The Family and Background of the Duchess of Cambridge, the Middletons 1, Until 2022

[Kataryn]

i found this info online which mentions that kate's maternal side of the family is of jewish descent. i wasn't aware of it, so i thought i'd post.

You either see being "Jewish" as a religious or racial thing. I have hopes that the "racial" discussion died with the Allies victory over the Nazis. As for the religious question: Catherine is a member of the CoE, she is not of Jewish faith.

 

[AfricanAUSSIE]

Here is some trevia I incorrectly posted on another thread (woops!):

Uncle Gary's "Maison de Bang Bang up for sale. It’s on for 6.5 million Euro." (Daily Mail - Richard Kay)

Do I spot any interested buyers here?

 

[Zonk]

Please note that all discussion regarding Pippa Middleton should be posted here http://www.theroyalforums.com/forums/f140/pippa-middleton-may-2011-a-31544-65.html#post1518110.

 

[Duchess of Durham]

You either see being "Jewish" as a religious or racial thing. I have hopes that the "racial" discussion died with the Allies victory over the Nazis. As for the religious question: Catherine is a member of the CoE, she is not of Jewish faith.

If what carlota found is true then it is accurate to state the future monarch will be of Jewish descent. I did not see anything inappropriate in that statement. Now, if that statement were to be followed up with anti-semetic statements, then we can have a discussion about the inappropriateness of those statements. Sometimes, a fact is just a fact.

 

[cepe]

the future monarch is also of catholic descent. The past is the past. The future monarch will be the Head of the Church of England.

 

[Baroness of Books]

I saw nothing derogatory about Carlota's statement; she was just giving some information without any innuendo. It's as much of a fact that the Middletons are of Jewish descent as it is that there are coal miners in their ancestry.

 

[Mermaid1962]

That's really interesting. I knew that Kate had some Jewish ancestors, but I didn't realize that it was through the female line. I expect that many of us have some unknown Jewish DNA because of the "lost tribes", but this is quite direct.

i found this info online which mentions that kate's maternal side of the family is of jewish descent. i wasn't aware of it, so i thought i'd post.

 

[Duchess of Durham]

the future monarch is also of catholic descent. The past is the past. The future monarch will be the Head of the Church of England.

Catholicism is a religion not a race. With Judiasim/Jewish it is a little different as "Jewish" is used to define someone is of the Jewish faith and/or of Jewish descent. One can be of Jewish descent but be a Christian or Muslim.

 

[American Dane]

I saw nothing derogatory about Carlota's statement; she was just giving some information without any innuendo. It's as much of a fact that the Middletons are of Jewish descent as it is that there are coal miners in their ancestry.

I agree and it is not really unexpected. Her mother's maiden name is Goldsmith. As Duchess of Durham wrote, as long as no anti-semitic or racist remarks follow (and they haven't), it is quite appropriate for a post in this thread.

BTW Baroness are you sure you would want the keep the original furnishings? It is called Maison de Bang Bang for a reason Perhaps only a few pieces would stay

 

[Baroness of Books]

In case anyone's got a few bob to drop, here's some pics and information on this glorious villa. Maybe Uncle Gary will leave some of his furnishings:

Bang, Bang, Snap, Snap - The Steeple Times - Daily news of the powerful, rich and talented

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

Kate Middleton's family business: The ghetto families on 10p an hour making party gifts for Carole Middleton's £30m business empire Party Pieces | Mail Online

 

[HRHHermione]

Kate Middleton's family business: The ghetto families on 10p an hour making party gifts for Carole Middleton's £30m business empire Party Pieces | Mail Online

Oh god, what a nasty mean-spirited article. Count on the Mail to tie the Duchess of Cambridge to a story about labor conditions for one of the factories that provide items to a supplier who then provides those items to Party Pieces. The working conditions detailed in the story are terrible, but they aren't the fault of the Duchess or her parents.

And the jab about the Middletons always being "quick to cash in on their royal connections" is pure Daily Mail vitriol. Ugh.

