Pippa Middleton has split up from Nico Jackson, her boyfriend of three years, the Daily Mail revealed.
Confirming the break-up last night, a close friend of Miss Middleton said: "Pippa and Nico have parted ways. No third parties were involved."
Last month the Duchess of Cambridge's sister, 32, was pictured out in North London with Mr Jackson, a 37-year-old investment manager who works for a Geneva-based hedge fund.
Their body language was illuminating. As her put his arm around her, she smiled but turned away, her hands clasped firmly together in front of her.
There was speculation that the couple would become engaged, but Mr Jackson's move to Geneva from London last year is believed to have placed strain on the relationship.
The revelation of the split follows publication of pictures last weekend in a Sunday newspaper of Miss Middleton with an ex-boyfriend, James Matthews, a 40-year-old investment banker, whom she dated briefly in 2012, shortly before she got together with Mr Jackson.
The pictures showed the pair entering a house in West London on the evening of September 30 after taking Mr Matthews's dog for a walk and emerging the next morning with Miss Middleton holding a bouquet of flowers.
Old Etonian Mr Matthews is chief executive officer of Eden Rock Capital Management, which he co-founded in 2001.
Although Miss Middleton's friend made it clear that there is no one else involved in the split, it is clear that she and Mr Matthews are close friends. They have been spending a lot of time with each other of late.
And their friendship is certainly the subject of gossip in society circles.
Mr Matthews's parents, David and Jane, own and manage Eden Rock on the Caribbean island of St Bart's, a resort affordable only to the super-rich.
In August, Miss Middleton, her brother James and mother Carole holidayed there. There are photos of the three of them, with James Matthews, larking about in the sea.
Mr Matthews is the elder brother of Spencer Matthews, 26, a star of the Channel 4 reality show Made In Chelsea, which follows the lives of a group of privileged individuals who live around the exclusive London area.
Pippa Middleton and Nico Jackson in 2013. Photo / Getty Images
While Spencer can come across as vain and preening, James is said to be a more serious and grounded individual.
It is unclear how long he and Miss Middleton had known each other when they started going out together in 2012, shortly after her split from Alex Loudon, another Old Etonian and former cricketer turned financier whom she dated for three years until 2011. She and Mr Loudon were spotted lunching together last month.
In October 2012 Mr Matthews and Miss Middleton were photographed getting into a taxi after dining at the fashionable oriental restaurant Hakkasan in London.
It was reported that the pair had been seen having dinner at the Queen's Club in West London and that their relationship was going from "strength to strength". But not long after this, Miss Middleton began going out with Mr Jackson, with whom she was first spotted at the opening of a nightclub in Berkeley Square, a month before.
Mr Jackson grew up in Folkestone, Kent, where his parents Martyn and Ulrike run a ski and sports shop. The family are keen skiers, and he and Miss Middleton took part in a 26-mile ski marathon in St Moritz, Switzerland, in 2013.
