15 October 2023 , 08:50
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Kate Middleton's parents have been targeted by scathing posters plastered around their village.
The posters, which reference unpaid cash to suppliers for Carole Middleton's former business, Party Pieces, have been seen around Bucklebury, Berkshire, with brother James Middleton "spotted tearing them down". It comes after the family firm, which sold balloons and decorations for kids' parties, was sold earlier this year before going into administration with £2.5million debt.
Scottish businessman James Sinclair bought the company for £180,000 in June, but was unable to save it. Party Pieces had taken out a loan during the pandemic to prop themselves up due to the loss of business over cancelled parties, before continuing to struggle through the cost of living crisis.
Villagers in Bucklebury said they were horrified by the cruel posters (Berkshire Live - Grahame Larter)But now some suppliers have reportedly been left furious as they're still owed money months after the sale of the business. Malicious posters targeting Party Pieces have been stuck on lamp posts and trees around the Middletons' home village of Bucklebury, locals have claimed, as well as neighbouring Yattendon.
Residents expressed their disgust at the hate campaign, describing it as unfair and abusive. One source told The Sun: “Carole and Michael are incredibly popular. Everyone is horrified by these posters. It’s unfair to do this in their home village, just yards from where they live. Their son James lives nearby and so does Pippa who has moved around there recently with her family so they all have to be confronted by this. They are doing their best to make things right and don’t deserve this kind of abuse.”
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Brother James, 36, lives on an estate a stone's throw from parents Michael and Carole with wife Alizee, and was spotted ripping the posters down. Party Pieces was founded by Carole in 1987 after spotting a gap in the market for decorations for children's' birthday parties as the children grew up.
It became highly profitable during the 1990s, helping to put Kate, sister Pippa and brother James through prestigious Marlborough College where fees are £42,000 a year. Carole, 68, was said to be "desperately sad" at the folding of the firm over the summer, with friends telling reporters she was trying to make sure creditors were paid.
Documents in May, shortly after it was sold, showed the firm owed the bank £220,000. However, under the terms of the government’s Covid business interruption loan scheme, the public is liable to pay 80 per cent of any amount owed to NatWest which would be £176,000.
A report on Companies House in June said: "Due to the company’s cash flow challenges and inability to secure additional funding, rescuing the company… is not achievable."