Kate Middleton's mother "bombarding staff with emails and stopping their salary to go to the dentist"

At first glance, working for Carole Middleton seems like a lot of fun. On the one hand, the stepmother of the future king is in the party business.

Whether it's night kits and celebrity cushions, giant confetti balloons or children's sunglbades shaped like ice cream, her cabinet responds to every imaginable whim.

She also likes to organize parties and admits to being a talkative. And whenever she's photographed in public – whether it's rubbing shoulders with the queen or shopping with her daughters – she always looks cheerful and realistic.

In fact, by avoiding an office, Middleton, 64, chose to sit on her 20-person team on the open floor of Party Pieces HQ, a converted cow barn in a hamlet in a quiet Berkshire pocket.

She likes to "listen to what people order and how they will use it".

Last year, in a rare attempt at personal promotion, she gave interviews to two magazines, stating, "If I seem like normal, that would be great because that's what I am." About the company, she added: "It's still a great family affair."

But all those who have worked for her do not share this positive badessment, although they do not doubt that it is the unwavering dedication of Ms. Middleton that has allowed the company to thrive.

She founded Party Pieces three decades ago, initially providing homemade gift bags to parents of her children's school friends.

But a number of former employees interviewed by The Mail on Sunday say that success has a price. They suggest that there is another side to society and offer examples of what they describe as Ms. Middleton's authoritarian management style.

An employee would have received 71 emails from her in one day, an amount that many might consider excessive, even for a busy office.

Other staff members said that she sometimes snapped her fingers to catch someone's attention when she was under pressure, which was considered irritating.

For some staff members, even the "Range Rover sound" standing outside the office was enough to put them "out of power."

Anyone running their own business will sometimes have to deal with disgruntled employees, although their complaints may seem mean and unjustified. And in the face of a strong boss, some employees are more sensitive than others.

The people we spoke to, however, similarly stated, independently of each other, that they had worked in a sometimes stressful environment, compounded last year, as the company struggled to keep its place difficult market.

However, Michael Middleton, who is closely monitoring the financial side of the business, appears as the perfect flagship for his pbadionate wife.

The staff members describe the 69-year-old as a father figure, a mediator in internal conflict, a shoulder on which to cry, and an "adorable guy".

Mike and Carole, as Prince William calls them, founded Party Pieces in 1987 as a flight attendant and dispatcher for British Airways. This gave them a comfortable life: Musical holidays, ski tours in the Alps and training provided by Marlborough College to Middleton's three children. And where they once lived in a modest semi-residential residence, they now have a seperate Grade II listed seven-story mansion.

All the children worked for the company. Ms. Middleton told Good Housekeeping, "Catherine created the First Birthday brand. She chose the products and took care of all the pictures and catalog production. Pippa created the blog … James had the idea of ​​custom cakes.

The company is a 15-minute drive from their home. Staff arriving at work are required to enter a personal code into a computer. It records exactly when they come and go and ensures that they have worked the hours allotted.

The company accountant can then send Ms. Middleton the name of anyone who may not have reached their quota. Sometimes they can receive an e-mail and be offered to deduct money or catch up with their hours.

Even a leave for a dentist appointment could be charged to staff, said a former employee. "I could understand having to make a point if you are paid at the hour, but we were salaried employees," he said.

In the main room, with exposed beams and unadorned walls, are the marketing, purchasing, merchandising and customer service teams. Mr. Middleton's office is at the bottom of some stages. Outside, there is a large warehouse and a shed where the items are packed and ready to be shipped.

In an interview that she gave at the end of last year, Ms. Middleton said that she was a big holiday fan and that she loved filling her home with her. Christmas trees, with one in each of the grandchildren's rooms.

However, a former staff member said there was nothing like garlands in the office. He added, "It was miserable. You would think that a company selling party items would be full of joy. Carole once spoke about us playing in a field near her home, but that did not materialize.

Another former employee said, "If you do not agree with her, she will give her favors to someone else, whatever it is, to the taste of the month.

"She would go out to lunch with them and be very friendly to them. You will then notice that you were cut off emails belonging to your specialty.

"One time, she snapped her fingers, wanting someone to come to her office, which, in my opinion, was humiliating and unprofessional. I saw her doing that to others too. Staff with a problem would invariably search for their husband. An ex-employee said, "He's an absolutely charming guy and considered a father figure by everyone. One year, we had a fantastic Halloween campaign, the best in our history.

"Mike sent a nice email to congratulate everyone, but his wife followed with an email reminding everyone that there was too much stock – even though we had broken sales records.

"We often went to see Mike if something was wrong. He rolled his eyes and said, "What did she do now?"

"Then he would go tell him a word and joke that Carole was causing chaos and confusion.

"Mike would be full of praise and appreciation for our efforts. She would expect us to respond to e-mails at seven or eight o'clock in the evening. And they were not simple – it would be her plaintiff, something like "I need you to do that and you send it back to me tonight."

"We often had to work late or during the weekend because she only signed up very late. She insisted on signing everything, but often she disappeared for hours. Once she desperately needed to sign something, but no one could join her. I then saw her on TV at Wimbledon.

"Carole's main job was to produce the quarterly catalog – and she did it well, but there were two occasions where people had to work throughout their weekend to prepare it because she had insisted for last-minute changes. There has never been an excuse, she was just waiting for people to do it.

Earlier this month, it appeared that Party Pieces had fired more staff, fearing for its future. A spokesman for the company said that its structure was being "reviewed to align with its financial goals."

Although Ms. Middleton has wisely avoided exploiting her near-royal status, the company has benefited, at least for a while, without a doubt.

According to staff, sales have "increased" after the marriage of Kate and William in 2011, for example.

But an insider said the company must now face the purchasing power of Amazon and Tesco, both of which sell party products.

A staff member said: "Recently, bans to buy new titles were introduced.We did not have money to buy anything, so we had to try to rid of what had not been sold, rather than buy what was popular. " A senior executive who spent two years in the company said that the pressure cooker environment had finally forced him to leave in 2014.

"I could not stand it," he said. "I was so stressed out that I got the upper hand. It was more or less taking me, really. They continued to promise me salary increases, but everything was to be taken, never give.

"I was high enough, I attended meetings with Carole and there was what seemed to be a full-fledged family dispute.

"This should be a professional environment and I meant personal things, things that I should not, things that should have been left at home."

Another employee who worked in the company for six months last year said, "I think she could have worked more collaboratively. I attended meetings at which someone was leaving and they were clearly upset. Carole turned to say, "Did I say it badly?"

& # 39; Her communication style is abrupt … you will meet people who take offense at this and she should better adapt to her audience.

"It was close to awkwardness and did not necessarily read the audience well, but it was neither rude nor nasty."

It remains to be seen how Party Pieces will behave in the difficult months ahead.

For the moment, Ms. Middleton is showing no signs of slowing down. She says, "I love to work and enjoy what I've done."