James Middleton reveals the key way Prince William changed ‘capable’ Princess Kate and continues to do so ‘to this day’
Princess Kate’s younger brother has lifted the lid on his personal life in his upcoming book, Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life, which is out on September 26.
In an excerpt on the Daily Mail, James spoke of how he considers Prince William to be an “older brother” and the strong bond the royal has with the Middleton family.
He also spoke about William’s impact on Kate, saying: “I thought how lucky William was to be marrying my capable, down-to-earth big sister, and I felt absolutely reassured that they were in love.
“It was beautiful to see how he brought out her confidence. She’d blossomed. I knew he’d look after her, and he does to this day.”
Prince William certainly appears to have gained James’ approval over the years – and he spoke of how he knew they were right for each other ahead of their 2011 royal wedding.
In his book, he added: “William has been in our lives for so long and we’ve grown very fond of him. He feels like our older brother and he and Catherine are so clearly a good fit, just right for each other.”
Royal biographer Claudia Joseph said that Prince William and James – who is married to French finance worker Alizée Thevenet and dad to son Inigo – are extremely close.
She said to Fabulous: “James obviously adores his brother-in-law.
“In his autobiography, he describes him as the ‘older brother’ he never had and says he was ‘reassured that they were in love’.”
She claims William and James particularly bonded over their love of dogs.
Claudia continued: “As a child William had a black labrador called Widgeon and when he died, there was a hole in William’s heart.
“That hole was fixed when Ella had a puppy Lupo, who became an important member of the Cambridge family.”
The royal expert shared how the close bond between Prince William and his businessman brother-in-law James is particularly poignant given how tense things currently are with Prince Harry.
She added: “I imagine that William finds it a huge solace that he is so close to the Middleton family as his relationship with his own brother Harry has become so fractured.
“From the moment that he began dating Kate at St Andrews University, he fell in love with her close family, something he tragically lost with the divorce of his own parents and the death of his mother.
“He has even jokingly called Michael Middleton ‘Dad’ and definitely enjoys their close relationship.”
