James Middleton Thinks He Might Be Even More Well-Known for Something Beyond His Close Links to the Royal Family

Mar. 15, 2025

James Middleton attends the GQ Men Of The Year Awards 2019 at Tate Modern on Sept. 3, 2019 in London, England.Photo:Jeff Spicer/Getty

Jeff Spicer/Getty

One might think thatJames Middletonwould mostly get recognized for his close association to the royal family — but he claims he’s more well-known for an entirely different reason.

“But people sometimes reach out to me on social media to say they’ve seen me with the dogs,” he added.

Ambassador for the Friends for Life award James Middleton poses for a photograph with his dogs Inka, Luna, Ella and Mabel at a launch event for this year’s Crufts and Friends for Life in Green Park, London.Kirsty O’Connor/PA Images via Getty Images

Kirsty O’Connor/PA Images via Getty Images

James, 37, is a well-known dog lover, even calling his memoir released earlier this yearMeet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life, about his beloved cocker spaniel who died in 2023. He is still a dog dad to six dogs: Mabel, Nala, Inka, Zulu, Isla and Luna (and a dad to one human, too — son Inigo, who he shares with wife Alizée Thevenet).

“I think they recognize the dogs first, to be honest,” James said. “They get recognized more than I do.”

James said of his pack of six that “The dogs love going on car journeys — and there are increasingly more wonderful dog-friendly hotels in the U.K., where you feel that the dogs are being looked after better than you are.”

He told the outlet, “The dogs get their own menus and beds and everything. It’s fantastic to see hotels opening up that cater to the whole family; four-legged friends as well as two-legged ones.”

James Middleton and dogs Luna, Inka, Ella and Mabel on Feb. 18, 2020.Flick Digital/Shutterstock

Speaking to PEOPLE in September, James — a strong advocate for dogs as a form of therapy — said, “An ambition [of mine] is to get dogs to be on a prescription from doctors, because I think there is an undeniable amount of things that dogs can do for us.”

“[They] get us up in the morning and outside,” he added. “It’s incredible what it can do for us if you don’t mentally want to do it, but you’re doing it for something else,”

InMeet Ella, James detailed his struggle with depression, including how seeing Ella one night in 2017 helped steer him away from suicidal thoughts.

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James Middleton and a beloved dog.James Middleton/Instagram

“We have a lot to learn from dogs, which is that they live every day as today. They’re not thinking about yesterday,” James said. “They’re not annoyed about yesterday or worrying about the future. They’re living in the moment. If we all focus on that a little bit more, then I think we will be happier.”

source: people.com