Party Pieces: Kate Middleton’s Mom Launches in the US

Carol Middleton, the mother of the Princess of Wales, has launched her party supplies company, Party Pieces, in the United States.

The company was founded in 1987 when Carol was searching for ideas for her daughter's fifth birthday party.

She identified a gap in the market and created a business that offers parents with limited time a simple selection of creative parties for their children.

The brand's best-selling Party Pieces collection includes products such as plates, napkins, cups, caps, balloons, treat stands, and decorations.

It is headquartered in Ytendon, Berkshire, at Child's Court Farm, and sends out 4,000 orders per week with 40 employees.

Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, assisted in the creation of the first birthday and infant categories, and all three of her children have contributed to the business at some point.

According to Carol, they had to do everything themselves at first, and the kids occasionally assisted with jobs like receiving orders and filling boxes.

The Party Pieces collection is now available for purchase in the United States for the first time.

Carol, who is 67 years old, visited many shops to inspect her goods, which were displayed next to cardboard cutouts of herself.

This marks the brand's first retail relationship outside of the UK and the beginning of bigger expansion plans in the US.

It comes just one year after the Party Pieces collection successfully entered the British e-commerce market and became a top-selling line.

However, the mail-order business lost about £300,000 last year.

According to recently released data, Party Pieces holdings had a loss of £285,506 in 2021, resulting in a net deficit of £1.35 million.

Despite this, the expansion of Party Pieces will continue with the excursion across the Atlantic.

The company's products will be sold in 39 Seika ShopRites locations in the US.

“We're pleased to join with Seika ShopRites for our initial launch since this is the outcome of outstanding cooperation.

We are happy to be the first US retail partner for British heritage brand Party Pieces,” said Richard Seika, president, and CEO of Seika ShopRites.

“We understand that our customers are reuniting to celebrate important milestones in their lives and that they want to have amazing parties.”

In other news, Queen Camilla has been advised not to wear the Cullinan diamond during her next state visit to South Africa.

The journey will bring King Charles into the public eye following his accession to the throne after the passing of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

The South African president has asked Queen Camilla not to wear the Cullinan diamond during his visit next week because it may serve as an unfortunate reminder of colonialism.

The Cullinan diamond was mined in South Africa in 1905 and presented to King Edward VII as a token of friendship and loyalty.

It is the largest rough-cut diamond ever discovered, and the premier mine, located close to Pretoria, is where the 3,106-carat uncut diamond was found.

According to Zwolinsa Mavavi, one of South Africa's most well-known trade unionists, whose father worked in the gold mining business during the height of apartheid, if the Princess of Wales or the Queen Consort were to wear the diamond, it would be a very unpleasant reminder of the colonial era's history.

“If they were worn the following week, it would be like spitting in the face of South Africans.

It would be exceedingly bad, and would be parading Cecil John Rhodes' past in our faces, as well as the mining industry of the colonial era, time when the minerals and the land were taken from us, which we then had to fight for,” said Mavavi.

President Cyril Ramaphosa of the Republic of South Africa will visit the United Kingdom between November 22 and November 24 in the company of Dr. Tshepo Motsep.

The state visit will be hosted by the King and the Queen Consort at Buckingham Palace.