In mid-October, a series of posters targeting Kate’s parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, and their former family business, Party Pieces, reportedly began appearing on trees and lampposts around the village.
Kate’s brother, James, was allegedly seen tearing down the posters, which angrily accused the Middletons of not paying their Party Pieces debts. “This is a crisis for the Middleton family,” says the source, “and Kate is caught in the middle of it all.”
Every family member of the family contributed to Party Pieces’ success. The Middletons grew the company, founded in 1987 when Carole saw a gap in the market for children’s favors, into a multimillion-dollar venture, and Kate, 41, James, 36, and their sister, Pippa, 40, all worked there at one time or another.
But rising competition and the pandemic caused sales to fall, and Party Pieces crumbled in June — while reportedly still owing more than $3 million to suppliers. “Carole actually sold Party Pieces to someone else before the company went completely under,” says the source, “but it’s believed by those putting up the posters that she’s responsible for the debts.”
Carole and Michael live in a $5.7 million mansion and, of course, their daughter is the Princess of Wales, “so those targeting them are confused as to why Kate’s parents don’t just pay off the alleged debts,” says the source, who adds Carole, 68, and Michael, 74, “are a little shocked by how nasty these attacks are. It’s very disturbing, because they live there, along with James and Pippa, and are spotted around town all the time. Plus, Kate, Prince William and the kids visit frequently.”
In fact, the princess dined with her parents in the local pub just a month before the posters went up. Luckily, the majority of the people of Bucklebury are behind the Middletons, “who have brought nothing but good fortune to this little area of the country,” says the source. “People are proud that this is the hometown of the future queen of England. Most of the folks are confident that if Carole and Michael do owe a debt, they will pay it off sooner rather than later.”
After posters insulting the Middletons were first put up around their home village of Bucklebury in Berkshire a few weeks ago, another series, featuring “a scantily clad model,” were stuck up this week outside a farm the Middletons own, and on nearby trees, claiming Party Pieces—the firm they owned that went bust—didn’t pay its creditors and as a result the person behind the posters lost their job.
The posters feature an OnlyFans model called Molly, who revealed her identity in the Sun, saying that she had asked friends to put up the posters on her behalf. She would not name the company which allegedly let her go.
Molly said: “The point needs to be made that if you don’t pay your creditors, it doesn’t just affect one person, it affects all employees of the company. Hence why I say I was made redundant because of this. It’s not part of a promo, but as you can see by the photo, it would be a great publicity stunt for me. Don’t you think I deserve something back after being made redundant? I think I do.”
Asked if the Middletons were being unfairly targeted, she said: “Do you think being unfairly treated is not paying millions owed, or being made redundant? I think I was the one that was wronged and others.”
Molly told the Sun she had been told she had been let go because of Party Pieces going bust. “After seeing the first posters online, I then wanted to vent my frustration and let everyone know how I feel. I’m sure many others do too. I understand how this looks to the public and how the public feels about OnlyFans creators, but I was at rock bottom.”
Well if they sold the company before it hit bottom this is very unfair and they need to get the word out