31 January 2024 , 16:38
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The Princess of Wales' discharge from hospital will be the perfect birthday present for her mum Carole after a tricky 12 months.
The businesswoman, who is also a grandmother of seven, turns 69 today, and is likely to mark the day quietly with her family, including her husband Michael, and maybe even Kate if she feels up to joining celebrations as she continues her recovery from abdominal surgery.
It will mark the end of a tough year for the Middletons. Back in May, they were forced to sell their once successful Party Pieces business after facing challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic. Party Pieces was founded by Carole herself in 1987 to create imaginative parties for children and went on to sell products including party decorations, tableware and personalised gifts. It was run from a converted barn near the Middleton's home in Berkshire.
Kate out shopping with mum Carole in 2005 (REX/Shutterstock)Carole previously wrote on the company's website: "In January 1987, when I was 6 months pregnant, I decided to take myself off to the Spring Fair in Birmingham where I found a good selection of suppliers. From there the idea evolved. I produced a little flyer which I circulated in local playgroups and very soon I was using our garden shed as a picking/packing room and office."
She stepped back from the day-to-day running of the business in 2019 but became a brand ambassador for the business and director too and the company was incorporated. But trading was impacted significantly during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to administrator Interpath. Party Pieces was then bought by Teddy Tastic Bear Co Ltd, which is owned by entrepreneur James Sinclair.
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Will Wright, head of Restructuring at Interpath Advisory and joint administrator, said at the time: "Party Pieces is a well-established brand with a proud British heritage, but like many other companies across the retail space, had been impacted profoundly by the effects of the pandemic and the ensuing restrictions on social gatherings. We're pleased to have been able to conclude this transaction which sees the business acquired by James Sinclair. We wish him all the very best for the future."
Carole and Michael at Wimbledon in 2018 (WireImage)She and husband Michael were also targeted by scathing posters plastered around their village just months later. Party Pieces had taken out a loan during the pandemic to prop itself up due to the loss of business over cancelled parties, before continuing to struggle through the cost of living crisis.
However, some suppliers were reportedly left furious as they were still owed money months after the sale of the business. Malicious posters targeting Party Pieces were stuck on lamp posts and trees around 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.
Carole with Charles and Camilla and Camilla's granddaughter Eliza on William and Kate's wedding day (UK Press via Getty Images)"They are doing their best to make things right and don’t deserve this kind of abuse." James, 36, lives on an estate a stone's throw from his parents with his wife Alizee and was spotted ripping the posters down.
Just weeks after that, the final series of The Crown dropped on Netflix, featuring a character depicting Carole for the first time as it covered the early romance of Prince William and Kate. The show portrayed her as going all out to ensure her daughter would meet the future King after realising they would be studying at the same university. In one scene Carole, played by actress Eve Best, can be seen talking to her daughter about how she should leave her boyfriend, focus her sights on William and show off her legs.
But Carole's brother and Kate's uncle Gary Goldsmith hit out at the portrayal of both his sister and his niece - and said it was difficult to watch. Speaking on the Daily Mail's podcast The Crown: Fact or Fiction, he explained he had been watching the show but "once it started becoming ridiculous and fantastical, it was very difficult to watch, so I stopped".
He added: "Carole isn't that manipulative evil person... coming up with ways by which she can force her way into the Royal Family. First and foremost, Kate did brilliantly well to get into St Andrews. She's an amazing girl, but that wasn't noted. It was all to do with 'Kate you've got to be doing these things, you've got to be showing your legs', and it's just not my family. It's not the way Carole operates."
Now as she celebrates her 69th birthday, Carole has also had to contend with her daughter undergoing abdominal surgery as well as help out with her grandchildren Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
But Ingrid Seward, the editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, told HELLO! Carole will be more than happy to help out. She said: "The Middletons are a really close family and Carole is a very hands-on grandmother, and I'm sure she will be at the helm. She often picks the kids up. Pippa has children of her own now, but I'm sure she will help by offering to have the kids round for tea and that kind of thing."
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