This week, the Times of London reported exclusively on Carole and Michael Middleton’s Party Pieces. PP was sold for £180,000 last May, after the business fell deep into debt, reportedly more than £2.5 million, all told. James Sinclair purchased Party Pieces without having to assume any of its debt, so now the Middletons have left dozens of angry and shellshocked small vendors in their wake, not to mention all of those banks whose loans will never be repaid. The sale of Party Pieces was arranged by Interpath Advisory. The news this week is that Carole and Michael Middleton are too broke to cover Interpath’s fees, reportedly £260,000. Here’s the Mirror’s coverage, which is the same as the Times’ coverage.
Carole and Michael Middleton are unable to pay the £260,000 fees owed to the insolvency firm following the collapse of their business, it has been reported. Princess of Wales’ parents had operated Party Pieces but this fell into administration last year, owing creditors £2.6million. Interpath Advisory (IA), a city firm drafted in to handle the insolvency, is reportedly unable to cover all recoupment costs.
The insolvency process involved longer hours than expected to meet statutory requirements and queries from creditors, it is believed. While the firm has received fees of £51,437 and is expected to recoup more over time, it has determined that it will not be able to cover the total amount of the incurred expenses, it is claimed.
The Mirror has contacted IA regarding the claims, originally reported in The Times. It also says Party Pieces was founded by Carole and Michael Middleton in 1987, seven years after they married. Since then, it ran into financial difficulties during the pandemic and it ultimately fell into administration. The business was last year sold to entrepreneur James Sinclair for £180,000 through a pre-pack administration, according to the Times, leaving Interpath Advisory with limited funds to meet obligations to creditors.
As of this writing, the Mirror, Tatler, the Express and the Daily Record have all piggybacked on the Times’ report. The Daily Mail has not. Neither has the Sun. I find that notable. I wanted to talk about this again because some people online were arguing about my statement that Carole is too broke-ass to pay Interpath. The argument being, Carole and Michael have money squirreled away, that their personal finances are not the same as Party Pieces’ bankruptcy. I mean, I get that concept, that Party Pieces’ bankruptcy doesn’t mean that Carole and Michael are broke. But here’s my thing: if they had/have the money to change this narrative or mitigate the damage, wouldn’t they have done just that? It’s months and months of reporting about how Carole personally screwed over vendors and how she personally requested credit and how she brought in Interpath to restructure and advise. She left a trail of financial destruction in her wake and ruined years of lies and social climbing. She couldn’t even show her face at Wimbledon last year and she’s been mostly invisible since the coronation. You really think she would have done all that if she secretly had several million tucked away in some overseas account? I don’t. What’s more believable: that she secretly has a lot of money squirreled away, or that the Middletons’ success was always a huge lie?
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
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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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- Carole Middleton attending the wedding of her daughter Pippa Middleton and James Matthews at St Mark’s Church, Englefield, Berkshire, UK. 20/05/2017.,Image: 513165692, 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, Model Release: no, Credit line: – / Avalon
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- 167256, Carole Middleton, the mother of the Duchess of Cambridge and Pippa Middleton, spectates from the Royal box on day four of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships. London, United Kingdom – Thursday July 6, 2017. UK, FRANCE, AUS, NZ, CHINA, HONG KONG, TAIWAN, SPAIN & ITALY OUT Photograph: Ã?© 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,Image: 533038972, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS, DIRECT SALES ONLY UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE IN CAPTION – 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: i-Images, PacificCoastNews / Avalon
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- Michael and Carole Middleton arriving at Westminster Abbey, central London, ahead of the coronation ceremony of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.,Image: 774175111, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Andrew Milligan / Avalon
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- Carole Middleton arriving at Westminster Abbey, central London, ahead of the coronation ceremony of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.,Image: 774175184, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Andrew Milligan / Avalon
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- North America Rights Only – London, UK -20180711-Celebrities at Wimbledon – Day 10 -PICTURED: Carole Middleton, Micheal Middleton -PHOTO by: INSTARimages.com -VN_Wimbledon_Arrivals_906-5.jpg This is an editorial, rights-managed image. Please contact Instar Images LLC for licensing fee and rights information at sales@instarimages.com or call +1 212 414 0207 This image may not be published in any way that is, or might be deemed to be, defamatory, libelous, pornographic, or obscene. Please consult our sales department for any clarification needed prior to publication and use. Instar Images LLC reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this material. If you are in violation of our intellectual property rights or copyright you may be liable for damages, loss of income, any profits you derive from the unauthorized use of this material and, where appropriate, the cost of collection and/or any statutory damages awarded Featuring: Carole Middleton, Micheal Middleton Where: London, England, United Kingdom When: 11 Jul 2018 Credit: INSTARimages.com **North America Rights Only**
I believe their reported wealth was a huge lie to help one daughter capture a prince and the other daughter capture a moderately wealthy man. I mean if you have money then you pay your creditors and then you don’t have people postering your town asking for their money and ruining your reputation.
