Pippa Middleton skipped her sister’s Together at Christmas concert on Friday. A lot of people skipped – Beatrice, Eugenie, Charles, Camilla, Edward and on and on. Pippa’s absence was notable because she’s always attended in the past, and because there have been rumors circulating for the better part of two years that Pippa and Kate are on the outs, or that Pippa is distancing herself from the Middletons. For what it’s worth, I don’t think Pippa and Kate have truly fallen out, but I do think Pippa is less interested in being attached to the “En Masse Middletons” posse at this point in her life. So where was Pippa during her sister’s big boring concert? Abu Dhabi.
Pippa Middleton has made a stylish appearance in a £475 dress at a star-studded event abroad, a day after missing out on her sister’s annual Christmas carol concert. Pippa was spotted keeping it low-key in Abu Dhabi on 6 December for a date at the Formula One Grand Prix with her husband James Matthews, who is a former racing driver and on the Board of Directors at Williams Racing.
After avoiding cameras during the day, the 42-year-old was later seen with her husband in the F1 paddock, opting for an understated designer look for her race day outing. Pippa looked effortlessly put together in a white lace sundress with a matching chunky belt from London-based label, Saloni – a designer she previously wore for her sister Kate’s annual carol service two years ago in 2023.
According to Royal British Fashion, Pippa paired her look with what appeared to be her £595 tan leather ‘Mabel’ bag by Emmy London, which she took to a Grand Prix earlier this year, and a gold necklace from Tilly Sveaas Jewellery.
I didn’t realize that Terribly Moderately Wealthy James Matthews is still so involved with Formula One. He’s on the board of Williams Racing? That’s a pretty big deal. Anyway, I don’t blame Pippa for skipping the concert. We’ll probably see more of that in the coming years – Pippa really peeling off from the Middletons and doing her own thing. I also think we’ll see more and more people skip Kate’s concert in the coming years too. It really feels like this event is just limping along.
I’m including a tweet with Pippa-in-Abu-Dhabi below, as well as photos of the Middletons preening around Kate’s concert.
Pippa Matthews is attending the Abu Dhabi GP, pictured here with her husband yesterday.
📸 Sky Sports F1 pic.twitter.com/f1Z6sO8UQK
— ChristinZ (@ChristinsQueens) December 7, 2025
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images.
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- James Middleton and Alizee Thevenet (left) and Michael and Carole Middleton arrive for the Together At Christmas carol service at Westminster Abbey in London. Picture date: Friday December 5, 2025.,Image: 1056828140, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Aaron Chown/Avalon
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- LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 05: Michael Middleton and Carole Middleton depart from the ‘Together At Christmas’ Carol Service at Westminster Abbey on December 05, 2025 in London, England. Led by The Princess and supported by The Royal Foundation, the annual event offered a chance to pause and reflect on the values of love, compassion, and the connections we share. The service also highlighted remarkable individuals from across the UK who have demonstrated extraordinary kindness, empathy, and support within their communities.,Image: 1056828449, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Chris Jackson/Avalon
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- London, UNITED KINGDOM – Pippa Middleton attends the Heart Hero Awards 2023 in London. Pictured: Pippa Middleton BACKGRID USA 6 DECEMBER 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- London, UNITED KINGDOM – Pippa Middleton attends The Heart Hero Awards in London. Pictured: Pippa Middleton BACKGRID USA 6 DECEMBER 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- London, UNITED KINGDOM Members of the royal family and VIP guests arrive at Westminster Abbey, ahead of the ‘Together At Christmas’ carol service spearheaded by The Princess of Wales. Pictured: Michael Middleton, Carole Middleton BACKGRID USA 5 DECEMBER 2025 BYLINE MUST READ: Zak Hussein / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- London, UNITED KINGDOM Members of the royal family and VIP guests arrive at Westminster Abbey, ahead of the ‘Together At Christmas’ carol service spearheaded by The Princess of Wales. Pictured: Michael Middleton, Carole Middleton BACKGRID USA 5 DECEMBER 2025 BYLINE MUST READ: Zak Hussein / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Together At Christmas carol service at Westminster Abbey Featuring: Pippa Middleton Where: London, United Kingdom When: 06 Dec 2024 Credit: Cover Images
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- Together At Christmas carol service at Westminster Abbey Featuring: Alizee Thevenet and James Middleton Where: London, United Kingdom When: 05 Dec 2025 Credit: Chris Jackson/PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
Pippa has the life Kate wanted.
That’s all I have.
I agree. Pippa went and got a masters (I thought it was in something to do with children but it looks like something to do with sport? I don’t really get it…) which Kate should consider. You would hope she’d try and get some credentials in childhood development, god knows she’s got the time to study.
