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Pippa Middleton Doesn’t Want to Be Called a Party Girl

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When Pippa Middleton released her party-planning book, Celebrate: A Year of Festivities for Families and Friends in 2012, she didn’t expect it to take over how she was seen by the public. Her simple tips—which were met with a great deal of criticism—took part in creating the “party girl” label she says has been unfairly placed on her.

Middleton told the Daily Mail that she doesn’t identify with that description. “People see me as someone privileged who has used my position to advantage; that I don’t really work, that I am a socialite—that word really irritates me—and that I’m a party girl without any substance,” she said.

Now publishing a cookbook she put together for British Heart Foundation featuring healthy recipes from sports stars, Middleton admits that the “party girl” narrative is upsetting to her. “I try not to be too sensitive about things because it’s just a bit of life I have to deal with. But I would be lying if I said it didn’t affect me,” she said.

Pippa’s heart-healthy book isn’t the only philanthropic thing the Middleton family has done lately. Her sister Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, has made waves in speaking out about mental health issues across the country, and has also made her passion for education and inspiring young people visible. Just last Friday, she visited a school and left her mark by telling young performers to “never give up on [their] dreams,” PEOPLE reported.

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