Pippa Middleton claims she thought famous bridesmaid dress was 'not significant' and she now feels 'publicly bullied'

• .Pippa said life in the public eye was 'quite difficult... because eventually I'm just paving my way and trying to live a life like any 30-year-old'
• .The magazine columnist spoke publicly for the first time on her life as the sister of the Duchess of Cambridge
• .Pippa told Today's Matt Lauer THAT bridesmaid dress at the Royal Wedding was intended to be 'insignificant' and 'blend in with Kate's train' 

By LOUISE BOYLE

Pippa Middleton revealed the attention she got from her figure-hugging bridesmaid dress at the Royal Wedding was 'completely unexpected' and that her outfit was intended to be 'insignificant and blend in with Kate's train'.

In the first of a two-part interview, the 30-year-old told Today that she viewed her sister Kate's marriage to Prince William in 2011, as a 'family wedding with everyone doing their bit'. 

The Duchess of Cambridge's younger sister admitted that being thrust into the spotlight has been difficult. She said: 'I have felt publicly bullied a little bit just by, you know, when I read things that clearly aren't true or that, whichever way someone looks at it, it's a negative side.

'It is quite difficult. Because eventually I'm just paving my way and trying to live a life like any 30-year-old.'

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Pippa Middleton revealed that her bridesmaid dress at the Royal Wedding was supposed to be 'insignificant' and blend in with her sister Kate's train, in a clip aired on Monday on Today

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However, she did concede that there were upsides to being in close proximity to the Royal household.

'I have had amazing opportunities,' she said. 'I feel very fortunate that I've had access to things that I wouldn't necessarily.'

Pippa told Matt Lauer that the reason she had waited so long to give an interview was because she felt nervous in front of the camera. 

'I have felt publicly bullied a little bit just by, you know, when I read things that clearly aren't true or that, whichever way someone looks at it, it's a negative side.'

Pippa on fame 

She said that it had been difficult to go from a 'very normal life to managing everything that happened after the wedding'. 

Amazingly, she told Lauer that she had viewed Kate's wedding to William as just a 'family wedding'. 

'It sounds funny to say, but we saw it, as just a family wedding. And actually, I didn't realize, perhaps, the scale of it until afterwards,' she said. 'We all took on the the roles as any family would.'

She said that inside the Abbey she didn't notice the TV cameras and was busy taking care of the flower girls and page boys. 

The shock came when the Royal Wedding party walked out onto Buckingham Palace balcony to greet the sea of thousands of well-wishers. 

Pippa said: 'It was surreal, you slightly don't know if you're living it through it.

'When we sort of saw crowds rushing around to the balcony and I suddenly was like, ''Wow, this is - this is pretty special.'''

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Matt Lauer spoke with Pippa Middleton about life after the Royal Wedding and how she copes with the constant attention

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Pippa Middleton described her bridesmaid dress at her sister Kate's wedding to Prince William as 'insignificant' and intended to 'blend in with the wedding dress train'

She added that when she saw thousands of people rushing around to the balcony, she realized the enormity of the day. 

Pippa also played down her sleek bridesmaid gown that caught the world's attention. 

'It was completely unexpected,' she said. 'You know, I think the plan was not really for it to be a significant dress. Really just to sort of blend in with the train.'

'It was completely unexpected. You know, I think the plan was not really for it to be a significant dress. Really just to sort of blend in with the train.' 

Pippa on her bridesmaid dress

She added: 'I suppose it's flattering' before saying it was 'embarrassing' and 'not planned'. 

The 30-year-old also revealed where the famous frock is now. 

'It’s actually still in my wardrobe at home,' she said. 'I haven't worn it since. But I think I'll just keep it there...I think it's the sort of thing that I'm sure I'll bring out if someone wanted to see it or my children one day want to see it. Then I'll show them.'

After the whirlwind of attention surrounding the wedding died down, Pippa said she has tried to return to normal life. 

She said: 'I almost went back to my life as it was. I mean, things change a little bit. But it was just adjusting to the new normal rather than changing any way.'

The 30-year-old said that although she didn't feel the paparazzi followed her too much, she was aware of 'not being entirely private'. 

She said: 'I don't entirely relax, especially in cities.'

Pippa said that with Facebook and Twitter, it took just one person to post a picture of her online before a photographer would turn up outside a restaurant to invade her private dinner. 

However, the freelance writer is taking her new-found fame in her stride. 

'Just a family wedding': Pippa Middleton (third from right with Prince Harry) said she didn't realize the enormity of the Royal Wedding until greeting thousands of well-wishers from the balcony at Buckingham Palace

'I'd feel too paranoid if I worried too much about things,' she said. 'So I just, you know, try to live my life as it was normally with, sort of, good friends and family and try and not think of myself as any different.'

