Why Kate Middleton's Brother Thinks George, Charlotte and Louis Are 'Lucky'

Kate Middleton's younger brother, James Middleton, has opened up about his mental health and why he believes his sister's royal children are "lucky" in a recent interview.

Middleton had a starring role in his sister's 2011 royal wedding to Prince William, delivering a reading during the ceremony that earned him a wave of supporters. Since then, he has become an advocate for mental health awareness, speaking publicly about his own experiences with depression and how he found support in his family and his four-legged companions, his dogs.

Describing his depression as a "cancer of the mind," Middleton told the magazine OK! that he still finds it "challenging to talk about."

An ambassador of the Pets as Therapy charity in Britain, he said: "The role that my dogs played was fundamental in my recovery and my rehabilitation. My dog Ella, in particular, was my reason to get up in the morning, my reason to get dressed and go outside and go for a walk—even if it was pouring with rain."

Middleton breeds cocker spaniels who descend from Ella, with her puppies being given to family and close friends. Two of them ended up in the regal setting of Kensington Palace.

Kate and William's first family dog was Lupo, a black cocker spaniel given to them by Middleton when they married. Lupo was photographed alongside the couple's three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis over the years until his death in 2020.

The couple were given a second puppy by Middleton in 2021, named Orla.

Speaking of his nephews and niece and referring to his own connection to dogs, Middleton said they were "lucky" to grow up with animals.

"I'm really pleased that they are able to enjoy and have the benefit of a dog in their lives," he told OK! "I see them being lucky that they have a dog in their life."

The royal family is famously one of animal lovers, whether it be Queen Camilla's rescue Jack Russell terriers, which she so adores that she had them embroidered onto her coronation dress or Princess Anne's award-winning show jumping horses.

Arguably, the most famous royal pets of the past century have been the humble corgi dogs, beloved by Queen Elizabeth II throughout her life.

The late queen owned corgis from the age of 18 until her death at the age of 96 in 2022.

In 1933, she was offered a puppy she named Susan and, throughout her life, the monarch owned over 30 of the dog's descendants. In the 2010s, it was generally believed that the queen would stop replacing her elder dogs as she reached old age herself, not wanting to leave their care to family members.

However, in 2021, during the COVID pandemic, Prince Andrew bought his mother two puppies to keep her company along with her elder dog Candy. One was named Muick and the other Sandy.

Candy died at the age of 18 in July 2022, and was said to have been a great loss to the monarch who reportedly did not leave Balmoral Castle in Scotland where she was staying to attend the faithful pet's burial at Windsor Castle—something she would have usually done had she been in better health.

Elizabeth died two months later. Muick and Sandy appeared outside Windsor on the day of her funeral as the procession made its way to St George's Chapel.

After the queen's death, Muick and Sandy were inherited by Prince Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah "Fergie" Ferguson, who live together at the Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park.

James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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