraph. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  17. ↑ Jessica Fellowes (1 October 2008), "The 'posh-preneurs' who mean business", Daily Telegraph |chapter= ignored (help)
  18. ↑ Bingham, John (2011-05-01). "Royal wedding: back to reality for the Middleton family". telegraph.co.uk (London: Telegraph Media Group Limited). Retrieved 2011-05-08. [...] young entrepreneur [...] who regularly works 14[-]hour[...] days [...]
  19. ↑ Sebastian, Shakespeare (2 February 2015). "Kate's brother fails to find the recipe for cake success: James closes two firms and a wine business". Daily Mail. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  20. ↑ Tim Ross (29 Apr 2011), "How Kate Middleton's brother risks upsetting the Prince of Wales", Daily Telegraph
  21. ↑ Rayner, Gordon. "'Middle-class' Duchess of Cambridge's relative wore crown and attended George V's coronation". UK Daily Telegraph, Page 7, September 13, 2013. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  22. ↑ London, Bianca. "Kate is a Brummie! Historian discovers the Duchess of Cambridge is descended from Birmingham's most notable families". UK Daily Mail, June 3rd, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2014. Middleton's mother Carole is many times great granddaughter of (Edward IV - through Sir Thomas Conyers - and thus) Edward III
  23. ↑ William and Kate at imdb.com, accessed 19 February 2011

External links