Bigger Problems For The ‘Ladies Of London’ [Spoilers]
Just as the whiff of poor ratings has surfaced for Ladies of London, even worse news has emerged about Caroline Stanbury and her luxury business, The Gift Library. As most fans know, there is a delay between what is going on in the current episode, and a real life timeline. The last mark of time on the show was just after the new year, but it seems that day of reckoning came for The Gift Library in April.
Sadly, the Inquisitr reported that in terms of ratings, Ladies of London is on life support. In terms of Bravo’s rating standards, if things don’t turn around, Ladies of London is kaput after the current season, which is a shame, as the show and the ladies do have a loyal following, and it is often a far more clever twist on the Real Housewives franchise.
Sadly, it might be the death of something that has new viewers sniffing around to witness Queen Bee, Caroline Stanbury, take a serious tumble. Serious spoiler to follow.
Truth pic.twitter.com/q2sVLWyHby
— Caroline Stanbury (@C_Stanbury) October 7, 2015
A British financial publication, This Is Money, reported mid-April that not only did The Gift Library crash and burn, as Stanbury feared, but it’s holdings were gobbled up by opportunistic companies standing by and waiting.
“Luxury home and interiors web site Amara has acquired rival site Gift Library which collapsed several weeks ago. Gift-Library.com, which employed around 60 staff, hit the buffers when creditors called in administrators after bills were left unpaid. The site’s owner and founder Caroline Stanbury was on holiday skiing with friends including Chloe Green, the daughter of Topshop clothing magnate Sir Philip Green, as the firm floundered.”
Yikes. Poor Caroline Stanbury should be wearing an evil eye bracelet, as it seems that she has been at the top of the heap, and many have wanted to strike her down. Even many of her cast mates seem to desire a big get-even to remind her that despite her attitude, she is not superior. Though she has rankled quite a few people, it’s hard to believe that anyone wanted to see the end of the business she has worked so hard to build, and sacrificed so much to maintain.
The Mail on Sunday: Luxury home and interiors firm Amara snaps up society girl Caroline Stanbury's Gift Library http://t.co/pBGgcreCDL
— Neil Craven (@neilcraven1) April 19, 2015
All traffic that had previously had gone to Gift-Library.com is now being sent directly to Amara.com. The idea is to introduce Stanbury’s former customers to the Amara luxury brand, which features such brands as Ralph Lauren (who just had their own management change) and Missoni Home. Gift Library customers will be hard pressed to find the personal touch that was Stanbury, but Amara does offer some interesting choices.
Oddly, it is still difficult to find too many details of the end of The Gift Library, though it has now been six months since the end. The Daily Mail reported (in quite a snarky manner) that while Rome figuratively was burning, Stanbury was having a skiing holiday in Courcheval. The headline made it sound as if Stanbury could have cared less, which any fan of Ladies of London will tell you is dead wrong. Kicking people when they are down, even those with British stiff upper lips, is unflattering.
“Prince Andrew’s rumoured old flame, Caroline Stanbury, makes light of the fact her staff keep a dartboard in the office with her face on it, but no doubt it has been getting plenty of use this week.”
Ouch.
“One source calls it a ‘car crash of a business’. Even her father, Anthony Stanbury, resigned as a director last summer.”
The suggestion that even her dad has thrown her under the bus is pretty harsh. It would seem that in the next few episodes, fans will get to witness the actual business “car crash,” which is sad on so many levels, but it will hurt even the most anti-Caroline fan to see her taken down so many notches in such a public way. It will be hard to imagine that Stanbury won’t find another way to land on her feet, perhaps in a new business venture.
Will you continue to watch Ladies of London? What do you think will be the professional fate of Caroline Stanbury?
[Photo courtesy of YouTube]
