Carole Middleton's 'Stressful Time': Ex-Business Owner Is Hundreds of Thousands in Debt as She Tries to Shield Sick Princess Kate From News

2024 has not been kind to Carole Middleton and her family. Along with her daughter Kate, Princess of Wales' surgery and cancer diagnosis, and her brother, Gary Goldsmith, embarrassing the family on live TV, the ex-business owner now finds herself hundreds of thousands of pounds in debt. Carole's husband, Michael Middleton, also shares the whopping debt as both try and shield an ailing Princess Kate from the devastating news.

According to an outlet, the former owners of the one-time successful Party Pieces company, owe "£260,000 (over $329,000) insolvency firm costs" with the firm in question acknowledging the duo as owing the massive amount of money.

"Carole is desperately trying to keep Catherine fully focused on her recovery," a Middleton family source spilled. "It's a very worrying time for the family, but they are not looking for any assistance from their children and don’t want them to worry."

They added: "Catherine and her parents are very close, and they always check in with each other, but talk about the business is off limits as she needs to focus on her health."

As The Royal Observer previously reported last June, Party Pieces "collapsed" due in part to the pandemic and "pressure on cash flow increasing," which caused the 36-year-old online megacompany to be sold off to an entrepreneur. The business started off small in 1987 and eventually grew beyond their wildest expectations as the years went by.

"Carole is understandably upset and deeply disappointed in this situation," a friend of Carole's said at the time. "Over the past five months, she really has done her best to find a buyer, who not only would take the business forward but would also honor any outstanding debts."

By the time Kate met William at St Andrew's University in 2001, Party Pieces had made Carole and Michael millionaires, upon which the close-knit household joined the upper echelons of middle-class British society. Meeting the Middletons came at a time when William was finding his way as an adult in the immediate years after Charles and Diana's divorce and the latter's tragic death in Paris in August 1997.

For now, the major family goal will be to "forget about this shame and rally around the Princess of Wales," according to a royal insider.

"Carole will be doing all she can right now to stop her daughter from stressing as she undergoes chemotherapy," royal expert Afua Hagan dished. "It's a stressful time at the moment and she will be pulling out all the stops to shield her daughter from this. Party Pieces has collapsed and it’s been devastating for the family, but Carole will be most concerned about Kate’s well-being right now."

Us Weekly reported on Carole's debt.