When Party Pieces collapsed last year, I kept thinking about how powerless the Princess of Wales had become rather suddenly. You could argue that there was always a massively lopsided power imbalance between Kate and Prince William, but it was always said that at least Kate has her family, at least she has her momager Carole Middleton and at least the Middletons could “take care” of her if anything when wrong. As it turned out, the Middletons’ business and success was all a lie and the house of cards collapsed. Carole and Michael Middleton are too broke to pay back the over $3 million in debt from Party Pieces, and they’re also too broke to pay their bill from Interpath, the insolvency firm which “restructured” Party Pieces and sold it off for £180,000. Not only are the Middletons completely broke, but they’ve been exposed as liars and frauds and they can barely show their faces at society events. The Middletons have been politically defanged in swift order. So all anyone can do is try to make them sound sympathetic, and not like a family of grifters who lied for years to honey-trap a prince.

Princess Kate Middleton’s mother Carole Middleton is “desperately” trying to shield her from a devastating new blow to the family as she undergoes cancer treatment, Us Weekly can exclusively reveal. Carole, 69, and her husband, Michael Middleton, who are also parents to Pippa and James Middleton, are facing serious debt that they are reportedly unable to pay off.

According to the UK’s The Times newspaper, the pair cannot come up with the “£260,000 (over $329,000) insolvency firm costs” for their embattled business The Party Pieces Company. The firm responsible for handling the insolvency of Carole’s business has acknowledged the couple cannot pay the total fees.

The Party Pieces Company, set up by the Middletons back in 1987, went into administration last June, owing creditors £2.6 million. But as the family deals with their business woes, Us has learned that Carole, who has been by Kate’s side during her cancer battle, is determined to stop her daughter from worrying about their problems.

“Carole is desperately trying to keep Catherine fully focused on her recovery,” a source tells Us. “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. Catherine and her parents are very close and they always check in with each other, but talk about the business is off limits as she needs to focus on her health.”

Royal commentator Afua Hagan also tells Us, “Carole will be doing all she can right now to stop her daughter from stressing as she undergoes chemotherapy. It’s a stressful time at the moment and she will be pulling out all the stops to shield her daughter from this,” Hagan says. “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.”

Interpath Advisory was appointed to manage its collapse. According to The Times, it has found itself unable to cover all costs as the rapidly increasing sum surpasses $329,000. It has also meant that Interpath’s team were not able to recoup the total fees for the work by its restructuring professionals, who were charging an “average hourly rate of £566 ($716).” At the time, reports suggested that Carole had been left “upset and deeply disappointed” by the situation.

[From Us Weekly]

“It’s a very worrying time for the family but they are not looking for any assistance from their children…” I don’t believe that. While there’s nothing Kate can do – she’s as penniless as her parents – it’s utterly shocking that Prince William or Terribly Moderately Wealthy James Matthews have not stepped in to at least stop the PR bleed. You’re telling me that Carole would refuse a financial rescue from one of her sons-in-law? Please. That’s a huge part of the story too, the fact that the Middletons are being left to twist in the wind. The Windsors aren’t stepping in, and neither is the wealthy Matthews family. So, is this Carole’s new tack? “Please, don’t help us, we’re just so focused on poor Kate, she’s the bigger priority, not our financial situation!”

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.