ReverendNickWynne-Jonesandhiswife
HarrietnotonlypresidedoverPippa’s
marriagetoherhusbandJamesinfrontof
300 guests– includingKate,William,Prince
Harry, andtennisiconRogerFederer– at
thejaw-dropping12thcenturyStMark’s
ChurchinnearbyEnglefield,theyalsohost
MikeandCaroleattheirSundayservice
almosteachweek.
“Sometimes,shebringsthechildren,”
revealsHarriet,whoaddsthatGeorgeand
Charlotteare‘incrediblywellmannered’.
Rev.Wynneadmittedthatofficiatinga
weddingofthatmagnitudewas‘quite
something’.
“Wehaven’teverhad 300 peopleinhere
[beforePippa’s wedding],”hesayswitha
smile.
Harriet,speakingtousonMay 19 justafter
theirregularservice,adds:“Carole’sinhere
asmuchaspossible,butyoucangoa few
weekswithoutseeingher.Thatweekend
shewasata wedding[LadyGabriella
Windsor’smarriagetoThomasKingston
atWindsorCastle],andsometimes,she
can’tcomebecauseshe’swiththequeen.
Carole’sdelightful.[SheandMike]arejust
likeyouandI.”
LocalssayCaroleandMike,whorunmulti-
million-dollarcompanyPartyPiecesfrom
anoldconvertedbarnjusta fewkilometres
fromBucklebury,areoftenseenthe
BladeboneInn,theBull’sHead,andthe
CottageInn,where,accordingtoonebarfly,
“They’llgiveyoua waveandsayhello,but
theydokeeptothemselves.Youcan’treally
blamethem.”
CaroleandMichaeltradedupontheir
modestvillagehomein 2012 fortheir
currentresidence,thegrade-IIlisted
seven-bedroomhometheypickedupfor
£4.7-million(R86-million).They’vesince
addedsleepingquartersforroyalprotection
officersforwhentheirdaughterandson-in-
lawmaketheirextremelyfrequentvisits.
A neighbour,who’saskedtoremain
anonymous,says:“Youalwaysknow
whenKateandWilliamandthekidsare
visiting,becauseroyalprotectionofficers
patrolthestreetsandsitattheendsofthe
Middletons’road.It musthavebeena real
changeinlifestyleforthem,giventheir
modestbeginnings.”
ButonethingCaroleandMichael– who
formerlyworkedintheairlineindustry
beforelaunchingPartyPieces,nowthought
tobeworthmorethan£40-million(R730-
million)– haven’ttroubledthemselveswith
sincetheirdaughtermarrieda princein
2011 is mundaneerrands.
A shopkeeperatthelocalfarm-freshstore
Cobb’sinnearbyBradfieldexplainsthat
Caroleusedtofrequenta localbutcher
anddoherownshopping,butrecently
localsspeculatethatshe’shireda personal
assistanttostockherkitchen.
“Alotoftheownersofthebighouses
aroundheredothat,”shesays.
WhilemanyBuckleburyresidentsareproud
to speak aboutKate, there are some whohavemadeanagreementwithsecurity-
consciousCarolenevertospeakpublicly
abouttheirroyalconnections.
ThisincludestheShingadiafamily,whorun
theSparjusta shortdrivefromMiddleton
Manor.ShopkeeperHasmukhwasinvited
toKateandWilliam’s weddingasa gesture
oftheirparents’gratitudeforyearsofbeing
theirlocalcornerstore.
Whenaskedbypeopleif thefamilystopsby
forsupplies,fellowfamilymemberRajsays:
“Mybrotherwasinvitedtothewedding,
buthe’snothere.Theydocomeinhere,
butI’mnotallowedtotellyouanymore.”
Whilemanyareeithertight-lippedor
complimentaryabouttheirmostfamous
residents,somearedownrightopposedto
theMiddletonsandtheirroyalconnection.
FlowersalesmanTerryAllwood,66,who
hasliveddowntheroadfromthefamily
for 15 monthsandsellspottedfloralseach
dayonthemainthoroughfare,is annoyed
bythefamilybecause‘therearetoomany
hangers-onwhenthey’reintown’.
“Ithinkwhenthequeendies,thatshould
betheendofit [theroyals],”hesays.“I
wasa bigsupporterofDianabutit’sgone
downhillsincewelosther.TheMiddletons
arealright,butyouknowthey’realways
lookingovertheirshoulder.I likeKatebutI
don’tthinksheshouldbequeenyet.She’s
notmatureenoughyet.Youdon’tseeher
enough.I likeDianabecauseshewasout
therewithherpeopleallthetime,butyou
hardlyeverseeKate.”
Even if there are a few locals with ananti-royalsentiment,there’snodenying
thetownofBuckleburyenthusiastically
celebratesandprotectstheirmostfamous
daughter.
Enteringthedistrictfromtheeast,
travelersaregreetedwithtwowooden
poststoppedwithacornscommemorating
herweddingtoWilliam.
Andwhilevillagersmighthavetodeal
withtheunsettlingpresenceoflooming
royalprotectionofficers,mostagreethat
it’sworthit tohaveKateandWilliamand
theirkidsfeellikea normal,happyBritish
family.
“YouknowwhenKateandWilliamare
cominginforlunchbecausetheirsecurity
arrivefirst.I’monfirst-namebasiswith
theheadoftheirdetail,”saysAndreat
TheOldBoot.“Theydon’texpectspecial
treatment;theyjustcomein,discreetly
checktheplaceout,andsitdown.The
Middletonsdon’tbooktablesinadvance,
theyjustturnup.Rebecca(mygirlfriend)
andI trytogetaroundandseeevery
personwhocomesinandgreetthem,
andit is a littleweirdtogooutsideand
seeKateplayingwiththekids.It’shardto
knowwhattosaywhenyougoandtalkto
William, buthe’sveryfriendly.I thinkthey
likecomingherebecausepeopleleave
themalone.Noonebothersthemorasks
forselfiesoranythinglikethat.Onetime
wehada coach[bus]fullofDutchtourists
outtherewiththemandnooneeven
knewwhotheywere,becausethey just
look like an ordinary family.”The Old Boot InnTerry Allwood The Shingadia SparSOURCE: PAN MEDIA / PICS: PANMEDIA/ GREATSTOCK / MAGAZINE FEATURES