Turns out selling your daughter to royalty for baby-makin’ is more complicated than expected.
It can be both — I have little problem believing that they lied about their wealth and I have little problem believing that they are hiding money. People obtain and keep money by screwing over other people all the time. They ultimately don’t care about their short-term reputation because they still firmly believe that their daughter will be queen one day.
I’m with you on this. There’s no reason it can’t be both. It’s also been theorized they were laundering money for uncle Gary, and if that were the case, they for sure have stuff squirreled away overseas. I think it’s most likely that what they were doing before they brought on investors wasn’t entirely above board, but they wanted to retire. So they put money away and were hoping to sell the business and get a splashy amount of money. When that didn’t work, oh well. Truly rich people stiff folks who work for them all the time, no reason these grifters wouldn’t.
She can’t legally give preference to one creditor. Basically, if she pays one bill, she has to pay the lot. I don’t think they have nearly enough to do that and maintain their lifestyle.
I am, however, convinced they have money squirrelled away. Not nearly as much as they used to claim and not enough for their lifestyle but probably the house (which is worth 5 or 6 million at least) plus a couple of million on top.
Being down to your last 7 or 8 million pounds isn’t my idea of broke.
ITA, Talia. Having property, cars, etc, means that they technically are not poor. I know seniors that lost their homes back in 2008-2009 due to the real estate bubble bursting and wiping out their pensions. They wound up having to sell just about everything and start over. This is not that.
What you’ve stated is factually incorrect. The insolvency team has first access to the funds. It’s why so many are in the business.
I thought that was first access to the funds *in the business* for the insolvency practitioners, though? Isn’t the law that says using personal assets means all creditors can go after those assets completely separate?
I may be completely wrong but that was my understanding.
I agree. They still have money that’s legally separate from the businesses’ money , they’re on!y broke by the rich people definition of broke.
I hâte owing money. I couldn’t look someone in the face if I couldn’t pay them back. I have recently had a fractured femur and relied on people to get groceries etc. I did e-transfers immediately. The Middletons, her , more than him I think are social climbers to catch a Prince. I wonder how William feels now about being tricked by the honey pot. I think in Britain you can off shore money,I think they have done that and she will continue to play the part of a grandmother of a future king. No shame at all. None. I always think the father has a reclusive look that he rather be elsewhere.
IMHO they are personally wealthy still.. they have squirrelled away funds from PP into their private accounts probably as dividends over the years, and as PP was I assume a limited company, no one can touch their personal wealth. This may seem immoral but it is the law.
It is the same with the royals… how did Philip who married in very poor leave £30m in his estate.. he never did paid work? Squirrelling away.
Charlie is now charging £100… I need to find a way to put that in big letters.. £100 or £150 if you want afternoon tea… to go around Balmoral. Can you imagine taking your parents around for the afternoon and it costing £300+.
Sorry … off topic a bit, but essentially PP went bust, CarolE is wealthy and selfish and just lying low for now, but she will be back.
Yes, Philip had no personal wealth when he married. However, he received a personal allowance from what was then the Civil List (later replaced by the Sovereign Grant). He paid into a pension plan from his Civil List allowance. It is likely that he inherited money too and also likely that the late Queen settled money on him.
If I look at Uncle Gary and his values, I don’t exactly come away with the impression that he would handle on the up and up. I could envision that the Middletons put money into trust funds, foreign bank accounts, secret shell companies or whatever in time to proteCt it from the masses.
Obviously we don’t know the truth, but to me, they look like rich people who would rather hide their money than pay their debts. Otherwise, they would find a way. Maybe, they didn’t think the palace would stop protecting them. If the BRF didn’t want these news out there, it wouldn’t be. Currently, this situation also reflects badly on BRF since Carole is the grandmother of the future future king, mother of the future queen. It really seems like BRF called Carole’s bluff and refused to do her bidding.
