Pippa’s Secret Life

Pippa Middleton finds herself in the very public eye

Her star continues to climb, but fame has come at a high price for Pippa Middleton, whose racy past has resurfaced in a photo scandal

As maid of honour at the royal wedding, Pippa Middleton almost upstaged the bride, as she navigated the red carpet of Westminster Abbey with the aplomb of a Hollywood veteran. A star was born that idyllic Friday in London, but instant fame has come at a high personal price for Pippa, 27, and the notoriously private Middleton clan.

At first, the attention seemed all in good fun, with a Facebook page dedicated to her bottom and nicknames like “Her Royal Hotness,” but the adoration soon turned into overexposure, as compromising photos from her past resurfaced online: one showing Pippa dancing in her bra with an unidentified man, and others of her brother, James, 23, naked. “The whole family is furious at what they see as a betrayal,” a family friend told Britain’s Sunday Telegraph. “What a letdown for Pippa,” said royals author Andrew Morton. “She must be wondering who leaked them and if she can trust her old friends.” Yet more was to come, with snaps of a topless Pippa on holiday in Ibiza in 2006 splashed across British newspapers.

It’s a rocky time for the close-knit Middletons, who’ll prevail by sticking together, as they have in the past. In 2008, when the British press dubbed them “the Wisteria sisters” in a wink to the plant’s fragrance and rapid climbing skills, Pippa and Kate ignored the catty criticism and leaned on each other. As a friend told WHO: “They are very, very close.”

While the new Duchess of Cambridge hopes to settle into domestic life with her prince, a growing legion of Pippa watchers await her next move. She reportedly plans to launch her own party-planning business, but other opportunities beckon, from the sleazy—starring in an adult film? Unlikely—to the legitimate, with job offers reportedly including public-speaking gigs and endorsement deals. Says royals author Alisande Healy Orme: “She’s a girl who’s not frightened to be seen.”