Pippa Middleton gets engaged to James Matthews

London: Pippa Middleton, sister of Duchess of Cambridge, is engaged to her hedge fund manager boyfriend James Matthews.

The news comes less than a year after the couple first started dating, with reports stating that James popped the question to her last weekend during a romantic break in the Lake District, reports hellomagazine.com.

The engagement, which is said to have taken Pippa, 32, by complete surprise, has delighted her family.

Her sister and her husband Prince William are said to be thrilled by the news, as are the bride-to-be's parents Carole and Michael Middleton.

According to reports, James, 40, asked Michael for Pippa's hand in marriage before the proposal.

"James is a traditionalist and very much wanted to do things properly. That meant getting the consent of his future father-in-law,” a friend of the couple, revealed.

Pippa and Matthews, the older brother of Made in Chelsea star Spencer Matthews, first started dating back in 2012. Following their split, she dated banker Nico Jackson for three years but they ended their relationship last year, and in September there were rumours that she had rekindled her romance with James.