When Party Pieces collapsed last year, I kept thinking about how powerless the Princess of Wales had become rather suddenly. You could argue that there was always a massively lopsided power imbalance between Kate and Prince William, but it was always said that at least Kate has her family, at least she has her momager Carole Middleton and at least the Middletons could “take care” of her if anything when wrong. As it turned out, the Middletons’ business and success was all a lie and the house of cards collapsed. Carole and Michael Middleton are too broke to pay back the over $3 million in debt from Party Pieces, and they’re also too broke to pay their bill from Interpath, the insolvency firm which “restructured” Party Pieces and sold it off for £180,000. Not only are the Middletons completely broke, but they’ve been exposed as liars and frauds and they can barely show their faces at society events. The Middletons have been politically defanged in swift order. So all anyone can do is try to make them sound sympathetic, and not like a family of grifters who lied for years to honey-trap a prince.
Princess Kate Middleton’s mother Carole Middleton is “desperately” trying to shield her from a devastating new blow to the family as she undergoes cancer treatment, Us Weekly can exclusively reveal. Carole, 69, and her husband, Michael Middleton, who are also parents to Pippa and James Middleton, are facing serious debt that they are reportedly unable to pay off.
According to the UK’s The Times newspaper, the pair cannot come up with the “£260,000 (over $329,000) insolvency firm costs” for their embattled business The Party Pieces Company. The firm responsible for handling the insolvency of Carole’s business has acknowledged the couple cannot pay the total fees.
The Party Pieces Company, set up by the Middletons back in 1987, went into administration last June, owing creditors £2.6 million. But as the family deals with their business woes, Us has learned that Carole, who has been by Kate’s side during her cancer battle, is determined to stop her daughter from worrying about their problems.
“Carole is desperately trying to keep Catherine fully focused on her recovery,” a source tells Us. “It’s a very worrying time for the family but they are not looking for any assistance from their children and don’t want them to worry. Catherine and her parents are very close and they always check in with each other, but talk about the business is off limits as she needs to focus on her health.”
Royal commentator Afua Hagan also tells Us, “Carole will be doing all she can right now to stop her daughter from stressing as she undergoes chemotherapy. It’s a stressful time at the moment and she will be pulling out all the stops to shield her daughter from this,” Hagan says. “Party Pieces has collapsed and it’s been devastating for the family, but Carole will be most concerned about Kate’s well-being right now.”
Interpath Advisory was appointed to manage its collapse. According to The Times, it has found itself unable to cover all costs as the rapidly increasing sum surpasses $329,000. It has also meant that Interpath’s team were not able to recoup the total fees for the work by its restructuring professionals, who were charging an “average hourly rate of £566 ($716).” At the time, reports suggested that Carole had been left “upset and deeply disappointed” by the situation.
“It’s a very worrying time for the family but they are not looking for any assistance from their children…” I don’t believe that. While there’s nothing Kate can do – she’s as penniless as her parents – it’s utterly shocking that Prince William or Terribly Moderately Wealthy James Matthews have not stepped in to at least stop the PR bleed. You’re telling me that Carole would refuse a financial rescue from one of her sons-in-law? Please. That’s a huge part of the story too, the fact that the Middletons are being left to twist in the wind. The Windsors aren’t stepping in, and neither is the wealthy Matthews family. So, is this Carole’s new tack? “Please, don’t help us, we’re just so focused on poor Kate, she’s the bigger priority, not our financial situation!”
