The sudden unusual turn on Princess Kate

[Whatt]

Today, I wanted to share something thought-provoking that has caught my attention recently - a noticeable change in the way the media portrays Kate Middleton.

Some publications that previously showed favor towards Kate (DM cough, cough) have started publishing stories that present her in a more critical light. It's an interesting shift.

Firstly, there's a story circulating about an encounter between Kate and a convicted murderer at a charity event. Additionally, there's talk of the taxpayer potentially providing support for her family's struggling business. This raises questions about the circumstances surrounding their business venture and the implications it may have for public funds.

What's intriguing is the parallel being drawn between Kate's current media treatment and the scrutiny faced by Meghan Markle in the past. It's worth discussing whether there's a connection or simply a coincidence.

Furthermore, there's some buzz on Twitter suggesting that Kate may have unintentionally upstaged the King during the Chelsea Flower Show. While it may seem like harmless gossip, it's interesting to consider the impact of such events on the monarchy's reputation. Some even speculate that Camilla might have been involved in the leak of these stories, adding an extra layer to the intrigue.

Taking a step back, it's worth pondering whether the monarchy should be concerned about being upstaged in this day and age. Are we witnessing a shift in priorities and expectations?

maybe its just me but I would not have asked the country to save my business and give me money if I was personally a millionaire.

Lots of famous millionaire "designers" applied for Covid furlough schemes, the whole thing was a joke ,

You are missing the point. Everyone locally is asking why a party business with no real assets was allowed to accumulate such astonishing levels of debt.
It is different from an online business going bankrupt with say ten thousand worth of debt.
What is being said locally is that the level of high debt was only allowed because people trusted them because she is Kate's parents. And there are being questions asked about why the auditors did not raise the alarm a long time ago.
The level of debt accumulated is astonishing. I don't even understand how that level of debt is possible for an online party item's business. And local firms will go bankrupt as a result.

And what isn’t widely reported but visible from Comoanies House is that £1.4m of the debt is in the form of a director’s loan, ie the Middletons themselves have lost £1.4m of their own money in trying to keep it going. They are by far the biggest creditor. Does t make for such a good story though.

The debts are for 2.6 million. Why did nobody pull the plug a long time ago? The company has little in the way of assets.
In its best years it made half a million in profit. It was not a going concern for a long time.
And they sold it for £180,000. Was that just the stock worth and the buyer asset stripped and folded it once assets were sold off?

Vermin,they sold the company. The loan may have been repaid as part of that.

I know what you mean , allabouttheboy ,
I too thought how a company that essentially sells cheap tat accumulate such high debts , things like £20k for helium and £3k for cakes sounds insane ,
it seems like they've lost interest in running the company and we’re confidant that being “Kate’s parents” will always work for them.

I think you might change your mind about this when you realize that means your employees, suppliers, and customers will all be terribly harmed.

But it was obviously not a going concern at the time the loan was given.

I feel quite bad for all concerned, I’m not surprised people are upset. I know people who lost small businesses thanks to covid ☹️ and it impacts all the clients and suppliers. Stupid disease ☹️

I would use my own money!

It's not just them. It has been going on for years and is a failing of our own rules on financial accountability. I remember when one of the big energy companies failed and the owner was paying himself millions in the same financial quarter. The loopholes are left in place to be exploited. Blame the system.

"Vermin · Today 13:12
And what isn’t widely reported but visible from Comoanies House is that £1.4m of the debt is in the form of a director’s loan, ie the Middletons themselves have lost £1.4m of their own money in trying to keep it going. They are by far the biggest creditor. Does t make for such a good story though."

As did The Middleton's. 1.4M of their own money.

but thye also received some of our money, and they clearly do not need it.

You are missing the point. Everyone locally is asking why a party business with no real assets was allowed to accumulate such astonishing levels of debt.

“Everyone” presumably hasn’t much idea how what accounts look like and what they’ll show you pre-insolvency, then…

We know from the administrator’s report that the Party Pieces business had only been transferred into a corporate entity in 2019 (most probably because if Carole and Michael ultimately wanted to sell the business and retire, that’s the easiest way to structure it. To acquire a company you just have to buy all its shares).

