After his beloved dog Ella turned into something of an escape artist while staying at Sandringham, James Middleton recalls an encounter with the late Queen when she comforted him.
James Middleton has recalled a light-hearted moment with the late Queen where the two bonded over their love and appreciation of dogs. The father of one, who is the younger brother of Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, is currently celebrating the release of the paperback version of his book, Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life, which is part-memoir, part love letter to man’s best friend.
In an exclusive interview with OK!, the 38-year-old said writing down his experiences of love and loss, and explaining his incredible bond with cocker spaniel Ella, who died in January 2023, had been “overwhelming, in the best way”, and he was incredibly proud of the result. As well as sharing difficult details of what he calls his “Darkest night”, when his mental health plummeted, there are also a lot of lighter moments, many of them involving sister Kate, 43, and her extended royal family.
READ MORE: These £65 espadrilles look just like Ralph Lauren’s £320 pair and are ideal for summer office shoes
Recalling a time when he was invited to stay at Sandringham by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, James revealed that Ella wasn’t the most well-behaved house guest and proceeded to get up to mischief.
When she was granted special access to James’s guest room, she fumbled into the kitchen and into the bathroom before making her way upstairs. James recalls that the late Queen, a devoted dog lover herself, addressed him later that day and said, “Well, dogs will be dogs.”
As well as being James’s most faithful canine companion, Ella was also the mother of Prince William and Kate’s late dog Lupo, who appeared in many of the family photographs shared by the royal couple.
The late Queen herself owns more than 30 corgis, many of whom were direct descendants of her first dog, Susan, and the Middletons and Windsors have long been dog-loving families.
King Charles, 76, also adopted his mother’s love for dogs, and owned Jack Russell Tigga while William and Harry were growing up. There is now a bronze sculpture of Tigga in the gardens of Charles’s Gloucestershire home, Highgrove.
Ella, James’s beloved, passed away shortly before Alizee Thevenet, James’ wife, and their first child were born. James instructed OK! The realization that his child would never meet her inspired the concept for the book.
I started journaling every memory, adventure, and moment we shared because I wanted Inigo to know Ella because he said, “That thought really hit me.” I wanted to let him know the dog who introduced his father to his mother, and to learn about her extraordinary nature. Our lives were so firmly linked. She influenced me just as much as I did her.
That connection “naturally led to the development of the book.” And I knew that telling Ella’s story would be worthwhile if it could give someone else even a glimmer of hope, comfort, or warmth.
“Why I was telling this story was what I thought most about,” I said. It wasn’t just about me; it was also about how powerful animals can be and how they can sometimes touch us in ways that other people can’t. I wished to honor Ella and that.
The book, which is called Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life (Radar), is available in paperback, hardback, ebook, and audio.
Source: Mirror
Leave a Reply