James Middleton has opened up about his love of dogs, and in the process, revealed that he thinks his niece and nephews Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis are “lucky” to have one of their own.
In an interview with OK! Magazine, James detailed how he and his sisters Catherine, Princess of Wales, and Pippa Middleton didn’t have a dog when they were young children and how it “devastated” him.
James Middleton, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis’ uncle, says they are lucky to have a pet dog.
(Credit: (Image: Getty))“[I would] write letters to my parents to try to convince them to let me have one,” James said.
However, the Middleton family did eventually get a dog, named Tilly, when James was a teenager.
“I found a lot of solace in my dog, Tilly, particularly when I was a young teenager. She knew all of my secrets at the time – who I fancied and all of those little tricky parts that come with growing up that I never told anybody.”
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Tilly, a golden retriever, was actually featured in one of the first ever official photos of Prince George in 2013.
The connection between James, dogs and the royal family doesn’t end there though. When James reached adulthood, he got a spaniel named Ella. And in 2011, when Prince William and Princess Catherine wanted a dog of their own, James gifted them Ella’s puppy, Lupo.
Princess Catherine pictured with the family dog Orla, who was a gift for George, Charlotte and Louis from James.
(Credit: (Image: Getty))Lupo lived with the Wales family at Kensington Palace right up until his death in 2020.
At this point, James decided to give George, Charlotte and Louis a black working cocker named Orla because it really ‘pleases’ him to see his niece and nephews growing up with dogs.
“I’m really pleased that they are able to enjoy and have the benefit of a dog in their lives. I see them being lucky that they have a dog in their life,” James said.
