The Duchess of Sussex gave royal fans a glimpse of her beloved rescue dog Guy in the trailer for her new Netflix series.
Called With Love, Meghan, the highly anticipated show, which kicks off on January 15, follows Meghan Markle, 43, as she reveals her best tips and tricks in the kitchen and garden.
With celebrity guests appearing at the Montecito home, including American actress and comedian Mindy Kaling, it’s easy to gloss over Sussex’s furry friend on the floor.
Appearing in the trailer is Guy, a beagle that animal lover Meghan adopted when she lived in Toronto and worked as an actress. She brought him to Britain when she married Prince Harry at the age of 40.
In one scene of the trailer, Guy is seen peacefully lying on the floor in bed while chewing on a bone.
Meanwhile, eagle-eyed fans may have spotted a black Labrador in the short promotional clip for Meghan’s Netflix show – Pula, which was introduced to the family before Archie’s birth in 2019.
The dog’s unique name is the currency in Botswana, a country the couple visited in the early days of their relationship.
In 2021, Meghan revealed how her pets are a source of comfort to her in times of grief in a foreword for London-based animal welfare charity Mayhew, of which she was a patron.
Sussex beagle Guy (pictured), who Meghan adopted while living in Toronto in 2015, appears in the trailer for With Love, Meghan
Introducing Mayhew’s 2021 annual review, Meghan described her past twelve months as a “process of grief, growth and also gratitude”, adding that people had been “forced apart”.
She wrote: “Over the past year, each of us has felt the profound impact of the global Covid-19 pandemic.
“Whether it’s the loss of a loved one, the health challenges that far too many people face, or the disproportionate life changes that everyone has experienced, it has been an overwhelming process of grief, growth, and also gratitude .
‘I’ve heard from so many of you about the impact of having a pet in your home during the isolation of lockdown; you mentioned the therapeutic effect of having your animal by your side and the comfort and solace you found in their company.”
She continued, “When I look back on 2020, I always come back to the importance of community and connection.
“We may have drifted apart, but we have found new ways to be close and support each other through this shared crisis. For many of us, this was made all the easier with our pets by our side…
“As we build the future together, I sincerely hope that we do so with continued support and appreciation for organizations like Mayhew, who continue their vital work in days of crisis and in days of calm.
“Their commitment to the cause of animal welfare is unwavering and their impact on the well-being of our community is self-evident.”
In a scene from the trailer for With Love, Meghan, the pooch is seen lying peacefully on the floor while in bed
The 43-year-old Duchess has long expressed her love for dogs and previously opened up about how they are a source of comfort to her in times of grief
Meghan, an advocate for adopting rescue dogs, chose animal welfare organization Mayhew as one of her first patrons in January 2019.
However, she faced heartbreak in 2022 when she was forced to leave her elderly Labrador-shepherd mix Bogart in Toronto when she moved to Britain to live with Prince Harry in 2017.
In her engagement interview, Meghan revealed to the BBC’s Mishal Husain: “One (dog) is staying with very good friends now and my other one, little Guy, he’s in the UK, he’s been here for a while.”
The former actress, who lived in Canada while filming Suits, made the heartbreaking decision to leave Bogart after moving to Britain to start her new life as the pet was too old to fly abroad.
The prince’s communications secretary, Jason Knauf, issued a statement saying Bogart was living “with friends.”
She took Bogart’s ‘best friend’ Guy with her when she moved into Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace with Prince Harry.
Elsewhere, the couple have a second beagle named Mia, who was rescued by the couple from an animal testing center in 2022.
The Sussexes adopted the nine-year-old pup two years ago from a group of dogs rescued from the facility in the US. They called her Mamma Mia, or simply Mia.
The dogs (pictured) were bred for pharmaceutical and biotechnology research, but inspections of the center over the past two years found dozens of violations of federal law.
Eagle-eyed royal fans may have spotted Sussex’s black Labrador in the clip (the dog’s tail can be seen in the bottom right of the frame)
The puppy was one of 4,000 dogs bred for the Envigo breeding and research facility in Virginia. Mia had arrived at the shelter having just given birth to eight puppies.
The dogs had been bred for pharmaceutical and biotechnology research, but inspections of the center found dozens of violations of federal law over a two-year period.
Mia was one of 4,000 dogs at the testing center in the US. She was rescued in July 2021 and taken in by organizations including the Beagle Freedom Project, which cared for 25 of the dogs.
She was hand-picked by Meghan, who specifically requested to adopt one of the ‘older’ dogs.
When Mia was adopted, Meghan had “personally” called Shannon Keith, an animal rights lawyer leading the project, to ask if she and Harry could have one of the “older” rescue pups.
She told the LA Times: ‘The Duchess called me personally. She calls my cell without caller ID and says, “Hey Shannon, this is Meghan.”
At the time, Shannon had wondered if she was speaking to Megan Fox, but it was indeed the Duchess of Sussex.
Meghan and Harry are said to have visited after hours and played with Mia, who was brought there with eight of her newborn puppies.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s pets also appeared on their 2024 Christmas greeting card (pictured)
Shannon recalled: ‘The Duchess held Mia and said, ‘We’re adopting her.’
“She said, ‘No, we don’t want a Christmas puppy.’ We want people who are older and who we can help.”
When U.S. Department of Agriculture officials inspected Envigo in 2021, they found a female beagle whose leg was stuck in loose flooring for so long that she was suffering from dehydration, according to court documents.
Facility officials admitted to inspectors that they did not know how long she had been held.
Another inspection found that nine injured beagles were euthanized instead of receiving veterinary care.
A later inspection revealed that many of the 196 beagles that were supposed to be euthanized had not been anesthetized before being given a lethal injection directly into their heart muscle.
During the two-year inspections, officials found cases of neglect and abuse, from malnourished dogs to sick and injured dogs.
According to court documents, feces and food waste could accumulate in the cages where the dogs were kept.
In each episode of her cooking show ‘With Love, Meghan’, the Duchess of Sussex invites friends old and new to roll up their sleeves and join her in the kitchen or garden, where they share candid conversations and top tips.
The Duchess of Sussex has officially teased her new Netflix series, With Love, Meghan, on her new Instagram account
On May 18, 2022, the USDA Inspector General and other law enforcement agencies executed a federal search warrant on the facility and seized 145 dogs and puppies that veterinarians said were in “acute distress.”
The next day, authorities filed a complaint in a federal court in the Western District of Virginia.
The complaint stated that more than 300 puppies had died at the facility between January and July 2021.
The company’s website claimed that they raise “healthy, well-socialized animals” and that the company has a USDA-issued license to breed and sell the dogs.
Parent company Inotiv, which bought Envigo in November 2021, agreed to the plan to save the dogs and said it would close the Virginia facility as part of a restructuring.
In late July, a federal judge approved a plan to save the beagles.
They were taken to the Humane Society of the United States, before being moved to shelters or groups such as the Beagle Freedom Project.
The organization took in 25 of the beagles, including Mia who was adopted by the Sussexes.