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Kate Middleton's Family Business: Party Pieces

Ever since Carole and Michael Middleton's eldest daughter, Kate, became engaged to Prince William, the family business has seen an enormous increase. Maybe it's because of curiosity or they are fulfilling a popular need for those in the U.K. Kate Middleton's family owns a mail order catalog and online business called, appropriately enough, Party Pieces.

You can order party supplies, favors, tableware, etc. for just about any occasion such as anniversaries, birthdays, St. George's Day (April 23, Britain's national holiday), British Street Parties (usually held for royal weddings or their milestone events), hen parties or bachelorette parties, and weddings. The powers to be for the royal family are worried about a conflict of interest this may cause for them. But the royal family knew of Kate's family business beforehand.

Party Pieces was founded in 1987 by Carole Middleton, Kate's mother, when her three children were very young. She wanted other young mothers to be able to create birthday parties for their children that would be fun, magical and memorable. It has grown to become the United Kingdom's leading catalog and online source for party needs.

Party Pieces would be somewhat similar to Party City in the U.S., but without the bricks and mortar. However, the company . For instance, its call center is in a 200-year-old barn, the warehouse that stores all of its tableware, party favors and other supplies is in a converted hay barn, and its shipping and packaging is done in a former cow shed.

Kate Middleton's role in the family business was that of a project manager. She left that position permanently after her royal engagement. Some of her duties as project manager included being the . Kate Middleton was responsible for putting together their annual Christmas catalog, attending trade fairs and arranging photo shoots for the catalog year-round. She also utilized these same skills when she worked at Jigsaw. Now Kate is busy planning her own wedding, thanks to the valuable skills she learned from her family business.

Much has been written about in the British press how the Middleton's are trying to grab attention and get a piece of the royal wedding publicity to help their party supply business. This business was created and established long before they met any of the royals. The Middletons, with the exception of , has not given any interviews to any members of the press since the engagement. The royal family is at a huge advantage with its fleet of press officers to deny stories.

The Middletons haveregarding any falsehoods reported in the press. All they can do is grin and bear it. There was one costly mistake Kate Middleton's family did make. It wanted Kate to help advertise products for Party Pieces, but the family learned its lesson quickly. While some might see the family business as a conflict of interest for Kate and the royal family, it doesn't have to be that way. The royal family has its wedding party supplies through someone else and the Middletons have it with the rest of the U.K.