James Middleton Is a Marshmallow Entrepreneur (and Other Fascinating Facts About Kate's Brother)

Since Kate Middleton joined the royal family, the world has had a continuing fascination with the young woman who captured the future king’s heart. But the public’s adoration hasn't stopped at just the Duchess of Cambridge and has carried over to her immediate family as well. While the reasons for people’s enchantment with certain family members is obvious (sister Pippa looks great in a white dress and publishes great party tips, mom Carole was a stewardess-turned-successful entrepreneur and dad Michael is a fantastic photographer), her youngest sibling, James, has always been a bit of a mystery. That is, until now. Thanks to his opening up to the London Evening Standard, we finally have some interesting information about the 26-year-old Middleton. Here are the nine best things he revealed about himself:

1. One prep school summer holiday (otherwise known as summer vacation here in the States), as an adolescent of about 11 or 12, James would wake up at at 5:30 a.m. to work as a fruit picker. “I made my cash in gooseberries — no one else wanted to do prickles, but I had a technique. From 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. I’d be picking for those pre-picked packs that lazy people buy.” He made 400 quid (about $666.84) and bought an old car. Mind you, he was still a few years away from getting his driver's license at the time. His justification for the purchase was that he loved “taking things apart and putting things back together.” He segues into explaining that he feels the same way with what he’s doing now with the marshmallows.

2. Yes, you read that correctly. James Middleton has a marshmallow business. Boomf, named for the noise a marshmallow makes as it falls through your letter box (huh?), prints Instagram snapshots on the white, fluffy treats.

3. Middleton believes everything — literally everything — is a “huge amount of fun.” He even enjoys “really long working hours.” Well who wouldn’t want to stay late at the office when it comes with such sweet (pun intended) perks?

4. He likes to "twizzle” his bushy beard. In sports speak, twizzle translates to a figure-skating turn, but who knows what it means to the English. After all, those lads have loads of ludicrous terms like blimey, bloody, and bollocks. 

5. Middleton admits that one of the challenges of owning a marshmallow-printing business is dealing with smutty (rated-R) photos. “If we happen to spot an image that we don’t think is acceptable, we will remove it from the production line and send a contact to the customer saying, ‘these are inappropriate.’” So before you go sending your next belfie to Boomf, be warned that it might not make it back without a condemnation from a royal-adjacent.

6. The Duchess’s younger brother has dyslexia so severe that he couldn’t even spell his own name as a child. But his supportive family taught him how to put a positive spin on the situation. “I’m very proud of my dyslexia. I wouldn’t have it any other way. It sits absolutely with what I do, how I think and who I am."

7. James dropped out of Edinburgh University after one year and his parents were “disappointed.” He describes this decision as the first one he made as an independent adult. The second? Purchasing a puppy.

8. Middleton has a spaniel named Ella. “When I dropped out I needed something to help me focus, to get me up in the morning.” Another living being who depends on you to relieve herself will certainly get you out of bed. And now he has two more reasons to rise in the a.m. because Ella is now mom to 8-month-old puppies Inca and Lula.

9. At 26, James sees himself as young and hasn’t made any future plans with his older girlfriend of about a year, TV presenter and actress Donna Air. She’s 34, or maybe 33, Middleton is unsure, but regardless, he still thinks that the question of marriage is “ridiculous.” I wonder how she feels about that …