Am totally in agreement @sevenblue that like many rich people, they’d rather hide the money than pay the bills they owe. This is classic rich people behavior — use all the legal tools & loopholes at your disposal to avoid paying bills, taxes, etc. Just look at the Panama Papers revelations — another clear example. Or the failure of most jurisdictions to require the top earners to pay a wealth tax appropriate for their incomes. Or a corporate tax similarly commensurate with their corporate income. And on and on it goes.
Agree with all of you. They are also banking on the public also feeling bad for THEM. You see the narrative that the pandemic killed it everywhere, even though it isn’t true. Just like how Toys R Us wasn’t killed by Amazon – its profits were going up yearly. They had pivoted towards baby registries were were incredibly popular and little kids still want to go to the toy store. It was bought by private equity and loaded with debt to enrich the private equity firm and then declare bankruptcy. That sounds a lot like what happened here on a smaller scale.
yeah, I saw some of those comments yesterday – that Party Pieces going belly up doesn’t mean the Middletons are going belly up, financially. And I understand that as a general principle.
But here, I don’t think its true. I think if the Middletons could have mitigated this bad press, they would have. They sold their company for less than Uncle Gary leases his villa in the summer, they owed millions to creditors, and now the insolvency firm can’t be paid.
Maybe the Midds do have the money and are sitting on it because they think William or James should pay their debt, maybe they are those rich aholes who don’t care who they hurt – but I think the likeliest explanation is that they don’t have the money. They may have some money put away, but not enough to pay the debts and continue their lifestyle.
She may still be on the hook. I think the insolvency companies can go after the directors’ personal assets.
Only in certain circumstances. Maybe that’s what the insolvency company means by ‘more complex’ – they are looking into whether they can do that.
@Talia – I’ve been reading various explanations online, but they all seem to say the insolvency practitioner can go after the directors’ personal assets if their contract isn’t fulfilled through the bankruptcy – I might be misinterpreting it. There might be issues of fraud, it might be that Carole was no longer a “director,” it might be the initial contract was insufficient.
This is what I think. CarolE didn’t just spend all that time and money and effort getting Kate where she is, she used her children to ultimately boost herself into royal adjacency. Having to hide out in Buckleberry and miss everything except for Kate’s sad Christmas concert has to sting.
If there as any way to protect her reputation (and her access!), CarolE would have. She may have enough money set aside to live on, but I do not believe she had enough to pay off PP’s creditors and maintain the things she needed for a more public life (house/travel/clothes/etc.).
Carole schemed to get her children/self into royal adjacency. Camilla did the same thing, did she not?
So Camilla just did it ‘better’ than Carole, is what I’m getting from the entire conversation.
Yes, Camilla did, but what they were trying to get was slightly different.
Yes, Camilla schemed to get the most she could from being close to Charles, and that includes becoming Queen (which I believe she always wanted, because she hated Diana’s popularity as much as Charles and wanted to ‘beat’ her, if that makes sense). She’s also schemed to get the most for her family that she can.
Yes, I think she’s much better at scheming than CarolE, innately, but also because she had advantages that CarolE never had.
1) Camilla is directly adjacent to the royal in question, she didn’t have to use a middleman (her child) to do so.
2) Camilla’s an aristo. She was an aristo before she ever met Charles and will always be one, even if Charles wakes up tomorrow and decides to divorce her. It was much easier for her to get close to someone royal, and the only reason she would not have been considered a proper match for a younger Charles was because of the mores of the time (aka, Camilla was obviously not ‘virginal’) not because of her class.
See, what CarolE was trying to get with her royal adjacency was something Camilla always had: a foothold in the upper class/aristocracy. Despite being mother to the (what might be) future queen and grandmother of the future future king, CarolE will never get that foothold, ever.
And now she can’t even pretend, because her financial issues have made it impossible for her to rub elbows with the upper crust. She worked so hard to be able to do that. Camilla didn’t have to work to do that, she was born into it.
@TigerMcQueen -this!!!!!! A million times this!!!!! The dice were loaded against CarolE from the beginning, no matter what. The class system is so riddled throughout the UK, it’s wrong, but it’s still everywhere here, even today. CaroleE just could not ever be truly accepted, no matter what, because of her background. The sad thing is, why did she ever want to try?
I agree, had they had millions in another (maybe offshore) acvount, they would have paid whatever debt they owe because this is quite literally embarrassing. Michael and Carole don’t have a penny to their name and it’s curious that their in laws aren’t. Rushing to their sides to help. Not William who became a millionaire (if not billionaire) thanks to his father and not James Matthews.
