James Middleton (British businessman)

James Middleton
Born James William Middleton
(1987-04-15) 15 April 1987
Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading, Berkshire, England
Education St Andrew's School, Pangbourne
Marlborough College
Edinburgh University
Parents
Family Middleton

James William Middleton (born 15 April 1987)[1] is an English businessman and member of the Middleton family. Middleton's companies include Boomf. He is the younger brother of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.

Personal life

Middleton was born on 15 April 1987 at Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading,[1] the youngest child and only son of Michael Francis Middleton (born 1949), formerly a British Airways flight dispatcher,[2] and Carole Goldsmith (born 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, 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).

Middleton was educated at St Andrew's School, Pangbourne, followed by Marlborough College. He studied for a degree in Environmental Resources Management at Edinburgh University in 2006, but left after one year to start his business.[11][12] He has stated that he is dyslexic and is speaking out to raise awareness about the condition.[13]

Business

Middleton's cake-making business, which is now defunct, was inspired by reading that a mother's baking is a highly evocative childhood memory[11] – he has said that 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".[11] He started baking himself, using the family kitchen, then expanded into a freight container and his business now bakes in converted barns.[11] Birthday cake baking kits are created with themes, which are then distributed through his parents' company, Party Pieces.[11][14]

Themed cakes are baked for companies such as Jigsaw, 3 and Ralph Lauren.[11] Middleton was said to have caused "shudders" at Buckingham Palace after taking part in the Hello magazine photoshoot, making 21 different cakes each was iced with one of the magazine's memorable front pages, including an image of Diana, Princess of Wales.[15] The business has won Smarta 100 and Haines Watts Young Entrepreneur awards.[16]

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.[11][15] These companies are now defunct.

Middleton also co-created Boomf, a company that makes marshmallows with edible pictures on them. It was reported in August 2015 that the company had raised £1 million in funding. In the 2015-16 financial year the company lost £1.2 million, and in the 2016-17 year the company lost a further £2.2 million.[17]

Glen Affric Estate

In September 2018, Middleton was reportedly hosting deer stalking parties at the 10,000 acre Scottish estate of James Matthews, Laird of Glen Affric, Middleton's brother-in-law. Matthews told The Times that Middleton was "a much better host than I am".[18][19][20]

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 King James Version.[21]

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

Arms

References

  1. 1 2 Nicholl, Katie (12 August 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. 1 2 Bradford, Sarah (29 April 2011). "Like the Queen Mother and Diana, Kate has the common touch". London Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 3 May 2011. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  6. ↑ - A Photographic Archive of Leeds, Leodis. "Headingley Castle". Leodis - UK Gov. Leeds. UK Leeds Gov. Retrieved 19 October 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). "The History of Families New and Long Lost: An American Compares Coat of Arms with Kate Middleton's". History News Network. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Zoe Brennan (27 April 2011), "The very ambitious Mr Middleton", Daily Telegraph
  12. ↑ "5 Things You Didn't Know About James Middleton". US Weekly. 28 April 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  13. ↑ "James Middleton finally speaks up for dyslexia". The Telegraph. Retrieved 10 August 2013.
  14. ↑ Jessica Fellowes (1 October 2008), "The 'posh-preneurs' who mean business", Daily Telegraph
  15. 1 2 Eden, Richard (24 April 2011). "Kate Middleton's brother wants a bigger slice of the cake". Telegraph. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  16. ↑ "Family Value: Why Britain can't get too much of brand Middleton". The Independent. 7 May 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  17. ↑ https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/kate-middletons-brother-james-clocks-11162237
  18. ↑ O'Ceallaigh, J. (21 September 2018). "An old dog house and shooting with a Middleton". Daily Telegraph. UK. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  19. ↑ Isaac-Goizé, Tina (21 September 2018). "Glen Affric - World travelers in search of extraordinary destinations, take note: James Middleton has a few ideas for you". Vogue. Retrieved 30 September 2018. He’s a much better host than I am," added James Matthews, Middleton’s brother-in-law, who is the owner (Laird) of Glen Affric. "My wife and I were just up there with friends last weekend; we look forward to offering that adventure and experience to others.
  20. ↑ Vaughan, H. "James Middleton gets hotel job after business losses". The Times (UK) - 1 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018. His (Middleton's) brother-in-law, James Matthews, heir to the Laird of Glen Affric title, has spoken highly of Mr Middleton, adding: 'He’s a much better host than I am.'
  21. ↑ Tim Ross (29 April 2011), "How Kate Middleton's brother risks upsetting the Prince of Wales", Daily Telegraph
  22. ↑ Rayner, Gordon (13 September 2013). "'Middle-class' Duchess of Cambridge's relative wore crown and attended George V's coronation". Daily Telegraph. UK. p. 7. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
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