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- 166648, The Duchess of Cambridge and Carole Middleton attends the opening day of Royal Ascot in Berkshire. Ascot , United Kingdom – Tuesday June 20, 2017. UK, FRANCE, AUS, NZ, CHINA, HONG KONG, TAIWAN, SPAIN & ITALY OUT Photograph: © Stephen Lock, i-Images, PacificCoastNews. Los Angeles Office (PCN): +1 310.822.0419 UK Office (Avalon): +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 sales@pacificcoastnews.com FEE MUST BE AGREED PRIOR TO USAGE
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- 166648, The Duchess of Cambridge and Carole Middleton attends the opening day of Royal Ascot in Berkshire. Ascot , United Kingdom – Tuesday June 20, 2017. UK, FRANCE, AUS, NZ, CHINA, HONG KONG, TAIWAN, SPAIN & ITALY OUT Photograph: © Stephen Lock, i-Images, PacificCoastNews. Los Angeles Office (PCN): +1 310.822.0419 UK Office (Avalon): +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 sales@pacificcoastnews.com FEE MUST BE AGREED PRIOR TO USAGE
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- Carole Middleton Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse – Ladies Day, Day 3 Berkshire, England – 21.06.12,Image: 308735318, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: – / Wenn / Avalon
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- WINDSOR, ENGLAND – MAY 19: Pippa Middleton and James Matthews arrive at the wedding of Prince Harry to Ms Meghan Markle at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018 in Windsor, England.,Image: 515241557, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR SEVEN DAYS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: – / Avalon
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- Michael and Carole Middleton arriving for the christening of Prince Louis, the youngest son of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at the Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace, London.,Image: 515593258, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR SEVEN DAYS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251 Madrid: +34 91 533 4289, Model Release: no, Credit line: – / Avalon
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- Carole Middleton The State Funeral of Her Majesty The Queen, Service, West Door, Westminster Abbey, London, UK – 19 Sep 2022,Image: 724158734, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: James Veysey/Shutterstock / Avalon
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- Carole Middleton, Michael Middleton, Pippa Middleton and James Middleton at the Coronation of King Charles III at Westminster Abbey in London, United Kingdom, on 06 May 2023.,Image: 774203418, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: James Veysey/Shutterstock / Avalon
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- (left to right) Michael and Carole Middleton, James Matthews, Pippa Middleton and James Middleton arrive ahead of the wedding of Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.
It’s true. They are looking for assistance from their wealthy sons-in-law.
One scenario I can see is each son-in-law thinking that the other should be doing the bailing out.
@ConcernFae, lmfao, that probably has some truth to it!
The fact that neither Charles nor William paid what would be a drop in the bucket for either one of them is so telling, imo. I will always be curious about why they didn’t pay it off just to avoid more negative (and extremely embarrassing, for Kate) press for the royal family, regardless of how they personally feel about the Middletons.
@ConcernFae – Lol if I was James Matthews I’d be thinking the same too! Why should he bail them out when Kitty is married to a future King? The Middleton’s have loved lauding that fact over people for decades, so where exactly is Willy with his bailout?
The grifters are still grifting. Story of the month, AI K said she had some unexpected cancer NOT HAS. The DM stated she was not having any cancer treatment. K said that she was having adjuvant chemotherapy which can mean anything from taking a few tablets to having intense chemotherapy drugs. K’s behavior has destroyed any optimism about cancer treatment, as a two time cervical cancer survivor, operations and then monitoring, cancer free for 30 years now, skin cancer removed last year, a simple operation with minimal scarring and no after effects, K’s martyrdom is unconscionable. I have friends who have recently had preventative treatments after doctors found a small number of cancer cells present which may have ecsaped from original the tumor site. Some have had up to 38 radiation treatments, some have medications, most are monitored and have regular tests. None of these people are hospitalised, confined to bed, or have gone into hiding. With K’s unlimited supply of money and the intenstive tests available medically, saying the “cancer” was a surprise for the doctors treating her, is inferring that her doctors are incompetent. I guess the doctors decided to operate without any medical tests. I know of no one undergoing surgery where medical imaging is not done beforehand. The behavior of the K and the Midds has taken cancer treatment back to the dark ages and something to be ashamed and terrified of. Cancer treatments are constantly researched and many cancers are now treatable and often cured without destroying your life and ability to function. Removing hope and virtually demanding empathy is wrong on so many levels. Should all cancer patients go into hiding now ?
This!
@Ales, congrats on beating cancer!
I too know co-workers and a couple of friends who survived or passed away from cancer. They all cut down work hours but didn’t completely stop working, rather, they chose to lead their lives as productively as they could under the circumstances. This nonsense Kate is showing the world is not courage but an inability to cope with a major challenge. Instead of using her platform as a source of hope and information, she is promoting cancer as a taboo subject that should not be spoken about and hiding herself behind ‘privacy’. Back to the Dark Ages, indeed! Shameful!
Words are words and these grifters might be saying the truth: they are not looking for any assistance from THEIR children. Of course not, none of them have money. They are looking for pity from the in-laws. What an embarrassment. I would suggest they ask Uncle Gary or Rose Bush, she’s got some.
Off topic but I can’t get over how happy Pippa looks and how low key she’s become. Looks like she made the right choice and has the life she wanted. Good for her!
I think someone on here spilled some tea that TMW James was Pippa’s first choice but her mother discouraged that because she wanted Pippa to have a Percy-like title. Finally Pippa gave her mother the finger and married TMW James.
