Kate Middleton’s parents’ COVID loan: Why taxpayers may be forced to pay off
nypost.comthe Times UK has reported. On May 18, Carole, 68, and Michael, 73, sold their business to entrepreneur James Sinclair for roughly $223,000 (£180,000) — 36 years after launching the company.
Prior to the sale, the Middletons were given a loan from National Westminster Bank [NatWest] during the 2020 lockdown to help keep their company afloat, and now owe the bank $273,500 (£220,000).But even after the sale to Sinclair, taxpayers could be on the hook for the balance still owed to the bank — nearly $50,000 (£40,000) as government regulations regarding the pandemic loan program have made the public liable to pay 80% of any amount owed to NatWest.The company has said that the coronavirus “caused constraints” and their sales plummeted in 2020, while current revenue has reached only about three-quarters of pre-pandemic levels, falling from £4.5 million to £3.2 million in 2022, according to the Times’ report.
Carole looked back on the fun times she had while working at her firm, reminiscing about how her kids — the Princess of Wales, 41, Pippa, 39, and James, 36 — would often help her out at work.“Party Pieces has literally grown alongside my family, and I’m very proud of that,” she said in a 2022 interview with Sheer Luxe.“My husband and I were young and a little inexperienced, but very enthusiastic, so we didn’t worry too much,” Carole explained.She described how Pippa wrote the company’s “Party Times” blog, while James would bake the cakes.
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