 

[royalistbert]

Like everywhere else then!

 

[cepe]

Middletons investigate claims party pieces are made by workers on 10 pence an hour - Telegraph

Telegraph article referencing the one in the DM and saying that the company is investigating the allegations. Also mentions that the US supplier, AMSCAN supplies other retailers including Tesco.

If anyone has probs reading this (Telegraph access has limitations) I'll do a summary.

 

[EIIR]

Just when I thought the DM couldn't scrape anymore rubbish off the bottom of the barrel, they produce that article about Party Pieces. Trying to make it into "Kate profiting from modern day slavery" is just so utterly disingenuous.

When Party Pieces stop ordering from that supplier and the workers have less work I wonder if the DM will do a follow-up piece about how they go about making ends meat?

 

[Lumutqueen]

The Daily Mail and The Telegraph are just pointed out the facts, a company that's run by The Duchess of Cambridge's parents (of which she used to work for) uses cheap labour. It's an issue, what's everyones problem?

 

[HRHHermione]

The Daily Mail and The Telegraph are just pointed out the facts, a company that's run by The Duchess of Cambridge's parents (of which she used to work for) uses cheap labour. It's an issue, what's everyones problem?

They don't actually- that's the annoying thing about this article. They buy their merchandise from a big wholesale supplier who also supplies many other stores.

This supplier is the one that acquires goods made with cheap labor.

 

[cepe]

The Daily Mail and The Telegraph are just pointed out the facts, a company that's run by The Duchess of Cambridge's parents (of which she used to work for) uses cheap labour. It's an issue, what's everyones problem?

Are you saying that you think these articles are well-balanced reporting? And are without innuendo?

 

[cinrit]

My problem is that the Daily Mail specifically picked one company that sells products that are made by cheap labor. Do we dislike it? Yes, of course. Is it right that the Daily Mail makes it seem like Party Pieces is alone in this? Absolutely not. Sadly, cheap labor is used by more companies than most people realize. It has been revealed not long ago that even some high-end designers use it. It's not right, and we all deplore it, but Party Pieces is not by any stretch of the imagination the only company that sells products made in sweat shops, and it's wrong of the Daily Mail to give the impression that it is.

 

[Lumutqueen]

Are you saying that you think these articles are well-balanced reporting? And are without innuendo?

They reported facts. As a newspaper they made it more interesting to read obviously.

My problem is that the Daily Mail specifically picked one company that sells products that are made by cheap labor. Do we dislike it? Yes, of course. Is it right that the Daily Mail makes it seem like Party Pieces is alone in this? Absolutely not.

I'm not sure how you got that 'party pieces' was alone in this from the DM article. It's a news article and Party Pieces has obviously been chosen for the fact it's run by Carole and Michael Middleton. Nothing about the DM reporting is new, it's the way that paper does things. Last week they had an headline story about how Hong Kong people live in boxes. They publish 10p labour stories all the time, Party Pieces is another user.

 

[GracieGiraffe]

Whenever you get party items of the kind sold by Party Pieces, you can bet it's made from cheap outsourced labor. If you don't like it, don't buy that kind of stuff.

I do find it interesting that the future King of England benefits from such cheap outsourced labor as in a trip to Mustique but then SJP issues a statement signalling displeasure at the fact that people benefited economically over photos of his suitably clad wife on a public beach. I suppose he's only part of the monetary cycle when it suits him.

 

[cepe]

...I do find it interesting that the future King of England benefits from such cheap outsourced labor as in a trip to Mustique

Sorry - but I dont understand this statement - can you explain?

 

[GracieGiraffe]

Sorry - but I dont understand this statement - can you explain?

The Middletons have made a small fortune selling party pieces. They pay a pittance for these goods because they are manufactured by another company which employs people at immorally low wages. Had these workers been paid a proper wage, presumably the Middletons would not afford trips to Mustique and such, and have afforded to take the future King of England with them, which he apparently is all too happy to do quite often.

