James Middleton’s happily ever after was set in motion, not by a fairy godmother, but by his beloved dog. The Princess of Wales’ younger brother credits his late dog Ella with introducing him to his wife, Alizée Thevenet. The couple met in 2018 at the South Kensington Club in London after Ella approached the French financial analyst.
“If that moment hadn’t been seized, I wouldn’t have met my wife, I wouldn’t have my beautiful son,” James has previously told HELLO!.
A meet-cute in London
In 2021, James opened up about his and Alizée’s meet-cute, recalling: “Ella was lying at my feet under the table; realising she might want some water, I trusted her to take herself over to the water bowl across the terrace. However, she made a beeline for Alizée. Rather embarrassed, I went over to apologise and bring Ella back. But Alizée thought I was the waiter and ordered her drink while continuing to stroke Ella, who at this point was on her back lapping up the attention.”
“Little did I know, but I had just met my future wife, all thanks to Ella,” he added.
Catherine’s stamp of approval
Alizée’s first meeting with her future royal in-laws, the Prince and Princess of Wales, proved just as memorable. In his memoir, Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life, James revealed that he and his then-girlfriend decided to stay at his parents’ home in Bucklebury one night after a wedding. Not wanting to wake anyone up, they let themselves in and went to bed, only to be woken up by “giggling at the bedroom door.”
“I hadn’t realised all three children [Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis] are staying for the weekend with my sister and William. Alizée is still sound asleep, so I gently shush the children and we go downstairs where Catherine and William are drinking their early morning tea in the kitchen,” James shared.
“I’m about to take a cup up to Alizée when she appears at the kitchen door. She has just got out of bed, her hair still tousled, and she is wearing one of my shirts. In situations like this, Alizée is wonderfully French. She does not panic or rush upstairs to get dressed. Instead, she just greets everyone warmly as if it’s not remotely unusual to be meeting her boyfriend’s sister and brother-in-law for the first time wearing only an oversized man’s shirt.”
“‘Hello,’ she says, proffering her hand and with no awkwardness at all we’re soon all chatting and the children are asking all kinds of cheeky questions at 100 miles per hour. How come we weren’t there when they went to bed? And who is this lady? Is she your girlfriend? (Cue giggles from both of them.) So I tell Charlotte and George, yes, she is my girlfriend and introduce her to them, then we are all talking and laughing as if she has been part of the family for years,” James continued. “Later that afternoon, Mum and Dad, who have been away for the weekend, come home. The next day we go for a walk together, all of us.”
Before they went their separate ways, James received a stamp of approval from his big sister. “When we all hug goodbye I get a special squeeze from Catherine, who whispers in my ear, ‘She’s just great.’ Mum’s warm smile tells me she agrees,” he remembered. “All my stars have aligned: Alizée is perfect for me and my family adores her.”
Road to marriage
While James had been spotted out with Alizée, he made their relationship Instagram official in May 2019 with a photo of them on a boat sporting matching sweaters. Months later, in September, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis’ uncle proposed in the Lake District.
The couple had planned to marry within a year of their engagement, but their wedding was postponed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They finally tied the knot in front of family and friends on September 11, 2021 in the French village of Bormes-les-Mimosas. Their official wedding photos were shared in a world exclusive with HELLO!.
“We couldn’t be happier,” James told HELLO! at the time. “It was wonderful to finally celebrate with family and friends despite the challenges of a global pandemic but we were relaxed and knew the day would eventually come.”
© InstagramFor her big day, the bride wore her mother-in-law Carole Middleton’s wedding dress. “My something borrowed was in fact my dress from my mother-in-law Carole who last wore it 41 years ago on her wedding day in June, 1980,” Alizée explained to HELLO!. “While talking about dresses with Carole and sharing ideas during lockdown for inspiration, I tried on her wedding dress and fell in love with it.”
“It fitted me perfectly and was exactly what I wanted. It always troubled me that wedding dresses are only worn once so it was amazing to give such a beautiful dress a second lease of life,” she continued.
© Instagram/James MiddletonA growing family
Two years after their wedding, James and Alizée were awaiting the arrival of their first child. In a post celebrating their second anniversary, he wrote that “the best is yet to come.” Their family grew on September 21, 2023 with the birth of their son, Inigo Middleton.
“No matter how much people say to you about how wonderful it is, or how it will change your life, nothing can ever prepare you for that experience of seeing a little baby that’s yours arrive,” James told HELLO! in 2024. “It unlocks something in your heart that you didn’t know was there.”
Prior to Inigo’s arrival, James wrote that he could not “wait to have another little human” join him and Alizee on their adventures. That has since become reality, with the family skiing and hiking together. James has described his son as adventurous and cheeky.
The Prince and Princess of Wales’ nephew is being raised to be bilingual. “Alizée only speaks to him in French and I only speak to him in English, so he’s in that sort of Duolingo aspect of [being] slightly slower in speaking, but sentences will be half-French, half-English,” James previously revealed to HELLO!. “It’s wonderful to watch.”
With a son and a home full of dogs, James has confirmed to HELLO! that he would love to have more children with Alizée if they are “fortunate enough to be able to”. “Yes – the pitter-patter of two or four feet,” the Princess of Wales’ brother said, smiling. “But who knows which will come first?”
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