I also think it is interesting that they weren’t able to sell the business with the responsibility for the debts to some shady Saudi in exchange for eventual influence with the future Queen and future future King. A couple million is nothing to them, but perhaps it’s widely known that the Middletons do not have any influence worth buying anymore.
This!
The trip to Jordan, for the royal wedding, might have been a last-ditch effort to do just that.
@bisynaptic: the Jordanian royals aren’t that rich, as middle eastern royalty goes, because Jordan doesn’t have oil, but certainly lots of other royalty with oil money was there, so maybe. Naw, wait a minute, I could see William & Kate sucking up to oil money, but Carole? What would she have to trade on? I mean, William & Kate were right there.
Yes, agree! Look at Paedo Prince Andrew who sold his derelict house to a questionable Kazakhstan “business” man for £3 million over the asking price! Yeah sure!!!!! Diana was courted by Mohammed Fayed, through Dodi for the influence it would have given him, but the car crash stopped that. And the Middletons couldn’t find a dodgy “benefactor “ amongst the Middle Eastern/Saudi billionaire factions who would pay mega money for influence. Prince Charles’ carrier bags stuffed with cash!!!!! The Middletons are flat broke, and it’s all over bar the shouting with regards to Kate and Willie boy, and the mega money crowd know it imo.
If they’ve got any money left then she should spend it on an expression coach. That grimace with the lower teeth is frightening children; even I find it disconcerting.
No way Carole Middleton had the money to make all this go away and willingly humiliated herself publicly instead. That woman was trying to make deals with Shop Rites in New Jersey. Having been to a Shop Rite in New Jersey, I recognize the depths of her desperation. lmfao but really, the Princess of Wales mom was hocking plastic party plates in a New Jersey Shop Rite – I will not stop saying that, lolol – and they think she totally could have paid this all away and just didn’t?
I also don’t buy the “rich people don’t care about their workers, so this isn’t a scandal to them and that’s why the royals didn’t handle it” excuse, because while they may not care about their workers, Kate absolutely cares about her reputation (perhaps even more than Carole) and this was publicly humiliating. I mean, for weeks the tabloids were covering a poster campaign targeting Carole in Bucklebury. They were toying with her. If she had any way to stop it, she would have.
Absolutely agree! Image is everything to Carole, she’s a ferocious social climber. They are flat broke (I’ve posted my opinion aboit this further down the comments). I think Billy might be giving them a very very small amount to just keep the Manor House going, basically food and lodging, but nothing else.
Lmao, New Jersey Shop-Rites, wut??? Anyway, ITA, Carole “Hyacinth Bucket” Middleton cares a lot about her image, and was too broke to save it from the bus. Now WHY wasn’t she rescued by either palace? And her financial problems all seemed to begin around the time that cannabis barn was discovered in Bucklebury. And where are those missing necklaces? There are too many sub-plots in this reality show.
That cannabis barn, if it belonged to them, was probably the most legit business venture on their books. It would explain their high fallutin lifestyle better than selling party tat via web and mail order.
I absolutely agree with you, especially regarding “Kate cares about her reputation.” Not just Kate, but William, too. I can only imagine what abuse he heaped upon her head after discovering the truth about her parent’s finances. I truly believe that Harry revealed Williams violence tendencies, partly for Kate’s sake. If William believes that Kate knew about her family’s money problems and kept him in the dark about it, what’s to have prevented him from taking the well-documented pillow fights to the limits? As I said below, this issue is definitely part of the basis for the strain in that marriage. William seems to have zero contact with the Midds, who were once said to have been like parents to him.
@Sunday I live in New York State, 8 miles north of the New Jersey border and 1/4 mile from a Shop Rite, so I can vouch for your comment 1000% 😀🤭
Did the price paid by Singleton go towards clearing up any of the businesses debt or did it go straight into Carole’s pocket?
They do/are bringing in money somehow b/c how on earth are they still paying off all the taxes and upkeep for their manor/cars/lifestyle?? How are they paying for food and everything else? Make no mistake they’ve gone on holiday just not with their kids so they won’t get papped. Carole’s hair is always dyed (and that’s def not a box dye hair job, you can tell) so yeah there’s money somewhere.
I think The Middletons being thrown to the wolves was more to garner sympathy for Kate but someone is still subsidizing/funding them. My guess is they are getting money from the duchy now that billy oversees it but in return had to be thrown to the wolves so that when it inevitably leaks that Billy is subsidizing them, their sycophants can say well yes b/c their bankrupt and had no other option. Just my two cents.