This might explain why Pippa & TMW James are letting Carole hang out to dry. It could also explain why Pippa looks happy – she is in a healthy, happy marriage. I love that for her! She didn’t need to honey trap anyone for wealth and status.
I don’t think this is true Startup. Pippa tried hard to find a guy. Seems James stuck around and waited on her.
Of course the Windsors are letting the Middletons twist in the wind: it gives them leverage over Kate when it comes to a divorce settlement. “Oh, you want your parents to keep their house? Well, that can happen if you agree never to say a bad word about Willy.”
I find myself feeling a bit sorry for Pippa and James, it must be difficult to know that your older sister is the sole focus of your parents and has been for years. I wonder if Carole is the same grandmother to Pippa and James’ kids that she is to the Wales’ kids, or does the lopsided relationship extend to them too?
Harla I read that Carole is never seen with Pippa’s children. Narcissists always have their golden child and it was Kate which must have stung.
Maybe that’s why Pippa isn’t bothered about her husband bailing them out.
I suspect the Wales children are seen by CarolE as much more important, future king and all.
I’m sure now Pippa has seen life away from the grift, she’d quite content by that as well.
I think regardless of the type of parent they actually are it must suck for one of your parents or both to have such an obvious favorite. That being said Pippa and James have lucked out a little bit. Pippa especially got to get all the glow in the first decade of the noughties of her association with her sister, and now has a pretty nice life going financially and privately and James has definitely benefited with his chronic entrepreneurialism. That being said I can’t imagine either one of them would trade places, health issues aside, with Kate now. She has all of her mother’s attention for good or ill.
Ha! Bollocks! They always deny what is true, always.
My parents went bankrupt years ago in a small town in Maine and it hurt neighborhood businesses. They stopped going to the local church and grocery store and moved within 2 years. Behind the scenes they begged everyone – sick elderly relatives too – for money. But they had begged before, and this time the consensus was to let them fail so they would see sense (except my grandpa, who sent $50). I am convinced the Middletons are going through something similar. This is a huge story that will be used against Kate forever.
I’m so sorry for what you must have gone through during all of that. I often wonder why the royal rota never mention the Middletown going bankrupt as a “stress” for Kate last year.
I’d imagine the public embarrassment over her parents being left to twist on the wind of their own failure was a big factor in her overall stress.
The Middletons could easily pay their debts if they wanted to, they are sitting in a 4 million pound house, there are only two of them sell the house and buy a three bedroomed semi then there will be loads of money in the bank.
They must harbor an enormous amount of resentment toward William over it, imo. IIRC the timing correctly, he’d just come in to all of the Duchy money around the time their bankruptcy was revealed, and he absolutely could have paid it off without a second thought, saving them public humiliation.
There must be a ton of BTS drama between William and the Middletons, and I hope that eventually we find out what went on.
@WiththeAmerican…good point. They will say H&M stressed Kate but never mention that her parents going bankrupt must have been a dreadful worry.
Yup, I said this on the last story about this. My mom is like that too, constantly being bailed out by others and so constantly spending what she doesn’t have, and truly believing she’s entitled to have it. The shock when everyone cut her off was something to watch. I think it’s the same for the Middletons, and I totally understand James not stepping in and bailing them out. He has no responsibility towards grifting relatives, especially when they have such an expensive home and god knows whatever other assets. Just because you’re related doesn’t mean you owe them anything. #teamTMWJames
So this company was “appointed” to handle this? By the courts? It is just amazing to me that they would see a company that had failed to pay creditors in the past and think they would be paid.
Yes, from what I’ve read, these companies (insolvency practitioners) are licensed and appointed by the court or creditors or the company directors. They get paid out of the proceeds and the fees are agreed upon up front. According to the news when the liquidation was announced, Interpath sold PP as soon as they were appointed, so how did they not take their fees right away? Or if they sold PP for less than their fees, why are they complaining about it now?
Are they complaining? Or has someone (Willnot or Camzilla) given the rota permission to go after CarolE? As you wrote, this is old news.
Someone more knowledgable please feel free to correct me, but isn’t the Times, which broke this story, one of Camilla’s mouthpieces? I feel like someone is punishing the Midds for bringing out Uncle Gary and putting them firmly in place. The bankruptcy seems like the gift that keeps on giving and these constant drips, seems targeted to prevent Carole from reappearing in public life. This would be a good time for her to come back, riding the wave of sympathy for Kate. The story is basically saying that not only is Carole broke, but she’s so broke she can’t even manage to go bankrupt without being a cheapskate.
