"I'm always Pippa and Catherine’s little brother." The struggles of James Middleton.

An estimated two billion people worldwide watched the wedding of Kate Middleton to Prince William, and the day was declared a bank holiday in the United Kingdom.

On the 20th of May 2017, James’ sister Pippa, four years older than him, married James Matthews, a former professional racing driver, current hedge fund manager and heir of David Matthew, Laird of Glen Affric, Scotland.

His eldest sister is the future Queen of England.

His middle sister might one day be the Lady of Glen Affric.

And James, now 31, has no royal ambitions whatsoever.

LISTEN: Why Kate Middleton is always kneeling. Post continues below.

James told the Daily Mail , “It’s always been, whether at school or now, that I am Pippa and Catherine’s little brother. It’s probably going to be the story of my life. [But] I am James Middleton. I am very proud to be ‘the little brother of…’ but, equally, they are proud that I am who I am.”

Growing up, the Middleton sisters were athletic and studious. By his own admission, James was never academic and struggled with dyslexia.

James attended the University of Edinburgh, the same university as Pippa, after having to resit his A-levels at a local college.

Much to his parents dismay, James dropped out of university after one year. But he never once regretted his decision.

Instead, he travelled the world, visiting Australia where he learned to sail. Simply, James says, he “found himself”.

"I discovered my confidence, my skills, and not just ones that were placed in front of me because that’s what my peers were doing," he reflected.

When he returned, Kate's relationship with William had hit the press.

"I used to be first up in the morning to make sure I could get to the papers and rip out any stories about my sister, so nobody would see them and there would be no conversations about them," James told the Daily Mail. 

Then, in April 2011, James' eldest sister married Prince William in the wedding of the century, and his own life well and truly became public property.

Along with his sister Pippa, James' lifestyle was suddenly the stuff of tabloid fodder. Whether it was stumbling out of a nightclub, or being pictured with British television personality and actress Donna Air, James' life was now 'ours'.

Years before, James had launched the Cake Kit Company, which provided DIY kits and ingredients for festive party cakes.

"I knew that that mouthful of academic prescription was not going to do it for me," he told GQ at the time. "My dream, which came to me when I was flying back up to Edinburgh after a weekend home, was to build a cake empire."

"When you see yourself on a marshmallow, or your loved one or your pet, you have a little moment with that little marshmallow. There aren't many products in the world like that," he told The Cut. "I'm very much surrounded by [marshmallows], but I still love them [...] Marshmallows are sort of like an essential candy. They're pillows of sweetness."

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On January 12, 2019, Middleton set his Instagram to public, allowing a rare glimpse into his personal life.

His account features multiple dogs and many have likened his appearance, especially with his signature beard, as reminiscent of Jude Law.

The decision to change his Instagram settings came just a few days after he released a personal essay about his struggles with clinical depression, dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity, published by the Daily Mail. 

He likened depression to "a cancer of the mind", and wrote that although he has lived an enormously privileged life, it did not make him immune to depression. "It is tricky to describe the condition," he wrote. "It is not merely sadness. It is an illness... It’s not a feeling but an absence of feelings. You exist without purpose or direction. I couldn’t feel joy, excitement or anticipation – only heart-thudding anxiety propelled me out of bed in the morning. I didn’t actually contemplate suicide — but I didn’t want to live in the state of mind I was in either."

It was his brother-in-law, Prince William, Prince Harry, and his sister Catherine, who encouraged him to speak publicly about his struggle, specifically through the work they were doing, and continue to do, with mental health charity, Heads Together.

At the beginning of 2019, Middleton was photographed holidaying in St Barths with a Frenchwoman understood to be his new girlfriend, Alizee Thevenet.

The 29-year-old is  a financial expert, currently working in London. The pair were on holiday with Middleton's mother, Carole, his sister Pippa, brother-in-law James Matthews and the couple's three-month-old baby Arthur.