James Middleton recalls and encounter with the late Queen when she comforted him after his beloved dog Ella became something of an escape artist during a stay at Sandringham
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.
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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 given special privileges to stay in James’s guest room – she proceeded to escape and make her way into the kitchen, followed by a trip into a guest room bathroom. James remembers being spoken to later in the day by the late Queen, a huge dog lover herself, who delivered a comforting: “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 Middletons and Windsors have long been dog-loving families, with the late Queen herself owning more than 30 corgis, many of whom were direct descendants of her first dog, named Susan.
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.
James’s beloved Ella died shortly before James and his wife Alizee Thevenet discovered they were expecting their first child. James told OK! It was the realisation that his child wouldn’t ever get to meet her that spurred the idea for the book.
“That thought really hit me” he said, “so I started writing down every memory I could, every adventure, every moment we shared because I wanted Inigo to know Ella. I wanted him to know the dog who introduced his father to his mother, and to understand just how extraordinary she was. Our lives were so deeply entwined. She was a part of me as much as I was a part of her.
“The book naturally unfolded from that connection. And I knew that if Ella’s story could bring someone else even a glimmer of hope, comfort, or warmth, then telling it would be worth it.
“What I thought about most was why I was telling this story. It wasn’t just about me, it was about the incredible bond we can have with animals, and how sometimes, they reach us in ways that people can’t. I wanted to honour that, and I wanted to honour Ella.”
Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life (Radar) is out now in paperback, hardback, ebook and audio
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