That new company was immediately impacted by the effects of Covid, but its revenue was still £4.5m - that gives you some idea of what its pre-Covid turnover would have been - clearly, considerably higher. (That’s your answer for why they had a high debt - pre-Covid the debt supported the company’s trading which was at that stage generating much more money)

They had 12 employees, some bank debt, trade creditors (i.e. people that the business owes money to - which will include people from who they have purchased stock and things like packaging etc that they need to run their business, plus utilities). They had clearly run the business down since Covid as they have a very small stock level - way less than you’d expect for a company generating that kind of revenue to have (that’s the reason why they have a low level of assets I imagine - apart from the inherent value of the brand and their customer base, the stock is their main asset. They have obviously stopped ordering new stock as their business was declining - that’s responsible trading. Eventually you get to a point where your declining revenue can’t support your debts, though, and at that stage you need to look for options like a sale or a wind up).

Anyway, like so many others in this country, they were a flourishing business that suffered a devastating loss of business due to Covid, and couldn’t trade their way out of the debt that they had built up when the business was doing much better financially pre-Covid. Not a story of financial mismanagement or corruption I’m afraid for those who were hoping for it…

Very informative @Serenster , as always of course! 😀

The usual cheap shots at kate's parents. They've been subjected to years of abuse, and still it continues

What is being said locally is that the level of high debt was only allowed because people trusted them because she is Kate's parents.

Most commercial lenders’ creditworthiness assessments couldn’t care less how well connected the directors are, they care abut the company’s business model, turnover, forecasts, current level of debts and available security. As I said above, this company had built the debt up pre-Covid when the business (pre transfer into the limited liability company) was making a lot more money.

(Essentially, they took out a mortgage that was perfectly in line with their salary, and then both lost their jobs pre-Covid and could no longer afford to pay it. Very common, you’ll find, right now).

And there are being questions asked about why the auditors did not raise the alarm a long time ago.

The company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

It’s also only been incorporated since September 2019. Covid restrictions would have shuttered its trade completely just six month later in March 2020. The company’s accountants clearly must have been having serious conversations with its Board as by March 2023 they were looking for a buyer.

Your local people need to ask better questions!

Yep ! Open season on any other royal but heaven help anyone who criticises h or m !

Oh give up lol. There are posters on this board who never stop criticising H&M. So they get pushback. Big deal. Just like people are giving pushback on other posters questioning the middleton’s business practices. All is fair. No one is silenced.

I’m not questioning it. I could not care less. But I do still understand while small business creditors are feeling a bit shit about it all, if the Middletons business is going to have a knock on effect on their businesses. It’s only human.

I feel a bit shit that as a result of covid my work and my husband’s work has screeched to a halt. Forced us into early retirement because the people we worked for had to close the doors. And we not only retired a little earlier than we wanted to, we also lost $20,000 dollars in total in wages etc.. yep covid, it’s shit: the people we work for have just bought a new bigger home though and have gone on holidays os. I worked it out, what that holiday would probably cost. Essentially they had their holidays on us. All covid. All legal. Bit shit. We aren’t the only ones feeling a bit shit. Globally it’s all a bit shit. Except for some companies such as supermarkets and power companies etc.. that got govt covid handouts and posted the biggest yearly profits of their history.

PS But I recognise it’s more than a bit shit for the people who have lost, and are still losing, family and friends to covid.

Oh come on, there's far more critics here than supporters of them and there are endless threads repeating the same criticisms and often without any pushback, indeed the absence of that has been commented on a lot on the threads. The rest of the royals get barely any criticism here at all nd each one is piled on. Nobody could say with a straight face this board doesn't allow criticism of Meghan and Harry, it is the main topic.

So William’s in laws have not paid their bills, including to small family firms , using no doubt their proximity to the ‘royals’ as their bond.
Meanwhile the Middletons and W and K jet off to party in the Middle East on a private jet ultimately paid for by the taxpayer

A very bad look

The real question is why hasn’t the media covered it all up as they normally do ?

Company law basics - a limited liability is an entirely separate legal entity to its shareholders. It, and only it, is responsible for its debts. There are long-established legal processes for what happens when a company finds itself in unmanageable debt. They have been deployed here.

So Party Pieces Holdings Limited hasn’t paid its bills, not the Middletons personally. They have lost money too, as their own loans to the company won’t be repaid. And, if they had personally guaranteed any bank debt, will likely have to pay that themselves. And they are not the only shareholders. Maybe you’d like to track down the other ones and ask the why they haven’t also contributed?

Oh come on, there's far more critics here than supporters of them and there are endless threads repeating the same criticisms and often without any pushback, indeed the absence of that has been commented on a lot on the threads. The rest of the royals get barely any criticism here at all nd each one is piled on. Nobody could say with a straight face this board doesn't allow criticism of Meghan and Harry, it is the main topic.

Criticising the Middletons is equivalent to criticising Doria Ragland, but you don’t see anyone doing that here.

Methinks the financial literacy curriculum in schools needs to be tweaked again.