Yeah, owning a big house is expensive. There is no way they are living in there with no money and no help from their rich son in laws. It isn’t like their own children earn money to look after them.
@Belinda – yes, either desparate for money or desparate to avoid investigation under the Unexplained Wealth Order legislation which came into effect in 2018. This is an extention of the Proceeds of Crime Act. It allows police to issue an order requiring someone to explain how they paid for a particular asset. London property bought for cash could be a trigger for an investigation.
I think the Middleton’s finances are closely linked with Gary Goldsmith and his finances are closely linked with drug dealing and other nefarious activities.
I wonder if they still own the London apartment.
I think that was sold a long time ago.
It was sold in Dec 2018, for £70000 less than they were asking. They would have paid Capital Gains tax (UK) as you do if its a secondary property, which would have been expensive as was 28% of selling price (approx £1.8 million) after the lower sale price) plus Estate Agent and solicitors fees, so they took a very large hit on it, they walked away with approx £1.3 million) Must have been desperate for money?
They didn’t plan on anyone knowing that they stiffed their creditors. Living in the “Duchess of Cambridge cannot be drawn into gossip” days. Those days are gone. And once the news of the bankruptcy is out, it’s out. So why waste personal funds now needed for retirement by going back and paying creditors? That news won’t make the same waves. CarolE may want to pay up, but she may be angling to get the money out of Wills somehow…or else she will go for the book deal. But I think they have money stashed somewhere for themselves.
None of this makes sense. The Middletons cannot live on pennies. Their son, James, is enjoying a rather large life near his mother doing…what? His wife has well-off parents, apparently…gifts? Pippa has a wealthy husband…no help there? I believe Kate has money…possibly from the Queen or other sources? Uncle Gary, according to news outlets, has been given a large question mark with an even larger bank account?
A divorce and a deal? No divorce plus dosh and a bigger house ’cause Kate has receipts?
Makes my brain sizzle.
Why would Kate have any money of her own? She’s never had money. She has never worked. She probably has an allowance that’s overseen by their staff that’s used to pay for the kids stuff and her clothes. She has clothes and jewels, but no money. She has a tight-fisted husband who controls the finances. Why would he give her any money when he has her trapped under his control? The children likely have trust funds, but my guess is that Kate doesn’t have a pound to her own name. Everything she has comes from her marriage.
I think they have money stashed away but not enough to a) pay their creditors and b) to keep them in the lifestyle that they have spent years trying to tell us they have. They have always lived off of others – her brother, William, their suppliers etc..
I’d put good money on Carole negotiating the RF pay of her business debts as well as getting a nice big package for Kate – the RF will take care of the children.
Also given their ages they probably have nice pensions as well as anything else they make from whatever the next grift is.
Years ago there were stories about them taking out loans in Icelandic banks. Whether it is true or not is down to speculation.
Actually the interesting thing is why the BRF wants this. They’re multimillionaires and could easily pay these debts off and curtail the Middletons from doing something stupid going forward. If I were one of the small businesses owed money by the Middletons, even if this were unfair, I would question the royals’ behavior. We heard from many of these people who were driven into debt by Party Pieces. It’s cruel.
They would never, ever miss that money. So it’s not about the money. It’s a message to Kate.
They are betting that everyone will forget about this in a year, which they will. They are also not sole directors and we have no idea if they are even authorized to act on behalf of party pieces. Big business does this everyday. *They* might feel personally humiliated but no one in their mega rich circles will care and all of them have bankruptcies under their belt or have deliberately driven profitable businesses to bankruptcy.
Yeh this is how I see it, as very wealthy people aren’t embarrassed by stiffing people. It’s predatory behavior that they are bred to feel entitled to, see Rose and her stolen art.
I think there is also something else going on here… I think the story coming up regarding the Middleton’s finances is on behest of KP to keep the Middletons in line. There was probably a story leaked a few weeks ago – from Camp Middleton and KP are tightening the screws to stop the Kate embiggening.
Good point. But if their daughter is in danger, I think they should be willing to endure anything to save her.
I think there were always 2 separate income streams in the Middleton family. Mike’s family going back a couple of generations are married in to minor aristocracy. He inherited a trust fund from a grandparent, that was partially tied up with his children’s education- that is how they were able to pay for all 3 to go to Marlborough and the flat in Chelsea. If his money is now their only income stream, then it’s untouchable in the PP debacle.