My reading of the firm is they gave a number of “if they had charged their actual billable hours and not the prenegotiated sum.”
Interpath said the insolvency was more “complicated” than initially thought. That’s why the cost was higher. If the company is insolvent and the new owner is not responsible for the debts then it sounds like Interpath is out of luck. I’m guessing these fees would be some type of write off. In America, bankruptcy is part of the public record so if it’s like that in the UK then the unpaid fees may have been part of the disclosure. So they weren’t necessarily “complaining”, just someone went digging (or were told to dig) and found out.
“The story is basically saying that not only is Carole broke, but she’s so broke she can’t even manage to go bankrupt without being a cheapskate.”
@Fifty, thank you for this, I laughed out loud
The insolvency company is basically responsible for liquidating the assets of the business to recoup as much cash as possible, so selling the inventory and and storage/warehouse facilities, any equipment they own etc. But they’re probably finding much the same issues that put party pieces out of business – people aren’t buying. Rival companies are tightening their own belts, Brexit has prob made it harder to sell to European firms. So they don’t even make enough back to recover their own fees (which are massive, they charge hundred per hour because it’s a high risk business).
If the Middletown’s have any sense they’ll have put enough aside during the good years to see them through fine, they won’t be penniless. They will have paid themselves salaries or taken out dividends. Plenty of firms become insolvent but their owners keep their personal finances separate. Leaving your suppliers out of pocket stinks but that’s how business works, if you’re a supplier you have to ensure you have enough headroom to absorb this happening.
I would like to know about the complications that made it more expensive than expected. That is the story the British media needs to look at. This insolvency company has dealt with bankrupt companies before so they would have an idea of the time and cost to liquidate things. What isn’t being said here?
We don’t know how much W and TMWJ have already paid to prop up the Middleton’s lifestyles and businesses.
In other news, Carole’s new line of attack is shaming both sons in law to paying off her debts by publicly insisting she’s so focused on poor frail little K instead of that nasty debt.
Yeah, I really do feel like they probably have given their in-laws money in the past. But reached a point of no more.
I agree, based on Jane Bs experience that she related above. They’ve likely already hit up the sons-in-law too many times & those SILs have said enough.
Next stop: GoFundMe!
lol! 😂
From what is Carole trying to shield Kate? The bankruptcy has been in the news for months and this looks like just one more bill they can’t pay. But maybe there’s something more dire going on, like the insolvency company going after Carole’s house.
Could you imagine the shame a repossession would bring to Kitty & The Midds? Oh lord, let it happen! That family have looked their noses down on others for years with money they didn’t even have. It’s been a con since day one.
So I think there are two interesting aspects here –
1) that neither James nor William has offered to help (and I’m interpreting this article about how Carole never asked to mean of course she asked or assumed they would help)’
and
2) that this story is getting as much press as it has been for the last 10 months, almost a year now. Granted its nothing compared what the story would be if Doria was late on a credit card or something, but its still significant IMO. The Middletons are no longer being protected by William, financially and press-wise.
At this point the Middletons are protected because they had a limited liability company and sold it. But why is the insolvency company saying things were more complicated than expected? They have experience in liquidating assets so what made this liquidation more complex than expected?
This is the real story.
I’ve said several times (and my posts on this have always disappeared), that Kate’s cancer seems awfully convenient for everyone involved. To what extent it’s the real case (and I do believe there is a serious illness), there has been so much opacity that anything KP says is suspect. But what makes me side-eye the situation is how everyone’s trying to milk sympathy rather than course-correct, which is what the cancer announcement should have initiated. This tells me that none of the principal figures–not the Wales, not the Middletons, have any inclination to do anything differently. “We don’t need help from our kids,” said the family who took money from the future king to buy a house. “Poor us, we’re so worried about Kate’s cancer, don’t talk to us about finances,” said the family that refused to pay for services rendered and cheated small businesses out of their money.
They need a bailout and they aren’t getting one, or they are getting one on the down low in exchange for…what? Either way, none of them are taking advantage f the opportunity to change the narrative.
They are not only stepping on every rake in the garden. They have gathered up all the rakes they can find and strewn them all over the garden specifically to step on them. That’s the MO of everyone related to the Wales, the Middletons, or the KP comms.
“ They are not only stepping on every rake in the garden. They have gathered up all the rakes they can find and strewn them all over the garden specifically to step on them. ”
Lanne, 🤣🤣🤣! So true.
