Carole Middleton Returns To Royal Spotlight For First Time Since Money Woes Came To Light
Kate Middleton may have missed the Royal Ascot horse races due to ongoing cancer treatment, but her parents Carole Middleton and Michael Middleton were in attendance. At one point during the event on June 19, 2024, Carole shared a sweet moment with Prince William, as he assisted his mother-in-law with getting her shoe back on after it was lodged into the soil, per People. The pair shared a laugh about the footwear mishap. This meeting at the Royal Ascot was notable because not only did it come after "The Crown" had depicted Carole as plotting Kate's marriage to William, but it was also the Middleton's first royal appearance since news broke that Kate's parents had suffered a major financial setback.
Carole sold her party planning business, Party Pieces, in May 2023 after founding the company back in 1987. In June 2023, the Daily Mail reported that the company took a hit after Kate's mom took a more passive role. "Carole believes in accountability and accepts she had been a little naive to step back and trust someone else to run the business," a source said. At the time, Carole was seeking a buyer for Party Pieces to not only take over, but to take on the company's debts.
Later, it was reported the company struggled to pay back what was owed. The Times revealed in March 2024 that Party Pieces owed $330,000 to the company that covered their $3.3 million insolvency. At the time, Carole was dealing with financial issues while also being supportive to Kate during her health woes.
Carole Middleton did not want to bother Kate Middleton with financial burden
The major concern for Carole Middleton was not the collapse of the Middleton's multi-million dollar business, but the health of her daughter Kate Middleton. "Carole is desperately trying to keep Catherine fully focused on her recovery," a source told Us Weekly on April 4, 2024. According to the insider, both Carole and husband Michael Middleton had no interest in having Kate and Prince William bail them out of their business debt. Even though Kate's parents had disappeared from the royal spotlight since news of the business folding went public, it was not because they were judged. "No one in the royal family is embarrassed by the failure of Party Pieces," royal expert Christopher Andersen, told Us Weekly in a separate report.
As mentioned, Carole and Michael made their return to the royal circle when they attended the 2024 Royal Ascot. Just over a year earlier, the Middletons went to the coronation for King Charles III in May 2023. Not only was Kate at the momentous event, but her siblings James Middleton and Pippa Matthews accompanied her parents.
Between the Royal Ascot and the coronation, Carole had been spotted with her daughter, but it was far from a royal gathering. Amid wild rumors surrounding Kate's health in March — before she went public with her cancer diagnosis — Carole was photographed by TMZ driving a car as her daughter sat in the passenger seat.