Kate Middleton’s brother James Middleton has recreated the famous ‘carol singers’ scene from Love Actually with his beloved dog Isla to share an important Christmas adoption appeal.
James, 37, is a proud “dog dad”, patron of the social welfare charity and author of the best-selling Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life.
He is also the founder of the dog food company Ella & Co, named in honor of his late cocker spaniel and companion of 13 years.
In a new video posted to the official Dogs Trust Instagram account, James highlighted the non-profit organisation’s famous motto ‘A dog is for life, not just for Christmas’ with the help of his beautiful golden retriever puppy. Island.
Putting his own spin on the iconic scene with Keira Knightley and Andrew Lincoln, James arrives at Isla’s “house” with a stack of cue cards, the first of which reads: “Say they’re carolers.”
Isla relays James’ message to her dog companion, who tells her to “give them a pound and fuck off”, as does Keira Knightley’s on-screen husband, Peter (Chiwetel Ejiofor), after Mike ( Andrew Lincoln) arrives to profess his love for Julie. .
However, instead of a long-awaited romantic confession, James’ messages highlight the reality that hundreds of dogs are given to friends and family during Christmas, only to be abandoned on New Year’s.
“With any luck, there will be fewer dogs in shelters next year,” James’ cue cards read.
Kate Middleton’s brother James Middleton has recreated the famous ‘carol singers’ scene from Love Actually with his beloved dog Isla to share an important Christmas adoption appeal.
In a new video posted to the official Dogs Trust Instagram account, James highlighted the non-profit’s famous motto ‘A dog is for life, not just for Christmas’ with the help of his beautiful golden retriever puppy. island.
The video, titled ‘Unconditional Love’, ends with Isla following James down the street, before jumping up to lovingly lick his face.
“But for now let me tell you, with hope and an agenda, because at Christmas word spreads,” they continue, dogs are for life, not just for Christmas.
She also shared that “there are many looking for homes, including these” before showing a card with the names and photos of the dogs up for adoption at the charity.
The video, titled ‘Unconditional Love’, ends with Isla following James out onto the street before jumping up to affectionately lick his face.
The touching clip was shared on the official Dogs Trust Instagram account earlier this afternoon, and the official James & Ella account highlights the importance of the motto which was coined by the charity’s former chief executive, Clarissa Baldwin, in 1978.
The comment said: ‘Did you know? Love Actually is now 21 years old and the phrase “A dog is for life, not just for Christmas” is 45 years old! It still rings true today.’
Fans praised the initiative, as well as the Prince of Wales’ younger brother for the “heartwarming” video in the comments section, with one person writing: “Such a special message delivered in such a beautiful and meaningful way!”
Another comment read: ‘And I’m crying! Thank you for such an important message beautifully told. Dogs are so precious that they deserve the world.
A third Instagram user commented: ‘OMG. So touching and touching. Beautifully done James. Merry christmas.’
James’ messages highlight the reality that hundreds of dogs are given to friends and family during Christmas, only to be abandoned on New Year’s.
Fans praised the initiative and the princess’s younger brother for the ‘touching’ video.
James holding a card with the names and photographs of dogs up for adoption at Dogs Trust.
One person shared the video “made me cry” and added: “Merry Christmas James and thank you for your work and devotion.”
James revealed that Isla had joined him and his wife Alizee Thevenet’s pack of puppies in an Instagram post in 2022.
Introducing the now two-year-old golden retriever, James shared a photo of Alizee cuddling Isla and her dog Mabel, captioning it: “My golden girls.”
He explained: ‘Many of you have been asking if we are keeping a puppy from Mabel’s recent litter and…of course we are…introducing Isla.
“Her name is a little nod to her Scottish routes and (she) has already found her place in the group.”
The Ella & Co. founder previously revealed that her Golden Retriever Mabel had welcomed a litter of eight puppies this summer.
In her social media post, she also shared a photo of all of her dogs together, including James’ five cocker spaniels: Ella, Inca, Luna, Zulu and Nala.
James also posted a sweet clip to his Instagram Stories showing him teaching the pup his name.
James Middleton shared an image of his wife Alizee Thevenet cuddling their new puppy Isla and dog Mabel and captioned it: “My golden girls.” (pictured)
The Princess of Wales’ younger brother, 35, took to Instagram yesterday to introduce the newest member of his flock, whom he named Isla (pictured).
In her social media post, she also shared a photo of all of her dogs together, including James’ five cocker spaniels: Ella, Inca, Luna, Zulu and Nala.
Despite the growing size of his pack, James will always have a special place in his heart for Ella – the cocker spaniel he adopted when he was in his first year at Edinburgh University.
For the next 13 years, James’ beloved cocker spaniel, who is the inspiration for his book Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life, was a constant source of support as the businessman struggled with his mental health.
During an appearance on The One Show in September, before the publication of his memoirs, James recalled “sharing a sleeping bag under the stars” with his late spaniel Ella when he was a struggling student at Scottish University.
The father-of-one explained that he often stopped over in the Lake District on the way back to his family home in Berkshire from Edinburgh during university holidays.
He said: ‘I spent a lot of time with Ella here. “We shared a sleeping bag under the stars and it was a really special moment.”
When he was 20, James left Edinburgh after failing his first year exams and moved to London with Ella.
Over the next few years, James, who founded marshmallow business Boomf in 2013, said his mental health began to “steadily decline.”
He said: ‘All the color of my life was absorbed. I don’t have any sense of enjoyment of anything.
Pictured: James Middleton, the younger brother of the Princess of Wales, with his late dog Ella before his death in January 2023.
In his book, James details how he nearly took a fatal leap from the roof of his London home in 2017, but was distressed to think about what would happen to his beloved spaniel if he died.
She writes in her memoirs: “As I walk, I look down through the skylight and see the tender eyes of Ella, my spaniel, looking up at me.
‘Like me, she’s been up all night. She senses my strange and agitated mood (…)
‘What would she do without me? She depends on me and I depend on her. The feeling is entirely reciprocal (…) In that moment I know that I will not jump. What would happen to Ella if I died? How long would she wait alone in the apartment until someone found her?
During his appearance on The One Show, James said: “I spent a huge amount of time thinking I was looking out for Ella, and in reality, Ella was the one looking out for me.”
In March 2021, James detailed in an interview with The Telegraph how Ella, who had disapproved of his previous girlfriends, “made a beeline” for his future wife Alizée at a private club in South Kensington in 2018.
After approaching his future wife to apologize, James said: “Alizée thought I was the waiter and ordered her drink while continuing to caress Ella, who was currently on her back, lapping up the attention.”
The couple married in September 2021 and welcomed their son Iñigo in October 2023.
In May 2020, James created a raw dog food company called Ella & Co, named after his beloved dog.
Last January, James announced that Ella had sadly passed away at the age of 15, and said in a touching Instagram post how his beloved dog had supported him “from my darkest days to my happiest.”