@Lanne, ☠️☠️
And I agree with a lot of your analysis. I have no idea what the truth is, but it sure is convenient timing for Kate for a number of different reasons.
Ianne, I agree that I’m not convinced that Bone Idle has cancer. She could have had an operation, I honestly don’t know at this point. I think she’s known that divorce was on the table this year and by the end of last year she imploded. Maybe she has a bleeding ulcer, or she could be having mental health issues, or?
This is just another bid for sympathy, and I agree that they needed to change the narrative. It’s a little fascinating to see the disaster they all are creating.
Whether or not the sentiment is true, at least it’s a good look to put out there.
So the feel sorry for us continues. We have a daughter who is fighting cancer and we are trying to keep her focused on her recovery. So they are now using a diagnosis to get sympathy? These two families are certainly using this diagnosis to garner sympathy for their purposes.
Yeah, it’s kind of gross right? The press is about poor Carole and Kate having to protect themselves from the embarrassing debt while having cancer. It’s off-putting.
First using the cancer diagnosis as a weapon, now using it as a shield. These people are nothing if not predictable. The whole bunch of them, from the creepy uncle down to the English Rose seem like they’ll use anything or do anything if it gives them an advantage.
@Msiam – Using cancer as a shield was always the plan for that family. They have no moral compass and will do absolutely anything to ensure Kitty stays within the fold. Her cancer diagnosis and subsequent announcement has been far too coordinated for my liking.
I know some people here think that the Middletons have millions stashed away in offshore accounts but I don’t think so. PP was never a multi million dollar business where this would be possible. Cheap, mail order party supplies aren’t netting millions, not before Amazon, and certainly not during. Even selling their mailing list isn’t getting them millions in money stashed. Sure they still have their home that needs upkeep, but they could struggling to maintain it as we speak. If William really did use his trust fund to pay for it, they might not have to worry about a mortgage, but maybe now they can’t afford landscaping, or having as many staff on hand. I just dont think they ever had enough for offshore tom foolery like they’re the queen or something.
That’s why the words “money laundering” come to mind. Unless they’ve discovered a money tree in their backyard. Or a weed bush, lol.
I’m still waiting on that deep dive about the weed farm right next door to their barn or something.
Honestly, this looks worse on the Windsors than anyone. 260,000 pounds? That’s like a quarter’s worth of revenues from Charles’s Waitrose brand. Never mind the fact that paying back the debt would help the Middletons’ blameless victims during what’s supposed to be hard times for the crown’s subjects. You’d think, at the least, they’d pay just to make the story go away. Instead everyone looks ratched and stupid…
Exactly! All this does is call attention to and question why William nor Charles didn’t pay off the debts for them (especially if Kate is such a “beloved” DIL 🙄). The amounts were substantial for the small businesses who got stiffed by the Middletons, but pocket change for the BRF.
But it is well known that Charles cannot stand Carole Middleton.
@PrincessK, I know, I agree that both C+C both probably despise the Middletons.
But in this case, the story brought enormous embarrassment to a prominent senior member of the RF (and if we believe the BS polls, the “most popular” one), so I’d think that even if William didn’t, at least Charles would have seen the wisdom of burying it for the good of the monarchy’s overall reputation, especially keeping George in mind. (It was so, so embarrassing when someone put those fliers up all over Bucklebury, omg)
Then again, we do know KFC is pettyAF, so he might be enjoying seeing CarolE humiliated and cast out of society. I sure am, lol.
A couple of days ago, my husband and I went to Erasmus in Rotterdam to visit someone he works with who has cancer. Again, while the whole world is focused on “where’s K?” and “what’s up with W?” you don’t wait a month to inform the world you have cancer. Ostensibly, some of your kids have phones, friends with access to the internet, and a whole school of children whose parents read, watch, listen to the news. The messaging has not made any sense.
This article doesn’t make sense either. Supposedly K needs to heal: her family is not going to go blab about something negative to her healing. The take away isn’t CarolE is caring for her child, it’s that she doesn’t pay her debts. And it’s not focusing on wherever William is. So is this from BP or KP or W himself?
Then…to paupers prison for you!
Actually they probably went to the wedding in the Middle East to meet up with potential ‘assistance’.
LOL. The images that spring to mind really don’t bear thinking about.
No wonder W couldn’t face the European royals at last month’s memorial for King Constantine!