I do think that, paradoxically, Kate could not have had Pippa’s life because Pippa needed for Kate to be married to William to put her on the radar of the man she *did*marry. That’s my assumption with James as well, since it’s his wife who has the money and decent career.
That’s why I roll my eyes at the ‘how dare you still call her Kate Middleton!’ crowd. It only benefits every other Middleton (note Pippa is still called Middleton by everyone despite her marriage) to remind people they are related to Kate.
I consider Kate like a daughter whose happiness and mental wellbeing is sacrificed so the rest of the family can prosper. Like a Cersei Lannister, Anne Boleyn or Britney Spears (but only in the narrow sense of being the family ‘breadwinner’!)
I could be wrong, the fact is, I don’t know the kind of man other girls *like* Pippa normally marry. Maybe they do still marry the James Matthews of this world but I can’t help but think, and it’s not even because the UK is particularly rank obsessed but just that she had name recognition, that it helped. I’m sure they were acting like she was a super eligible bachelorette for a while there and they certainly did launder her families finances to make it seem like they couldn’t possibly be fortune hunters….
I would also like to be somewhere else that is warm instead of a damp church with all the fakery of the Middletons. Abu Dhabi Grand Prix fits the bill.
If she has had therapy along with James, then some of Carole’s traits may have become impossible to ignore, along with the theory of the ‘golden child’.
She definitely got the best marital deal, and so have her children.
I wonder how long Alizee will stick it out. Poor thing never looks happy. But then, one can’t imagine a wealthy young lady wearing Carole’s cast off for her own wedding. Is that the height of narcissism? On your own son’s wedding day?
I was thinking something similar. I wonder if Pippa was the one who put in all the effort to not be the problem child, to support her sister and then realized there is no support for her and she went out and created her own life.
Whatever hairstylist Pippa is going to, Kate should go to too.
Totally agree. Pippa’s hair looks shiny and healthy. Did you notice Ma Mids is not wearing her wedding rings again?
Neither Ma or Pa Midds are wearing rings! Interesting…
Although Waity is the more conventionally attractive of the two sisters (Pippa has that same hard face as Ma) Pippa looks so much healthier and thus in my opinion is the better looking of the pair. Not to reduce them to their looks, just an observation. Obviously she is enjoying her life more, even with her less “important” but still terribly moderately wealthy husband.
Don’t underestimate the fact that she is happy, way more happy than her sister.
Kate also got a few surgical interventions that Pippa did not seem to get. In particular her nose as well as her upper eye lids. When they were both in their 20s before Kate got the work done, they resembled each other more.
My 13 year old has gotten really into F1 this year so now I know more about it than I would like (even though I tune a lot of it out.) so we watched it yesterday. It was fine lol.
I dont know if we’ve heard of Pippa attending any other F1 races so it seems interesting to me that she went to this one which meant missing the concert. Maybe because it was the final and there was a close race for the title? Or maybe she thought “you know what yes the timing is perfect.”
Go to a race, that’s all it took for me to become a fan. It truly is an experience if you ever get a chance.
Maybe she has and it was just never covered. This time it was revealed in order to show why she wasn’t at the carol concert. But she wouldn’t have gone to this specific race last year…if it was also held during the Christmas concert bc she was there last year.
That’s a genuine work obligation for Pippa. A board seat like that for James is probably as much about Pippa as it James’s racing background. There’s a lot of Middle Eastern royals investing in the various F1 teams and hosting races. The Bahrain sovereign wealth fund owns a big chunk of McLaren, which won the driver’s and constructor’s championships this year.
I’m sure Pippa loves and supports her sister, but her husband’s board seats and such are what keep him moderately wealthy. Pippa ain’t dumb.
Yes! And honestly Williams had an amazing year this year (after a very dismal few years), so it was important for James and Pippa to be at that final race to celebrate with the team
Williams seems to be on the cusp of big things at the moment, end of the year festivities would be important for him. So including her too would be an asset.
Huh. You mean a couple with three young kids can travel across the world for work? Imagine that. 🤔
That concert only happened because she needed something to do that masqueraded as a community event.
Pippa’s husband likes her so this was probably a nice extended date weekend for them. KKKate cannot relate — besides, why go to some fake ass concert when you can rub elbows with the truly rich kids?
Wasn’t Pippa the “spare”? And we know how that goes. Either the spare separates from the firm or they become the family jester. Good on Pippa for choosing door number one.
I mean Pippa is in her forties too with a life and kids, her priorities shouldn’t be doing stuff for her sister instead of her own immediate family. She wasn’t doing a reading or anything, and she’s gone to every other one. In most families this happens where someone can’t come to one event because they have a prior commitment.
