Pippa Middleton's party plans peeve the Palace as courtiers 'shudder' over
We are not amused: Pippa Middleton's plans for a vibrant young party are alarming the courtiers
Kate Middleton's sister and chief bridesmaid Pippa has put Palace noses out of joint with her arrangements for the post-wedding celebration.
The events organiser, who also works for her parents' online party business, has taken a fortnight off work to oversee final details for her sister.
But her enthusiasm for the task has seen her at loggerheads with Buckingham Palace staff over both the catering and what sources say is her determination to introduce a younger atmosphere to the royal couple's evening reception.
In particular, courtiers are said to have shuddered over her suggestion to erect glitter balls in the throne room where a post-wedding breakfast disco is going to be held. In the end, Pippa won the day.
Pippa, 27, Kate's younger but more vivacious sister, works three days a week for leading party planning organisers Table Talk.
The other two days she writes an online magazine on party planning for her parents' website, Party Pieces.
She has been utilising her company connections to help organise every last detail of the party being thrown on Friday evening for 300 of William and Kate's closest friends and has even arranged for her boss at Table Talk, JoJo Browner, to work behind the scenes at Buckingham Palace on the big day.
The source said: 'Pippa has taken two weeks leave from her job at Table Talk spend time with Kate and take full control of organising the wedding reception.
'Before she left she sat down with her boss, JoJo, and went through every last detail with a fine-tooth comb. They have organised everything from the flowers to the napkins and even helped chose the menu.
'Originally they wanted to use their own caterer, but then Prince Charles, who is funding the entertainment, stepped in and demanded they use his favourite, Mosimann's.
'It didn't go down well with the caterers Kate and her sister were intent on using, but there was nothing they could do.
CAROLE'S LAST MINUTE SALE
Kate Middleton’s parents have launched a last-minute sales drive to sell paraphernalia for royal wedding street parties.
An article singing the praises of the ‘traditional British streetparty’ has been posted on the website of Party Pieces, the business set up by Miss Middleton’s mother Carole in 1987.
It has online links to products such as themed bunting, platters and flags for canapes.
The article deliberately avoids mentioning Friday’s wedding, simply urging readers to organise ‘a traditional British street party’ to ‘celebrate the arrival of spring’.
But its appearance just four days before the wedding will inevitably invite criticism that they are trying to cash in on the marriage.
'Pippa's choice of turning the throne room into a nightclub set-up also went down like a lead balloon with Palace aides, who tried to have it stopped.
'But William stepped in and insisted that he wanted the evening event to be very different from the formal champagne and canapé reception being thrown by the Queen immediately after the wedding.
'He wants to it be very young and cool, so the old guard caved in and gave their approval.'
According to one well-placed source, Pippa and her sister have plumped for a muted colour scheme with blue-grey napkins and armfuls of creamy-white flowers.
But the entertainment will be 'full on' with vans parked up in the Palace quadrangle serving 'bacon butties' and ice creams.
A Palace source said there was little staff could do as the evening event was down to Kate and the staff at Clarence House.
So buoyed is Pippa by her success that she is apparently planning to start her own party planning business later this year in conjunction with her parents.
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