 

[EIIR]

The DM produced a deliberately and maliciously skewed report focusing on only one single small company who buy goods from a supplier whose workers earn a very low wage (which isn't illegal) to make them. The story is not "Mexicans working for pennies per hour", it's "Kate's family personally profit from exploitation". The DM don't care about those workers, they care about slandering the Middletons and getting hits and comments.

Where are the pictures of the people who run Tesco, the 3rd largest supermarket chain on the planet and who also use this supplier? Why have they not been asked for a statement? What about the other retailers who buy goods from this company? Why aren't they asking the supplier's shareholders how they feel about the company they own paying such low wages? Or the Mexican government why they don't have a minimum wage?

Our modern consumer society relies on people in far off lands getting paid a lot less than we do. My Apple laptop that I'm typing this on is made in Taiwan by people who earn a fraction of what I do. As is most of the clothes and shoes in the shops, most cars on the roads, most electronics etc. etc. etc. We're all to blame for it because we want cheaper and cheaper goods.

The DM produced a hatchet job on the Middletons. They should be ashamed, but this is the DM so of course they're not.

 

[cepe]

...Had these workers been paid a proper wage, presumably the Middletons would not afford trips to Mustique and such...

This is pure speculation based on a report by the Daily Mail. The report is based on ONE item that they sell and I noted that the DM stated carefully that they were TOLD the levels of pay that the people were earning - there is no other proof.

The main issue here is that the Middletons might sell an item for £12.99 and the people MAY be paid very little but there is nothing about what the US company is taking by way of profit. Before you get overexcited, why dont you contact the US company and ask them.

And to implicate the future King of England in this is ridiculous. Even the Mail didn't go that far.

 

[cepe]

The DM produced a deliberately and maliciously skewed report focusing on only one single small company ...

Thank you. excellent post, EIIR

 

[Dman]

You know the DM have to hit the Middleton's under belt on a regular bases. They wouldn't know what to do if they didn't do this everynow and then.

 

[HRHHermione]

This is pure speculation based on a report by the Daily Mail...

Exactly. The Mail took a story that had very little to do with the Middletons and made it all about them and linked it back to Kate. The people who make these products are not employed by them, and we have no idea what the wholesale price they get on these items is, or how much profit the supplier is making.

They even had the gall to state that the Middletons have always been quick to cash in on their royal connections, and they stated this as a fact instead of as an opinion, which is really sloppy writing and bad journalism. I'm not sure why some journalists seem to have it out for this family- they haven't done anything to merit it.

 

[GracieGiraffe]

I call them as I see them, but you are entitled to find my views ridiculous. It is an immoral economic system, and Will benefits directly therefrom. If the Midds are going to Mustique they are taking a profit, are they not?

The report might be based upon one item, but do you think that the vast majority of what they sell is based upon a different type of economic chain?

P.S. I notice two personal attacks here directed at me (poor giraffe!) Overexcited, and ridiculous. Your argument would be so much stronger if you don't feel the need to do that.

 

[cepe]

Many of the items sold by Party Pieces were supplied by the giant American party goods company Amscan, which also produces goods made cheaply in China.
The pinatas are also sold to other British firms, including supermarkets such as Tesco, and arrive via the American company's depot in Milton Keynes.
Joseph Zepf, Amscan vice-president, said the company "endeavours to comply with all laws and regulations, especially those relating to wage requirements and working conditions, and categorically denies any inference or allegation to the contrary".
In its annual report in 2011, the company acknowledged that many of its products were made outside America, "which may increase the risk that the labour, manufacturing, safety and other practices followed by the manufacturers of these products may differ from those generally accepted in the U.S."

From the Daily Telegraph

I think these are the people who should be talked about.

EDIT (sorry probs with computer) All the Middletons or any other supplier can do is take the matter up with their supplier. If this is the response they get, and I cant see how it would be any different, what are they supposed to do?

And yes I still think that it is ridiculous to involved William and Catherine for that matter in this and is unnecessary.