I just remember all of those stories they put out years ago about how much William loved the Middletons and what a great stable family they were for him, how much Carole meant to William, etc, etc. And now with all that duchy money, he won’t solve this PR mess for his beloved Middletons, even just to cover the £260,000 bill. That speaks volumes. This could easily go away if the Windsors wanted it to. And if William is the caring, supporting husband KP wants everyone to think he is, you’d think he’d cover it just to remove the stress from Kate while she’s going through chemo. What an easy PR story that would create – William taking care of his sick wife’s parents, William removing stress from Kate’s plate, William making sure small businesses are being paid what they are owed… but it’s KP so they’d screw it up somehow
It’s really incredible that no one in the RF sees it this way. It’s so obvious.
Never underestimate how narcissistic bullies turn when thwarted. I’ve personal experience of this. It’s truly frightening. William has turned on the Middletons, due imo to being thwarted with regards to divorce, and CaroleE conning him about their wealth etc. He’s going postal imo.
As a Brit , the UK would be up in arms, and rightly so, if he used crown money to bale out his mother and father in law. It wouldn’t go down at all well and would be a PR disaster. I can’t overstate how much a blunder it would be if he spent our money on her family. Some people contend that it’s not our money, it’s the BRF’s money, but this is up for a huge level of debate. Their supporters believe the duchies provide the crown with a private income stream, but the duchies are massively undertaxed, denying the public purse 100s of thousands per annum. They also get their grant, of course, wrangled out between them and parliament. Per capita it may seem that we Brits don’t pay much, but there is this feeling that we pay a lot and that the BRF are taxpayer employees; even the royal family understands that they are seen as rich people, paid for by us. William paying off the Middleton debts would cause public outcry.
It would be a scandal but only if people were told that William was paying off pp debts with taxpayers money. But we know that William controls the press and he could keep it secret.
And he doesn’t need to pay the debt, he can make that pp bankruptcy story go away by simply telling the press not to write about it.
The fact he hasn’t done any of these things is telling.
@Sparrow, good point, as an American I didn’t think about that. But as @Cloudy points out, the RF likes to pretend that some of their wealth is “private,” even though none of them have worked a day of their lives and everything they have originated from taxpayers. The way the Duchy accounts are structured has always seemed to me to be a total scam based on semantics. William doesn’t lift a goddamn finger and he gets how many millions of pounds a year in “personal income?” But as a Brit you’ll obviously understand the details a lot better than I do.
William could have bailed out the Middletons on the DL and kept the media from knowing about it, let alone reporting on it, if he’d wanted to. And I’m sure his accountants have plenty of ways to surreptitiously move money around. (Isn’t it still a mystery how much Liz had stashed offshore?)
It was definitely A Choice to not help them, but if you’re the type of person who believes that W&K’s fairytale marriage is solid and Charles just loves Kate to bits, doesn’t it make them look pretty bad to do this to her family, when they could use the “It’s our private money!” excuse if the public ever found out? IDK.
Another thing to bear in mind, and I think this grisly tale proves it: the Middletons are not liked by the British public. That person who put posters up around their village, he/she was considered a bit of a hero, not a criminal. The Middletons are seen as arrivistes, naff, and classless. William wouldn’t try to help out, even if he could. He may have fallen in love with Carole’s cheese on toast (!), but most Brits think she’s a grifter. I think Charles gets this, and hopefully he would advise his son against giving them money, even if Kate wanted him to. Try as they might, the media has never been able to sell Kate and William as a great love story; even tabloid readers see their relationship for what it was – a pushy mum (and probably dad) shoving the two together in a bid for the crown. I think it’s funny that Kate is STILL! known as Kate Middleton not Princess Kate. She can’t get away from them! If William does get strong armed into giving them money, they’re going to have to hide it deep down in the records somehow. They’re trying to make themselves more accountable and transparent – good luck with that if William were to bale them out and be exposed.
TMW James Matthews is worth over $2 billion, and $3.5 million is just 0.175% of that. To put that into perspective: if you had $100,000, that’s the same as giving away $175. And I know that’s not all readily available wealth, but $3.5 million is a small percentage of whatever amount he has.
I really don’t know much about finance (or the UK regulations at that), so maybe someone can weigh in, but I do wonder if TMW James Matthews won’t bail them out (at least not in the near future) because it could open up him and the Middletons to lawsuits, companies seeking damages, creditors coming out of the woodwork seeking payments. It could absolutely tarnish his reputation. I do think TMW James Matthews will help them out, but only when the dust settles.