He inherited around $USD 130,000, not exactly wealthy.
The trust fund helped to pay for Michael Middleton’s education along with his three brothers but there was little left for the next generation. There was no inherited wealth beyond the half million left by Peter Middleton to be shared between his four sons. Michael’s three brothers do not live in the style he and Carole have acquired.
In 2010 the Telegraph newspaper investigated Party Pieces and reported that it was a small to medium sized company making an estimated profit of around £130,000 a year. Nowhere near enough to finance their lifestyle.
Thirty years ago the Middletons were living in a 4 bedroomed house which they were buying with the aid of a mortgage. They then moved to a substantial manor house in Bucklebury which they bought for cash along with a piece of adjoining land. This was the start of a millionaire lifestyle which included family holidays on the private island of Mustique.
I think they made the cardinal mistake of living off capital, as opposed to interest on their money. And Uncle Hookers and Blows money as well. Uncle Fester might have been worth £30 million when he sold his internet business, but that was decades ago. And that’s if he is to be believed (which I don’t). Party pieces have been running at a loss for years also, and even if it was generating profit 15/20 years ago, the figures just don’t add up for what the Middletons spent since about 2000 onwards. The cost of just running the house in Bucklebury (the one before the Manor) would not have been extortionate, but with Council Tax, heating, luxury food, Range Rovers, the flat in Chelsea with associated running costs, luxury holidays, designer shoes and clothing etc you would have to have a LOT of money to keep up that lifestyle. Even the skiing holidays they took would have been a huge sum. It’s about £4000 a week per person for a nice (but not top of the range skiing holiday now). Ski jackets, boots, skis, poles and accessories are getting on for several hundred pounds when doing it on a budget, and they were always flash, and could easily have spent thousands on stuff like that for the family of five on a ski holiday before the wedding. It’s over a hundred pounds to put fuel in a Range Rover. The insurance is astronomical. Carole likes her designer coat dress (thousands for one). The stay for relatives and themselves at the Goring for the royal wedding would have been astronomical. Even if they had, say £10 million that was yielding 10% interest a year, that would give them 1 million a year, and I very much doubt they would get that interest percentage. 5% interest would give them half a million a year. A dream for most, but they would have blown through that and needed to spend capital for the way they were putting on a show for Willy boy. I think that even if they had money squirrelled away, it would be nowhere near enough to keep up the big posh manor, and all their luxury tastes indulged. Uncle Gary going on Big Brother was purely for the cash imo. They are flat broke I believe.
This exactly. They NEVER made the kind of money from Party Pieces that would have afforded them the luxurious lifestyle. They are broke and I’m guessing that house in Bucklebury is mortgaged to the skies.
I don’t think they’re sitting on millions but I also don’t see them selling the house or spending the last pennies they do have tucked away to clear all this (if legally they are not required to). As others have commented, they are betting on all this blowing over.
The much more interesting story is why this keeps popping up in the news time and again. Who is behind that and why?
I think this story shows that the divorce train is still on the track, even though its been temporarily paused.
Do these Middleton defenders not realize that the argument they’re making — that the Midds have money squirrelled away — if true, makes the Midds look even worst? They’ve left their creditors in the lurch! If they have money, even if the law doesn’t hold them personally liable, the moral thing for them to do is to, at a minimum, attempt a negotiated settlement. After all, aren’t they, by proximity to the royal family, supposed to be better than the rest of us? Do their defenders not consider the creditors to be human beings who themselves have bills to pay? Families to feed?
Regarding William, here’s a suggestion for why he’s refusing to help his in-laws. I think that this issue, the Middleton’s insolvency, is one of the catalysts for the strain in his marriage. I recall a tweet some time ago that said William had seen his choice of in-laws, as further evidence that he had better judgement than Harry. In fact, some BM outlet had written that William was behind the Markle’s tv appearances. William wanted to rub it in Harry’s face that he, William, had pristine in-laws, while Harry’s were trash. It’s not only the recent bankruptcy that’s upended that narrative, but also the fact that William has come to realize that the Midds lied to him about their finances. This man, who deludes himself in believing that he’s so much smarted than Harry, is now shocked to discover that he was bamboozled by the Midds. In his eyes, despite all the fineries, they are just as trashy as the Markles. Their fine clothes and luxury vacations, were not from self-made wealth, but were, instead, enjoyed at their poor creditor’s expense.
