Pippa Middleton’s Farm Sale Is the Latest Crack in the Middleton Wealth Myth

Pippa Middleton and her husband James Matthews have reportedly sold Bucklebury Farm, the 72-acre petting zoo and family attraction they bought in 2021 for around £1.3 million. By 2025, the business had accumulated a staggering £807,543 in debt, with six-figure losses hitting the venture every single year.

The couple tried everything to salvage the sinking ship. They added glamping tents, a “bunny disco” at Easter, Santa’s grotto, a soft play area, a café, the works. Last year, they submitted plans to build a nursery on the site, arguing it was “essential to securing the farm’s future.” Local highways officials opposed the plan over traffic concerns, and the application was refused.

Local resentment grew alongside the debt. Visitors complained ticket prices “had skyrocketed since 2021,” with one local calling the venture nothing more than “a snooty cash grab.” Another said: “This was a childhood favourite growing up in Berkshire, but since the Middleton takeover, it has become a place of snobbery and middle-class inclusivity.” A representative for the couple has now confirmed they no longer have any ownership or involvement in the site.

Pippa and James attempted to push back, arguing that the “diversification” of the property was “essential to securing the farm’s future, enabling it to remain open to the public and continue offering educational and recreational opportunities for the community”. Despite their impassioned plea, the planning application was refused and their bid to save the farm fell short.

Local opposition to the Middleton involvement in the farm had also increased in recent years, with visitors criticising the increased ticket prices, and one local going so far as to tell the Daily Mail that the scheme was nothing more than a “snooty cash grab”, the local added, “This was a childhood favourite growing up in Berkshire, but since the Middleton takeover it has become a place of snobbery and middle-class inclusivity.”

Although Pippa and James are no longer owners, the farm park remains open for business.

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The bigger picture: a pattern, not a one‑off

Bucklebury Farm is not the first Middleton business venture to end in tears and heavy debt. In 2023, Party Pieces, the party supplies company founded by Carole and Michael Middleton in 1987, collapsed into administration. The firm left creditors £2.6 million short, including £612,685 in unpaid tax and a £218,749 outstanding Covid‑backed loan.

James Middleton’s Boomf, the personalised marshmallow and greetings card business, also entered administration in 2021. It reportedly accumulated almost £2 million in trading losses and left creditors unpaid. James Matthews was among the investors who poured money into Boomf.

The double standard the press refuses to touch

This is not a story about failure. Businesses fail, and that is normal. The scandal is how the British press covers the same set of facts differently when the name changes. If Meghan Sussex or Prince Harry owned a business with six‑figure annual losses, ticket price gouging, angry locals calling it a cash grab, a failed planning dispute and nearly £1 million in debt, would the headlines offer them any sympathy? Would they lead with “passion project” and “reluctant farewell”? We both know the answer.

The British press calls the Sussexes “grifters” for monetising their own fame. They call Meghan “tacky” for launching a lifestyle brand. They accuse Harry of “cashing in” on his royal status for accepting speaking fees. Yet here is a family that built its reputation on being “business‑savvy” and “aspirational”, and the results are a collapsed party business, a failed marshmallow venture, and a petting zoo drowning in debt. Where is the outrage? Or the documentaries? And let’s not forget about the hostile think pieces?

The royal press machine protects its own. The Middletons are palace‑adjacent, and their failures are softened with gentle language: “passion project,” “reluctant farewell,” “difficult trading conditions.” The Sussexes are outsiders, and their successes are twisted into weapons. As long as Kate Middleton remains married to Prince William, her family will keep on being protected by the language of respectability. And that, more than any failed farm, is the real business model.