A Special Gift for the Little Royals
The best friend of Prince George, Charlotte and Louis? It’s a little dog named Orla, a spaniel breed and a gift from Uncle James, brother of Princess Kate Middleton. It was he who brought a four-legged friend to the Windsor home in 2022. Who immediately became the best playmate of the little princes. “They are lucky to have a little dog in their lives,” James Middleton said in an interview with OK! magazine.
The Importance of Growing Up with an Animal
After all, he knows well the importance of living with a furry friend. James Middleton, in fact, suffered from depression. And, some time ago, he told how it was his dog Ella who helped him face and overcome a very difficult period of his life. So, after saying goodbye to Lupo, Kate and William’s dog who died in 2020, Uncle James decided to make a special gift to his little nephews: a spaniel that is the joy of the whole family. And who has already made an appearance in some photos of the little royals. Growing up with an animal is a privilege, according to James Middleton, who now has a breeding farm and is part of the Pets as Therapy organization.
The Story of James and Ella
The news of the new four-legged entry into the English royal family has been known for some time, but only now has James Middleton told the reason for this special gift. According to Uncle James, his nephews must not grow up without an animal nearby. During the interview, in fact, he told that he had to wait until adolescence before he could have a dog. And it was the animal, his life companion, who taught him to look at life differently. During the period of depression, then, the dog was the friend who helped him heal: going out to breathe fresh air in his company, being responsible for the life of another living being, were determining factors in the healing process. Hence the choice to give a special friend to George, Charlotte and Louis. A gift given with the hope that between the children and the spaniel a bond will be born, like the one that united James Middleton to Ella. That’s the name of the dog that helped Kate Middleton’s brother come out of the tunnel of depression. Not only that. James Middleton also owes Ella the meeting with his current wife Alizée Thévenet. In January, he himself told the Times about this meeting worthy of a romantic comedy: “I met Alizée thanks to Ella, after she ran straight to her in a restaurant,” he explained. “So I wrote a note that Alizée kept and I signed it on behalf of Ella. I wrote something like ‘Would you like to go out for a drink with me and I will bring my friend James with me?'” Since that day, they have never left each other.