As far as them falling out, they probably just aren’t as close as they were when they were younger, if they were even actually all that close then and not just direct competitors to each other. She seems to be living the country wife life that Kate seems to want for herself. She still gets invited to places like Ascot, and if I remember correctly the aristocracy liked her better anyway so I’m sure they still get invited to dinner parties. She’s doing fine.
I could see a falling out about the fact that kkkate stays in a situation that seems very bad for own health, and if it is bad for her, it’s bad for the kids. There is just no two ways about that. And sometimes family members have to separate from the person who refuses to get help.
It’s her husband who’s on the Williams racing board so it wasn’t necessary for her to be in Abu Dhabi. In fact this race took place around the same time last year and she went to the carol concert without her husband. I think something is indeed going on between the two sisters. It’s just interesting that the British press is very silent about it. I guess Pippa can count herself lucky that Kate is not briefing against her in the press. Perhaps Pippa is finding her own identity and doesn’t want to be closely aligned with Kate anymore.
If she has to choose which family member’s event to support, alternating years makes sense, but so does straight up choosing your husband, the father of your children, over your grown ass adult sister with her own husband and kids. Pippa’s also not down for being stage managed by Carol any more,IMO.
Agreed.
Pippa was also papped on vacation in the Caribbean last year while Kate was mysteriously missing. They go to an island that has restricted access and so it was a choice for Pippa to be seen on the beach with her kids. In fact her beach holiday was used as a reason to claim that Kate couldn’t be going through anything too serious if her sister was a continent away.
And then her recent interview where she said Kate has a non traditional illness wasn’t said by mistake.
Whatever is going on, Pippa is doing her own thing.
Back in the #pippatips days, I never imagined I’d be hardcore #teampippa, but what’s not to like? She’s clearly living her best life, earned a graduate degree just for the sake of learning, and is keeping herself removed from family drama but in a low key way. I kinda just wanna high-five her.
Unrelated, but I actually love Alizee’s outfit. She looks cute and stylish.
I love her wholesome look. Cute as a button.
I hate it! She’s too short to carry it off.
I noticed her outfit, too. But at first, I thought I was going to say something snarky about it, but the more I looked at it the more I liked it. I kinda think it is adorable, and it takes some starch to wear it.
It was Karl Lagerfeld who said Pippa should only show her back lol
I thought that was one of the most awful things for a man/ a designer/ a celebrity to say about her, a private citizen. I was disgusted and never looked at him the same way again. he should have been shamed for that comment.
I was happy to hear Jameela Jamil call it out when he was celebrated at the MET gala
“Hollywood and fashion said the quiet part out loud when a lot of famous feminists chose to celebrate at the highest level, a man who was so publicly cruel to women, to fat people, to immigrants and to sexual assault survivors.”
KL has been that for decades, this isn’t new.
Pippa’s hair looks great!
Totally appropriate to be there for her husband who is on the board. I’d also skip out on my sister. It was the final (and exciting!) race of the season, it’s the 75th anniversary of Formula 1 and it’s also been the most successful year for Williams in years! They’ve been really terrible for a long time and as one of the oldest and most successful teams it is great to see. Under the stewardship of the team principle James Vowles and the board there has been a real turnaround and something that everyone wants to celebrate, including Pippa. I can’t see why this is even a thing or that there is something deeper at play.
Yes! this is what I said above. It was important for them to be at that race
More F1 stories, please!!
The Abu Dhabi GP was a big deal this year, the World Drivers Championship went down to the wire. This was also a huge year for Williams Racing, who placed P5 in the constructors. Lots for them to celebrate. In addition, Williams has one of the best looking drivers on the grid (hello, Carlos Sainz!). If I was Pippa, I would have skipped a boring old concert for the race, too!
100% on this! More F1 stories.
As a long suffering Williams fan, this is a massive deal. Sir Frank would be proud.
And yes…Carlos Sainz is dreamy! Aside from that though, he has brought so much to the team already! Can’t wait for next season and the new regs.
Looks like Pippa is just alternating- like millions of families do during the holiday season. The woman certainly has the right to support her own husband. That’s the problem with the royals- they, the most destructive and dysfunctional of families, expect people to put them first.
There is nothing wrong with Pippa accompanying her husband but the race was on Sunday and so it’s not like she couldn’t have done both especially as the Carol event was Friday evening. She just chose not to.
There are so many events leading up to the race itself including qualifying on the Saturday and various dinners etc that will no doubt have been happening. No big deal if she chose not to go to the other event.
I think Pippa is tired of being Kate’s supporting sister. She can go to these F1 events where she is treated well (bc of her royal connections), but she can he the star (ish) on her husband’s arm as opposed to the third or fourth wheel always having to walk behind her sister and the Wales family.
I think it’s interesting that she is wearing relatively affordable clothes and carrying relatively affordable accessories. Not for the average person, but for her? It’s like wearing the cutest dress from the Gap.