On 5 July 2023, James Middleton posted adorable pictures of his wife and dog to announce the arrival of their first child. The news was really well welcomed with hundreds of comments wishing the couple the best. James Middleton and his wife, Alizée Thevenet, got married in 2021 after meeting in 2018. The couple often share glimpses of their lives and dogs on Instagram.
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While James Middleton’s private life is now expanding for the better, the brother of the Duchess of Wales has not always had an easy professional life. Indeed, throughout his life he launched several business ventures that ended up being failures.
The news of the pregnancy not only brightens up James’ life but also the Middleton’s overall. Indeed, this year has been particularly hard on them. Of course, the Princess of Wales is under constant spotlight due to her role in the Royal Family. But this year has seen other family members in the spotlight…
James Middleton’s failed businesses
When James Middleton announced the pregnancy on Instagram, he shared his joy saying ‘We couldn’t be more excited.’ The couple who got married in 2021, after having to postpone their wedding for two years due to COVID 19, is having their first child.
Read more:Prince William: His massive salary finally revealed as he faces backlash over Homewards project
This is incredible news for the man whose life has not always been easy. Indeed, throughout the years, Princess Kate’s brother had several businesses shut down. He launched his first business in 2007 when he dropped out of Edinburgh University. The cake-making business was closed in 2015.
However, when one business closes another opens. Well prepared for his company to be shut down, he launched Boomf in 2013. Boomf still exists today and you can purchase personalised cards and gifts from it but James Middleton is no longer attached to the company.
In January 2022, the company released a statement saying:
Boomf, a personalised greetings company, founded by Kate Middleton’s younger brother, James Middleton, has been acquired by a consortium of investors,
The sale was due to the company’s financial state. The Daily Mail reported that the company ‘ran out of cash’ just a few months prior to the sale.
But these failures did not scare James Middleton’s business hunger. In 2020, Middleton launched a third business, Ella & co, that sells dog products. On his website, James Middleton, whose love for dogs is known, explains how the company came to be.
A few years back, my dogs helped pull me out of a really difficult battle with depression.
When I reached the other side, I set out on a mission to make their lives just as happy and as healthy as they’ve made mine, starting with the food they eat
The Middletons have had a difficult year in 2023
The news of James having a baby arrives as a glorious time for his family.
Indeed, his parents have been caught in business collapse.
The Guardian reported in May 2023 that ‘the online party supplies retailer founded by the parents of the Princess of Wales has been sold after collapsing into administration.’
The Middletons had founded the company in 1987. The amount for which the company was bought has not been disclosed.
The company was set up by the Middletons because of Carole Middleton’s struggles to find party supplies for Kate’s birthday. The Guardian explains that Carole Middleton ‘subsequently started the business from the kitchen table at the family’s Berkshire home’
It was reported that the company was over £2.5 million in debt. According to a report filed to Companies House, the ‘cash flow challenges and inability to secure additional funding’ meant that the company could not be saved.
The Daily Mail, using an unnamed source, reported that:
Carole is understandably upset and deeply disappointed in this situation.
Read more:
⋙ Carole and Michael Middleton: Here's why their loan for Party Pieces was funded by taxpayers
Sources:
Wikipedia
TheDailyMail: James Middleton sells his greeting card business Boomf to Estonian businessman for £300,000 just a month after it went into administration with £800,000 debt
The Guardian: Party supplies firm founded by the Middletons sold after collapse
Tatler: Carole Middleton is ‘desperately sad’ as her party supplies business collapses