We all know Bill isn’t generous and won’t help them out. We’ve seen them show up empty handed to food banks and baby banks on multiple occasions.
It’s possible MW James Matthews already gave them a lot of money and is closing the welfare shop for now.
But it’s also possible someone with a lot of power found a way to communicate to MW James that he should leave them be and he will get favorable treatment from the crown in the near future for his own business or himself personally.
Remember all the help that the Middleton brother got and all his ventures that lost money and went belly up.
I said this upthread, but I’m pretty sure someone on here said that Carole didn’t want Pippa to marry TMW James because he wasn’t as titled as some of the others that Pippa had dated. But Pippa wanted TMW James. She finally ignored her mother and married for love.
My guess is that Pippa and TMW James aren’t as close to the Middletons as we are led to believe. I doubt he’s going to come to the rescue of someone who thought he wasn’t good enough.
If this is the case, my how the tables have turned!
I read that James was very smitten with Pippa and waited around while she dated others and then got his chance.
Either way it looks like a healthy partnership.
I think Pippa (and her brother if he had the money) wouldn’t necessarily rush to bail Carol out.
For years they’ve had to play second fiddle to her favourite Kate and I’m sure that probably causes some resentment.
This probably isn’t actively coming from Carole, it could just be Us Weekly concern-trolling for clicks.
But the fact that Us Weekly feels comfortable enough reporting like this about the Princess of Wales’ mother tells me that something shifted behind the scenes. Because if the point of the story was “strong mom Carole puts her business interests aside to focus on Kate” then there are myriad ways to spin that without leading with the bankruptcy.
That ABC News anchor admitted she wasn’t allowed to run the Prince Andrew story because the network didn’t want to lose access to the Wails. Outlets from Us Weekly to the NY Times make deals like that all the time, and when it’s something as personal as this, it would have been considered perfectly normal that, if you don’t want to risk access to Kate, you’d maybe not run stories about her mom’s year-old bankruptcy while she’s actively undergoing cancer treatment. Maybe it’s that Kate’s team won’t barter – meaning, she doesn’t have a ‘handmade cards from the children’ story to trade so bankruptcy it is – or maybe behind the scenes it’s more than just the rota that won’t take Carole’s calls anymore. It’s all just very weird.
Maybe somebody got a heads up that a certain future queen won’t be on the scene much longer. I can kind of understand ABC not wanting to lose access to the future King and Queen of England, so maybe back off on a story so as not to offend the royal family. But if she’s going to be given her walking papers, well then that’s different. It seems William is being protected but Kate is being hung out to dry. Otherwise, why would a US base magazine care about Kate’s mothers finances?
@Sunday, ITA, the entire vibe around all of the reporting of this story has been strange since the beginning, imo.
Good for them they aren’t hitting up the kids for a bail-out. Bad on them that they cannot make payment arrangements to the people who trusted them.
I mean, it makes sense that no assistance would be offered now. Any money given would be sucked up by the bankruptcy proceedings. My guess is they’ll wait until proceedings have concluded and then quietly step in to make sure the Middletons are embarrassingly impoverished.
I find this idea that Kate is powerless a bit absurd. She is the member best seen by the public (I won’t go into the merits of this nonsense). She is the mother and main caregiver of three princes and the future king. The idea that she would leave this marriage without a small fortune is unrealistic. And, even in the reactionary environments in which she moves, she would still have a substantial social base even if they divorced.
You’re obviously not well acquainted with Willy. Lol. Cutting people off financially (add security for good measure) is the Windsor way.
This is all coming from KP. Kate is Willies human shield now that Harry’s gone – and that includes Kates family.
I can imagine a scenario where Carol asked Willie to at the very least help with the consultancy fee and Willie’s aids ran to the papers instead.
Whoops.
Good luck Carol.
What substantial social base? She doesn’t have any friends now, and she is not the most sociable or personable person. She has only ever been interested in people who were at a certain social level. The problem is that the people she aped wanted little if anything to do with her. And they let her know this, repeatedly. She will not want to socialise with the people she has always considered to be beneath her.
Diana had genuine friends who had her back, and were not dependent on Charles’ favour, or that of his friends circle. Kate does not have that. Being “the mother and main caregiver of three princes and the future king” did not stop the toffs from putting her in her place. She will have a very bumpy ride indeed, if things get to that stage.
She is not “powerless” in the sense that she had in the past been able to get her nasty lies about M printed and repeated in national and international media. That is when KP was on her side, therefore several of the rota whom she courted even before she married William helped her get her messages out. She had that machinery to help her. Can we honestly say that she has that now?
