The Drama Between Kate Middleton's Brother And His Nosy Neighbor, Explained

As Rudyard Kipling once said, "Borrow trouble for yourself if that's your nature, but don't lend it to your neighbors." Apparently, the nosy parker living next door to James Middleton and his family has never heard of the beloved English novelist or his advice on maintaining good neighborly relations. David Alderton has reportedly been making James' life a living nightmare in the British countryside, resulting in a long-lasting feud. "We are country people and love going out for long walks," the younger brother of Catherine, Princess of Wales, penned in The Telegraph back in 2021. Unfortunately, his neighbor seems to have other plans.

According to an in-depth report from The Independent, Alderton has been incessantly harassing James, who lives on a farm in the village of Stanford Dingley with his wife, Alizee Thevenet, and their child, because their property is not just for show. "West Berkshire Council became involved when our neighbor complained about noise from tractors and animals at the farm, along with a series of other complaints," James explained, revealing that Alderton is no stranger to butting heads with the community. In fact, things started to sour between the two men when James joined a local initiative trying to prevent Alderton from ruining the village's rustic aesthetic with a structure he wanted to build for his motorcycle dealership.

When David Alderton first complained about the noise and pollution coming from James Middleton's farm, the county council found insufficient evidence to warrant further investigation, as The Independent reported. "It is sad that someone who chooses to live in the countryside in a farming community cannot accept that from time to time there will be noise and smells from tractors and animals, especially if they live next to a farm," Middleton argued in response.

Alderton, however, informed the Daily Mail that Middleton had "three barns full of old farmyard machinery" near his property. The disgruntled neighbor then went on about how the farmer didn't use any of the "ancient, noisy, dirty, smelly" machines, yet he also claimed that he was "subjected to the unwelcome toxic and noxious ingress of fumes" from said equipment. While the complaints might have been manageable, the feud between Middleton and his intrusive neighbor escalated when Alderton began trespassing on Middleton's $2 million mansion. 

A source close to the family told The Independent that in July 2023, while the Middletons were away on vacation, Alderton came to the property and confronted their house-sitter, demanding that they quiet down the family's guineafowl, which had been startled by the Middletons' dogs moments earlier. When the sitter wasn't able to calm the creature down in time, he reportedly raged, "Shut those f***ing birds up, you noisy c***." Furthermore, the motorcycle dealer once threw a fit because the Middletons' rooster had strayed onto his property.

Despite James Middleton alerting the authorities about his nosy neighbor's wholly inappropriate behavior, David Alderton persisted in his vendetta by slandering the entire Middleton family. According to The Independent, in posters distributed across the village, Alderton falsely asserted that British taxpayers would have to participate in covering a portion of the £2.6 million debt of the Middletons' failed family business, Party Pieces, and suggested that James and his wife should be held accountable. "[Mr. Alderton's actions] bred animosity in the community, rumor, and ill feeling, and caused myself and my family anxiety and distress," he admitted.

Following the drama, neighbors saw the father of one removing the posters himself. However, Alderton reportedly put them up back again and continued threatening the Middletons. In his statement to the Daily Mail, he shared, "We have lived here for seven years, enjoying everything this wonderful and peaceful area of outstanding natural beauty has to offer. But our peace has been shattered," claiming that James was the sole source of his troubles.

And yet, Alderton's previous clashes with the rural community paint a different picture entirely. According to Kate Middleton's brother, Alderton "took legal action against the parish council and a parishioner [in 2017] and intimidated locals for objecting to a series of planning applications, all of which were refused," per the Daily Mail. With law enforcement finally involved, it is likely Middleton's neighbor from hell will soon be forced to lay the drama to rest.