Carole Middleton says Kate inspired her to take one of the biggest risks of her life—at only 5-years-old!
Carole Middleton reveals the huge life change the Duchess of Cambridge inspired that could have been a total disaster
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Carole Middleton says at only 5-years-old, her eldest child Kate Middleton inspired her to take one of the biggest risks of her life. The risk in question led to her now incredibly successful business and is the stuff of fairytales.
- Carole Middleton's start in business is an inspiring tale for any mom.
- She explains what steps led to her incredibly successful business.
- In other royal news, Will Michael and Carole Middleton get titles when Prince George is King?
Carole Middleton has revealed that long before Kate Middleton became a Duchess, she was instrumental in Carole's own Cinderella story.
Carole is a dedicated mom to her children and children-in-law. A prime example of this was recently when her wedding dress got a "second lease of life" at her son James's private wedding.
Carole owns party bag business Party Pieces, and in a chat with The Daily Mail, she explained the origins of her incredibly successful company. A company that she founded when Kate was just a little girl.
"My children inspired my business and have been involved from the start," she told the publication.
She explained, "the success that we've had has helped us build the life we have currently. I feel incredibly fortunate to have found the professional fulfillment I always wanted."
The Middletons could have a bigger "influence" on the Cambridge children than the Royal Family, according to experts, which means they might well end up with a flair for business too!
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The proud mom-of-three said that it all began when she was organizing the Duchess of Cambridge's fifth birthday party. "All I could find were basic clown plates," she said.
"I realized there was a gap in the market for partyware that wasn't too expensive and which looked good, so decided to design my own. I took some prototypes to various High Street retailers and was turned away."
Despite her initial lack of interest, Carole didn't give up and instead began her business from her kitchen table. From the family home in Berkshire, she then promoted her array of products at her children's nursery school.
Now, over three decades later, she's still developing and producing new products for her successful brand.
"Thirty-five years later, I'm launching the Party Pieces collection. I suppose some things are worth the wait," she said. "So rather than slowing down, this is an exciting new chapter for me. I think I'll always be interested in party trends."
"My children continue to inspire me and, as they have grown up, our brand has evolved," Carole said. Over the years, Kate, Pippa and James Middleton have all worked for their mother's brand.
Carole added triumphantly, "They say if you do a job you enjoy, you don't work a day in your life, and I truly feel like that."
Aoife is an Irish journalist and writer with a background in creative writing, comedy, and TV production.
Formerly woman&home's junior news editor and a contributing writer at Bustle, her words can be found in the Metro, Huffpost, Delicious, Imperica and EVOKE.
Her poetry features in the Queer Life, Queer Love anthology.
Outside of work you might bump into her at a garden center, charity shop, yoga studio, lifting heavy weights, or (most likely) supping/eating some sort of delicious drink/meal.
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