The 30-year-old is focused on growing her own career and is passionate about writing for a living. 

'I want to carry on writing. I've always loved writing. So that's the plan. And a few other things in the pipeline,' she said. 

'I want to carry on writing. And a few other things in the pipeline. There’s so much I'd love to achieve. And I still want to keep up the sport and health side of things because that's really important to me. So trying to blend that in with my love of writing and food and entertaining.'
                                  Pippa on her career

 

'There’s so much I'd love to achieve. And I still want to keep up the sport and health side of things because that's really important to me. 

'So trying to blend that in with my love of writing and food and entertaining.'

She said last week that she is extremely close to her sister Kate and spending time with family keeps them 'affixed to the ground'.

According to Pippa, despite her sister's life as a high-profile member of the Royal Family, not much has changed.

 

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Pippa said: 'I mean, obviously she has pressures that she's taken on and things. But we spend a lot of time together. We still do a lot together as a family. 

'And I think that's really the heart for all of us is having a really close family that we can sort of be normal with each other, treat each other normally. And that's sort of kept us all, you know, affixed to the ground.'

Miss Middleton was interviewed by Matt Lauer who had flown to London to speak with her for a two-part segment airing today and Tuesday on NBC.

Lauer asked Pippa if she is still able to call Kate anytime for 'girl talk'.

She said: 'Yeah. Yeah, we do we have a very normal, sisterly relationship. We're very close. And, you know, we support each other and get each other's opinions and things.'

The Today host asked Pippa about her impressions of the U.S. during a marathon, 3,000-mile cycle across the U.S. with her brother James earlier this month to raise money for charity.  

'Through the trip it was just amazing to go through so many different states and just see the diversity of the landscape, the countryside - it's huge,' she replied. 

'I love it - It's very friendly, very welcoming.  And we felt that the entire way.  And the scenery was incredible.  And I think that what lifted our spirits when it really hurt, sort of grinding on the bike, was to see everything around us. From the mountains, the desert-- through the flat plains of Kansas.' 

Pippa Middleton is allegedly being offered a correspondent's job with NBC following her first ever TV interview, it was revealed last week.

Sources told the New York Post that NBC had been after an interview with Pippa for a while and is set to offer her a correspondent's role, appearing in special reports.

'The heart for all of us is having a really close family that we can sort of be normal with each other, treat each other normally.  And that's sort of kept us all, you know, affixed to the ground.'   

Pippa on how the Middletons are surviving fame

It is not thought that Prince William's sister-in-law would report on the Royal Family as the subject is deemed off-limits. 

In 2012, it was reported that NBC would offer Pippa, a freelance writer and party planner, $600,000 to be a royal correspondent but this was denied by the network. 

A source told the Post: 'Pippa could do reports based on her party planning book or her charity work.'

Miss Middleton was dropped by her American publisher Viking Press earlier this year after her party-planning book Celebrate sold just 18,000 copies. 

It was announced in May that Pippa had been dropped as a columnist for The Daily Telegraph after just six months. She still writes for Vanity Fair and is associated with the supermarket Waitrose. 

Clarence House refused to comment on the rumors today as Miss Middleton is not a member of the Royal Family. 

MailOnline was told last week that the claims were not true.

Pippa had appeared briefly on camera for the Today show with Lauer last Wednesday as the pair had just finished taping the full interview..

Lauer joked that he had to catch an overnight flight to London for his hour-long chat with Pippa, to which she responded: 'I hate to say it but I was actually in America last week.' 

Pippa, who looked immaculate with pared down make-up and a glossy blow-dry, giggled at Lauer's feigned protests, adding: 'Sorry.'

The pair chatted over a cup of tea at an outdoor table in a sunny London garden. 

Miss Middleton, looking tanned in a low-cut white shirt with jeans and tasteful gold jewellery, said very little during the minute-long clip except to add: 'I was on my bike.'

Pippa and James Middleton along with four other men had set off from California last week on the Race Across America with the aim of crossing 12 states to raise money for charity.

They cycled through California, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland. 

After finishing, Pippa, 30, who is dating stockbroker Nico Jackson, described the experience as 'brilliant'.

Asked if she had suffered saddle sores, she laughed and said: 'It wasn't too bad. I think it was because I chose a particularly comfy saddle.'

Challenges don't stop there for the Celebrate author - she is soon to be on her way to Istanbul to take on the Bosphorus Cross-Continental Race, a 6.5km historical swim that crosses from Europe to Asia.