James Middleton was one of the guests at the coronation for King Charles and the brother of Princess Kate revealed that he had carried a special tribute with him on the big day.
The businessman lost his beloved pet pooch Ella earlier in the year following a short illness and he carried a cufflink that bore her image on it with him. After the ceremony, James took to Instagram to share the sweet tribute.
The hand-drawn image was painted on a green background before being set inside the gold exterior of the cufflink. Alongside the snap, James also shared a photo taken by Chris Jackson that showed the Red Arrows flying past Buckingham Palace as the newly crowned King and Queen looked on.
In a touching caption, James penned: “Ella still comes with me everywhere I go…even to the coronation. Very proud day to be British. God Save the King.”
Fans were touched by the special tribute and also shared their own stories, as one commented: “I lost my 14-year-old harrier hound today. I will miss her every single day for the rest of my life,” and a second said: “I thought about sweet Ella as soon as I saw your face this morning. So glad she could be a part of such a special day.”
A third added: “Bless your heart. And rightly so. Stunning photo. Please let your sister know she & her family rocked it today,” while a fourth wrote: “I spotted you in that crowd and I love that you keep that connecting piece to Ella.”
James has been reaching plenty of sad milestones since the passing of Ella, but he also had a happy one to mark last month, as his new puppy, Mabel, had her first Mother’s Day after welcoming puppies.
In August, James confirmed Mabel had welcomed eight healthy puppies. At the time, he wrote: “A few weeks ago Mabel gave birth to eight healthy puppies. She passed all of her breed health screening tests with flying colours and has been the most amazing mother.
“There are some wonderful homes waiting for the pups + some very exciting news for one which I look forward to sharing soon.”
Outside of supporting his sister at the coronation, James is preparing for the Goodwoof Festival, a celebration of “all things dog” that takes place from 20 to 21 May, and given his affinity with canine companions, he revealed that he had been given a discount code for tickets to the event.
The 36-year-old shared a clip of highlights from a previous year’s event, which featured Ella accompanying alongside a whole host of doggie treats. “It’s one month until the BEST doggy day out @goodwoofdogs festival,” he shared. “As a friend of Goodwoof, I have been given an exclusive code for 50% off tickets using code ‘ELLA50’ (link is in my bio).”
He then opened up about his feelings for this year’s event without his beloved Ella, adding: “It really is a very special day out, with or without a dog! It will be sad to not have Ella with me, as she had such a fantastic time last year.
“But I will have the rest of the pack with me, and especially delighted @petsastherapy_uk is the official charity partner this year – hopefully I will see you there!”
He was supported by his followers in the comments, with one saying: “Lovely James you really appreciate the gift of animals, thank you,” and a second penned: “I come from a family who loves spaniels! They are truly beautiful animals and yours are spectacular! I’m leaning this year on a Golden Retriever!”
Another was transfixed on how his dogs all rode in a big basket ahead of his bike, especially with how the dogs’ ears flapped in the wind.
