These are some photos of Carole Middleton from her daughter’s 2011 wedding to Prince William. Looking back, the months and weeks leading up to William and Kate’s wedding were a preview of coming attractions for the whole Middleton clan. Carole and Michael Middleton did their own photo-op and interview after the engagement announcement. They released photos of Kate to the press. Every outlet ran a profile of Carole and how she helped her daughter land a prince. During that same time, Carole was also planning out what she would wear to her biggest society debut thus far, Kate’s wedding. Apparently, Carole commissioned a special outfit by designer Lindka Cierach. And then at the last minute, Carole didn’t wear it and Cierach’s business folded just a short time later. Coincidence?!

She was one of Britain’s leading couturiers and made Sarah, Duchess of York’s dress for her wedding at Westminster Abbey. But Lindka Cierach has taken the dramatic step of closing down her fashion business. Cierach — whose clients included Queen Rania of Jordan and Hollywood star Catherine Zeta-Jones — hit the headlines when she became involved in an acrimonious row with Carole Middleton.

‘That’s a part of my life that’s been and done,’ Lindka tells me when asked about the dispute with the Duchess of Cambridge’s mother.

Lindka, 62, who began creating elegant outfits (prices started at £4,500) at her studio in London’s South Kensington in 1979, is now pursuing a career as a healer.

‘I used to get very drained by being with difficult people,’ she says in an online comment explaining her new path. Carole, 60, who grew up in a council house before becoming a successful businesswoman, commissioned Lindka to make her outfit for Kate and Prince William’s wedding in 2011. But after spending four months attending many secret fittings, Carole left the designer stunned only days before the ceremony by refusing to wear the creation. Lindka still refuses to discuss the dispute, but the allegations made at the time were potentially damaging to her business.

Carole was reported to have accused Lindka, who was approached to make a dress with a matching tailored jacket, of being ‘unaccommodating’. It was reported that she had asked the couturier if the outfit could be delivered, unfinished, to her home so she could show it to her friends. Lindka told Carole the request was unconventional — people usually visit the studio — but that she would allow the outfit to leave only if she could accompany it herself to ensure it was not damaged, and that details of the design were not leaked to other parties. According to a source, Lindka was taken aback when Carole refused and said she no longer wished to wear the outfit.

A fashion insider said: ‘It is unheard of for a couturier to allow something out of their studio unfinished.’

Lindka was reported to have been left ‘completely bemused after all the hard work she had put into creating the outfit’.

She tells me: ‘I’m now involved in healing and a more balanced and spiritual way of life. It’s a different path and a very happy departure for me.’

[From The Daily Mail]

This sounds like it could very well be true. I think it’s perfectly possible that Carole wanted everyone to genuflect and simper to the whims of the mother of the bride and when Carole was told “no,” she threw a fit, canceled the dress and badmouthed the designer to everyone. It also sounds like the kind of mistake Carole would make, expecting an unfinished dress to be delivered to her just so she can show off to friends, and she didn’t even consider the fact that she probably could have easily brought some friends to Cierach’s studio so they could see the dress. I feel bad for Cierach because it sounds like she had a difficult balancing act of trying to make nice with many difficult clients, but Carole Middleton was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Photos courtesy of WENN.