If he hadn’t ‘trusted’ his late dog, James said, ‘I wouldn’t have brought her to the South Kensington Club and she wouldn’t have been able to say hi to the woman who became my fiancée.’
It would take three attempts before the happy couple could finally tie the knot, however. Cancellations, Covid postponements, rescheduled wedding plans: all conspired to delay the cordial invites to the wedding of James Middleton and Alizée Thevenet. Finally, on 11 September 2021, they finally said ‘I do’. And what an occasion it was. Catherine and Prince William, then the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, reportedly flew to the Riviera for the ceremony, with James’s other sister, Pippa Matthews and his parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, also in attendance.
Alizée Thevenet spent time catching up with the Princess of Wales in the Royal Box at Royal Ascot
Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
Announcing the happy news on Instagram, the 34-year-old wrote: ‘Yesterday I married the love of my life surrounded by family, friends and of course a few dogs.’ Indeed, one of the couple’s dogs, a golden retriever called Mabel, could be seen in the background of the glamorous wedding shot. As the story goes, Mabel and another of James’ cocker spaniels, Luna, walked the pair down the aisle.
Two years later, their son, Inigo, was born, a moment that James also attributes to his beloved pet. ‘This special moment is all thanks to Ella. Let me explain: Alizée, Inigo, and all the dogs came to hear me speak for the first time about my book Meet Ella. Ella introduced me to Alizée, a few years later, we got married, another year or so, Inigo arrived. Ella and Inigo never met, but every moment Ella is with us. So if it wasn’t for that moment … I would not have been able to capture this moment.’
No doubt there will be plenty more moments for the young family to capture in the years to come.