Pippa Middleton plans to rip up the extensive grounds of her Berkshire estate

It’s incredibly funny to me that Pippa Middleton actually has the life which her sister wanted for herself. Pippa married James Matthews, someone terribly moderately wealthy (if not terribly rich) and James treats Pippa like a queen. Their first home together was a massive London townhouse, and now they’ve moved into their elite country home in Berkshire. It’s a massive estate and a historic (although modernized) mansion, the perfect place for Pippa to raise her three children (Grace, Rose and Arthur). Pippa also completed her masters last year, earning a degree in (gulp) early childhood physical education. Pippa IS the credible early years expert on top of everything else. As for this massive estate, according to Eden Confidential, Pippa and TMW James are redoing the grounds:

Pippa Middleton is determined to make a splash at the country home she and her husband, James Matthews, bought for £15 million. I can disclose that the Princess of Wales’s sister plans to dig up the massive walled garden where the previous owner lovingly cultivated fruit and vegetables.

In its place, Pippa, 39, and investment banker Matthews, 47, want to install a huge outdoor swimming pool. At 82 ft x 19 ft, it would be more than twice the size of a typical private pool and the same size as those at her two local leisure centres in the Royal County of Berkshire. Next to their pool, the lawn will be dug up and replaced with a tennis court.

While Catherine presides over manicured grass courts as patron of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, her sister intends to install one made of AstroTurf fake grass, ‘to enable safe playing conditions all year round’. The kitchen garden’s potting shed will be converted into changing rooms.

I disclosed in July that the couple, who married in 2017 and have three young children, had bought the 32-room Georgian mansion set in 150 acres. They need planning permission because the walled garden and main house are Grade II-listed and lie in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and near ancient woodland.

‘Ownership of [the house] has recently changed hands and the new owner is seeking to evolve and identify a new use for the expansive walled garden site,’ their planning agent said in documents submitted to the local council just before Christmas.

[From The Daily Mail]

I’m sure the aristocrats will find it terribly gauche that Pippa and James plan to dig up what sounds like a lovely kitchen garden. And all for an Olympic-sized pool? AND a tennis court? Granted, this estate is 150 acres, so they have the space for all of this. I also feel like Pippa will regret putting in the astroturf grass – that sh-t is so bad, most professional athletes refuse to play any sport on it. Surely a hard court might be better? Anyway, it’s just a reminder that Kate also did a full renovation of Anmer Hall, which included moving the tennis court, ripping out the gorgeous kitchen and putting up huge privacy trees and more. It was always unclear who paid for what with the Anmer Hall reno, but in Pippa’s case, her rich husband is financing this project. I bet she wants the pool done in time for summer.

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