Well, obviously. I’m not defending them saying they’ve got loads of cash left (which I do think), I’m saying I think they’ve *chosen* to stiff their creditors to maintain their own lifestyle. It may be legal but it’s not moral.
It’s ironic, because the Markles have done their absolute worst–there’s nothing about them that the public doesn’t know. The Markles have played every card they have to play and they are washed out. All they have to offer is same old same old. But the Middleton’s grift is a gift that can keep giving for a long, long time. There’s a long, long trail to follow with them. There was an article discussed here before the 2011 wedding–someone did a dive into their finances and said that a company the size of PP doing that kind of business would make at most 180,000 a year, not millions. The stories were squashed, but there’s a lot of content going back for 2 decades regarding the Middletons (including Kate’s “job” with her family, where the photos she supposedly took for the business were always credited to other photographers). The Middletons were better-dressed Markles, ultimately. They were just quieter about their grasping and scraping. At least the Markles haven’t cheated small businesses out of money.
I think they’ve got enough to live the rest of their lives. It *might* be enough to pay off their debts but it might be if they use it for that, they may not have any money left personally.
I’ve always said that I never believed the Middletons to be as rich as the press made them out to be – even before PP failed. They probably made enough to live comfortable lifestyles, especially in the 80s-mid 2000s when PP was (probably) at it’s strongest. But certainly not enough to fund 3 children well into their 20s. And 2 of them lived in London mostly.
Agree with you, Kaiser. The middle-class Middletons don’t have the same family background of “hiding money” as the people they’ve tried to benchmark themselves against. Middleton Manor is their biggest asset, and as their domicile, it’s protected.
In a Jane Austen story, they would sell the Manor, invest the proceeds, and live off the interest alone, pining in a remote “cottage” somewhere.
I’m pretty sure your domicile isn’t protected on bankruptcy in the UK. It can’t be touched because it’s not an asset of Party Pieces not because the Middletons live in it.
Ohh, thanks!
I’m more intrigued by Pippa’’s hedge fund husband not making this all go away. It’s giving me the son-in-laws offered help and advice, which was not taken, or money not spent as it was supposed to be, so momma and poppa are on their own
It’s also possibly a reflection of Pippa growing up as a sibling to the parent’s golden child. Those dynamics can be rough and cause lifelong issues between family members.
I’m sure Pippa loves her parents and siblings, but more than anyone, she knows what that illusion of wealth was about and who it was for. I also suspect her ‘failure’ to land an aristo for a spouse means her marriage is considered ‘not quite as good’ as Kate’s by her mother (though I think Pippa got the much better bargain in the end). It would not surprise me if Pippa thinks her parents are responsible for their own mess, or that Kate should be the one to try to bail them out since it was mostly for her benefit.
I agree Tiger. Carole is all about Kate and has been for years.
Why should the other two who were sidelined (Carole’s never seen with their kids) rush to bail her out.
Narcissistic parents always have a favourite – usually one they can control. And it can result in resentment from the others.
If it’s a limited company it has limited liability, people who use the “Ltd” part when setting up a company are trying to make sure THEIR assets are safe, BUT, if they have given directors guarantees, then all bets are of, and everything they own IN THEIR NAME is fare game, now is Buckleberry in THEIR name, someone else’s or a trust, and did they give directors guarantees? Those are the things I want a deep dive done on. Then we will see if they are broke (I think yes) or not.
Well HMRC will be a secured or preferential creditor, plus any debts that are secured on the business like bank loans or mortgages etc. Next comes employees who have been unpaid. Then the liquidators will be able to take their cut, so if there’s not enough to pay them then they really ARE at rock bottom. I cant see W and K paying anything to help them because they can’t; they are completely state funded. The Duchy of Cornwall now funds them, that funding comes from rent revenues for all the land and properties the Duchy own. Still basically public monies. They certainly wouldnt be able to pay off her family debts with it, without a HUGE public outcry. I would have thought the other sister’s husband could spare a couple of million quite easily though? By the way, there is now certain to be a lien on their property so they wont be able to sell it without it the proceeds being used to go towards their debt. It strikes me that if W really DID buy it for them, he may actually own it?
perhaps it was bought in the name of a trust and yes, it’s probably crown property now.
I do not think the Middletons have money stashed away. They’re grifters. Carole’s sole concern was trapping & keeping Peg, not building a nest egg.
