Kate Middleton's Mother Carole Isn't Seeking Financial Help From the Royal Family for This Reason

Kate Middleton has plenty to worry about right now as she focuses on her recovery from her cancer battle. However, her parents, Carole and Michael Middleton are in the middle of a financial crisis that has been swirling in the headlines over the last year. The story recently resurfaced after The Times revealed that the royal-adjacent couple was drowning in debt from the demise of their Party Pieces business.

According to the U.K. outlet, Carole and Michael are struggling to pay their mounting bills and owe over $326,000 to a firm that assisted them with the bankruptcy of their company. It might seem like a simple ask to have Kate and Prince William bail them out, but Carole reportedly does not want the royal family to even be involved — there is too much else going on. “Carole is desperately trying to keep Catherine fully focused on her recovery,” a palace insider told Us Weekly. “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.”

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Even though Kate is “very close” with her parents, the source noted that “talk about the business is off limits as she needs to focus on her health.” That means eliminating any stress from the Princess of Wales’ plate because her chemotherapy treatment, William, and her three children are the most important part of her life right now. “It’s a stressful time at the moment and she will be pulling out all the stops to shield her daughter from this,” royal expert Afua Hagan added. “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.”

The Party Pieces company was decimated by the effect of the pandemic after the stay-at-home orders and the cancellation of events. The party supply business struggled to recover even as people began to gather again. After the couple sold the business to an investment firm, Carole remained a figurehead, but the debts continued to pile up. New owner, James Sinclair, who bought Party Pieces out of bankruptcy, revealed to The Telegraph that the Middletons did not get “a big fat cheque” for the acquisition. The successful company they built was worth very little after the global lockdown and it left their suppliers in a lurch since they weren’t getting paid.

“Carole is understandably upset and deeply disappointed in this situation. Over the past five months, she really has done her best to find a buyer, who not only would take the business forward but would also honor any outstanding debts,” a source told the Daily Mail last year. “Carole believes in accountability and accepts she had been a little naïve to step back and trust someone else to run the business she had spent decades nurturing and it’s been desperately sad to see the company sold off in this way.”

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