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.

[From The Daily Mirror]

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.