The parents of Princess Kate are reportedly looking to the Big Apple to set up shop, according to the New York Daily News. Michael and Carole Middleton are hoping to expand their Party Pieces website – a one-stop shop devoted to party supplies and party-ware – across the pond, which in turn could lead to their younger daughter Pippa spending more time in Manhattan.
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A source told the New York Daily News that the Middletons are keen to establish an office in the U.S. because of interest from overseas for Party Pieces:
“It has prompted the Middletons to look at establishing an office in the U.S. so that they can bolster their brand and even tie into other companies and ventures. They feel New York offers them a good starting point.”
When Pippa was last in New York – stirring a media frenzy that she was apartment hunting – she was actually scouting for office space, the Daily Beast reported. The younger Middleton daughter, who edits an online blog for her parent’s business, was helping her parents find a location, since she is more familiar with the Big Apple, the Daily Mail noted.
The Middletons have had quite the balancing act trying to find a happy middle between the needs of their business and trying not to embarrass Kate. “The Middletons have been extremely careful not to upset Buckingham Palace by seemingly trading off Kate’s link to royalty,” the source told the New York Daily News. “They are adamant they will never trade off Kate’s royal links to get ahead in the business,” the source added.
Some of the Middletons’ recent business moves have raised eyebrows nonetheless. Most recently, after the official announcement that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were expecting their first child this summer, Kate’s parents unveiled a new line of baby goods with a “little prince” and “princess” theme, which prompted speculation that they were already profiting off their unborn grandchild, ABC News reported.
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