Diana was also a Spencer and that still held weight. That said, Charles needed to borrow money from the Queen to pay the divorce settlement because he couldn’t take it from the duchy. William likely would not either. And we still don’t know his level of involvement in the purchase of Buckleberry manor.
This is a blatant guilt trip. I’ve been in terrible debt but the banks are very good about restructuring and helping. The Middleton/Goldsmith clan are embarrassing and I’m thinking now that the vile ‘Gary interview’ was set up to provide leverage for divorce. I wonder if their house deeds are really owned by Egg.
ChattyCath, Mary P indicated that the Mids house is not in their name. It would make a good divorce negotiating strategy for Billy Idle. I believe a lot of money was expended for security for this house, too.
I’m unclear on UK business bankruptcy processes. Were the restructuring fees supposed to be paid from the assets of the bankrupt business? If so, the Middleton’s can’t just choose to pay off that 260,000. The total amount owed is 3 million plus. The whole point of bankruptcy is that there isn’t enough money to pay everyone so there’s a formal legal process to rank the creditors, determine who gets paid and who gets stiffed, and distribute the remaining assets. Did the restructuring firm make an error? Why did the billable hours pile up so unexpectedly? Did more creditors crawl out of the woodwork after the story broke last spring? Did they uncover some kind of irregularities?
Hi Rnot. It isn’t really a bankruptcy, more an insolvency; they aren’t considered individuals, who go bankrupt, more a firm, which becomes insolvent. As a limited company, she and her husband are safe from being personally responsible for the debts (altho personal guarantees change things). My belief is the liquidating administrator gets paid first, then secured creditors and so on. I hope this is correct. I’m a Brit with a family member who works in this field, but he’s been too bored to talk me through it! Who can blame him; the Middletons are such a boring family. What this mess indicates, to me, is a massive overestimation of Party Pieces’ pull. Didn’t she start advertising and placing their tat in American supermarkets just before all of this went south? It speaks to Carole’s inability to understand that her family link to the BRF matters hugely to her but very little to others. Her products were often insultingly naff (“let them eat cake” cakes, for example); overpriced, I believe; and out of line with parents not wanting a whole heap of party tat when they’re trying to be mindful of waste and expense.
Didn’t Carole already con William out of some of his inheritance from his mother to purchase her buckle berry manor? I bet he was like nope, not this time I have seen the light and he let moderate wealthy James know that he already was helping them out and to run for the hills before they sucker him out of money he will never recoup
I actually believe this. They don’t want money from their children b/c then they’d have to actually pay it back and it would be messy. What they’re looking for is a new money cash cow who is desperate for some type of royal connection that would bail them out with a “grant” or “gift” that will miraculously clear off all these debts.
I genuinely think that Billy is funding their life b/c again maintenance/taxes on the property and they own a large home, has to be astronomical. Plus Carole still gets her hair done as I have never seen a grey hair strand on her.
I think Kate right now is pulling rank behind the scenes and this is Billy reminding the press about her parents b/c its literally all he can do right now. The literal ball is in Kate’s court esp now that she has told the world they found cancer. If he were to dump her, there’s no recovering from that and he knows it. Leaving her while sick plus rumors of infidelity? He will never recover from that. Charles was able to but it took years. Billy doesn’t have the patience plus the illness is a factor Charles did not have to contend with.
I think Billy is bitter at having to subsidize this family b/c if they were left literally penniless plus Kate being sick, it would just make him look worse considering he bought them that house or contributed financially to it. No, Billy boy is stuck esp since The Middletons know his secrets. But while he’s resentful at having to subsidize their livelihood, he refuses to pay their outstanding debts on their biz hence these leaks.
JMoney, well, Billy Idle would be in a better position if his name is on the deed, which is something Mary P suggested. Puts an entire new perspective on it.
Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?
I’m saving my sympathy for the families screwed by the Middletons.
If these grifters did take money from their sons-in-law, they would keep it for themselves. I don’t think they would give a penny to Party Poopers’ creditors since they don’t “legally” have to.
There seems a lot of delusion, blagging and faking about finances with Carole and Gary.
A few weeks back he was claiming on live prime-time television both he and Carole were ‘multis’ (millionaires) before they hit 30.
She would have been 30 in January 1985.
2 years before even the first party bag was stuffed on the kitchen table, and with two tiny children.
I wonder if the Inland Revenue are taking an interest in that.