I don’t know, I’m 50/50. On one hand, I think absolutely that the company being bankrupt and not being able to pay it’s final bills has to be considered separate from the personal finances of Carole. But I also agree that they were probably never super wealthy to begin with and that if their main source of income was PP, that they also must not have made much money the past few years. Also, I don’t know how PP was organized, but if Carole and Mike had a lot of personal equity in the company than I would also assume that they lost all of that. Do they have enough money to pay these bills of PP – I don’t know, but also even if they did, doing so if they’re not legally obligated to do so (if only PP the company is on the hook) might not be fiscally prudent of them if they don’t really have much money themselves, even if they could swing it if they needed to. Maybe Carole also didn’t think that this particular detail of the bankruptcy proceedings would become newsworthy. I agree though that if they had plenty of cash and money was no object that they probably would have paid these bills personally just to have zero risk of any bad stories being published if for nothing else.
The Middletons just conned their way into the British Royal Family, but like all cons they eventually got exposed. Luckily for them they won’t end up in prison.
So, if I were writing a screenplay about the Middleton drama, I might bring in to the storyline the £80 million in missing jewels from the Royal Collection Trust (the 11 pieces were given as official gifts over the years and are not the personal property royal family recipients). Could the Middleton family have them? Probably not (even though Kate was the last to be seen wearing one of the necklaces). But that doesn’t mean they don’t know who the jewelry thief is. Camzilla? What’s a little blackmail among thieves and grifters? And the Middletons have been looking for a new way to subsidize their lifestyle for quite some time…according to the fictional account I’m dreaming up.
I admit I am one who thought they had money stashed away in trust accounts, because no way was Willy marrying a pauper. There was news back in the day that they bought their house without a mortgage and the daughters were staying in a flat in London and they were dating in aristocratic circles. I guess I assumed they had some inherited savings. Now I believe they are broke, but not sure how they can afford the upkeep of their homes, like taxes, bills, repairs and maintenance.
Well I am with Kaiser, Carole and Mike are broke and living off their daughters marriages in name . I can easily believe they are broke because I don’t think they ever had money. It was always a lie designed to get Kate that ring and then pippa handed off to a wealthy man.
James too. They are equal opportunity gold diggers. He is definitely living off his wife’s money.
Something smells here. There was no issue bailing Camilla out years ago, and certainly no issue coughing up £12 million for Andrew’s crimes. Either they’ve bailed the Middletons out before, over and over again, and finally declared “we’re done here!” or they don’t give a crap because there’s going to be a split anyway.
I saw the post on Twitter yesterday. I disagree with those that have said they have extra money tucked away somewhere. They can’t even pay 260k pounds. Im sorry but most homes in California are worth waaay more than that. As I mentioned on yesterdays blog, the Midds have just been exposed for what they truly are: Con Artists. And W prob has realized he’s been Conned, which is why he looks so bitter all these years.
I think the Midds are too Broke and they most likely never had the money they claimed to have – they also had conned their own country . That’s the reason ma Midds wanted her daughters to marry up. Have to say her dirty plan worked – but Truth always comes out. IMO History books won’t be kind to these scammers. I don’t like Trump but at least he’s out there begging for money lolZ..
The have a house conservatively valued at £5-£6 million with no indication it is mortgaged. They just aren’t legally required to sell it to pay their debts.
They may be broke, they may have multiple millions stashed away. Not paying Party Pieces’ debts doesn’t tell us either way. They *could* pay the £260,000 (by selling the house if nothing else) – they don’t legally have to so they won’t.
According to the DM they took out a mortgage in Sweden and it’s worth 4.5 million pounds but they got into a bidding war and paid 4.75 million pounds.
This explains the DM piece today that talked and talked about how much Carole was helping .. such detail! – behind the scenes and then compared her to Mary Poppins.
LOL and gag a bit .. I mean .. all that wealth/ servants/ huge house and Grandma Carole is saving the day?
You’d be surprised how much debt you can accumulate before things really hit the fan. Business credit cards especially, which generally extend much, much larger credit limits than personal cards. Use the business credit card to finance your lifestyle, continuously pay just the minimum—where things get really nasty is when you’re using loans to pay for other loans. Pay your credit card bill with another credit card. Sounds crazy, but people do it all the time, and you can float along for a surprisingly long time by doing that. Those neighbors of yours who had the best of everything then suddenly filed for bankruptcy? Probably buried under credit card debt, maybe some home equity lines of credit mixed in. Carole strikes me as a crafty credit card user, and really good at applying for loans.