James Middleton is a grifter apple who didn’t fall far from the grifter tree. After crashing multiple businesses into the ground and wasting millions in investment through poor management, James is currently trying to sell turd-looking “raw” dog food (I don’t think it’s going well) and prepping to promote his memoir. Remember that? He spent much of 2023 writing a memoir based around his dead dog Ella. It’s called Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life, and it will be released in September. James announced the book exclusively to Tatler a few months ago and I guess Tatler is still trying to squeeze some additional exclusives out of him, because they published this:
James Middleton, the younger brother of the Princess of Wales, has revealed new details of his upcoming memoir – which will offer insight into his childhood with Kate Middleton, his time as a guest at royal weddings, and visits to the King at Highgrove.
The father-of-one will be releasing the tender, warm-hearted and sometimes devastating book, Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life, on 26 September 2024. While James previously told Tatler how the memoir would document his life over the last 20 years, he has shared a new insight into what readers can expect from the book. The entrepreneur has long stayed private about his sister, the Princess of Wales; but it looks as though he will offer some highly personal anecdotes about their life in the memoir.
A new, detailed description of the tome reveals the book will follow James through his childhood years as he grew up alongside Kate Middleton and Pippa Matthews in Berkshire with his parents Michael and Carole. The online description reads, ‘James Middleton wanted nothing more than a dog of his own when he was a child. Struggling to connect in the classroom, James would often take off in pursuit of nature and animals – adventuring in the Berkshire countryside, tinkering with rusty engines, performing locum care to injured creatures, and losing himself for hours to the outdoors. Then, finally, his pleas for a dog (made via handwritten letters to his parents) were answered.’
It goes on to explain how the memoir will tell of the ‘extraordinary’ bond between James and his pup, Ella, before continuing, ‘From their enchanting introduction when James was just twenty, to attending royal weddings and being guests at Highgrove and Sandringham, their journey is marked by love, loyalty, and unexpected twists of fate.’
James Middleton… spends time at Highgrove? King Charles’s semi-private estate? Highgrove is technically part of the Duchy of Cornwall (Charles folded the estate into the Duchy when he was Prince of Wales), but Charles still operates Highgrove like it’s his private fiefdom. Even when Kate was in good standing and, you know, visible, she was rarely invited to Highgrove. Unless we’re talking about the earliest days of William and Kate’s courtship? Possibly, but James is absolutely trying to make it sound like he’s still a regular visitor at Charles’s estate, that he pops around the king’s country pile for tea once a week. Please. As for a guest at Sandringham… he’s talking about Anmer Hall, the Waleses’ home on the Sandringham estate. I doubt James has ever been inside the main house. Anyway, I certainly hope all of those royalist pearl-clutchers say something about how tacky this is and how James is abusing his tenuous royal connection.
Childhood adventures with Catherine, royal weddings and visits to the King at Highgrove: the Princess of Wales’s brother James Middleton reveals new details of his upcoming memoir https://t.co/BPrbLtDNL0 pic.twitter.com/PieJFBIOdC
— Tatler (@Tatlermagazine) May 20, 2024
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
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- James Middleton at the GQ Men of the Year Awards, Arrivals, Tate Modern, London, UK,Image: 537047182, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: James Shaw / Avalon
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- Pippa and James Middleton arriving at Westminster Abbey, central London, ahead of the coronation ceremony of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.,Image: 774175134, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: -, Model Release: no, Credit line: Andrew Milligan / Avalon
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- Pippa Middleton and James Middleton at the Coronation of King Charles III at Westminster Abbey in London, United Kingdom, on 06 May 2023.,Image: 774203465, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: James Veysey/Shutterstock / Avalon
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- Pippa Middleton and James Middleton at the Coronation of King Charles III at Westminster Abbey in London, United Kingdom, on 06 May 2023.,Image: 774203484, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: James Veysey/Shutterstock / Avalon
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- London, UNITED KINGDOM – Members of The British Royal Family attend “Together At Christmas” Community Carol Service at Westminster Abbey. Pictured: James Middleton and Alizee Thevenet BACKGRID USA 8 DECEMBER 2021 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- London, UNITED KINGDOM – Members of The British Royal Family attend “Together At Christmas” Community Carol Service at Westminster Abbey. Pictured: James Middleton and Alizee Thevenet BACKGRID USA 8 DECEMBER 2021 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
what the… What exact life has this.. person of no significance led to warrant a memoir?
“When James was just 20”???? Ok i was expecting “just 10” — these people are so weird
At 20 he had to have his parents gift him a dog. So weird. The man infantalizes himself just like his sister
LMAO I was coming to say exactly this!
I thought it was gonna be about the age-old tale of a boy ad his faithful dog, but the “boy” was a 20-yr old grown arse man! The best I can say is that at age 20, he was prolly at age 10 mentally.
Also, if the book only goes back 20 years – oooooohhhh……thats at the start of kitty’s waity yearts, innit? – then what “childhood” is he talking about. Thats young adulthood!
This ‘memoir’ willb e one more of his failed ventures.
Y’know, theres nothing wrong with failing. Especially when one subsequently learns, gets up and tries again. And there are countless successful entrepreneurs who’ve had more failures and worst failures than jimmy here. HOWEVER, theyve not been pretentious arseholes, cruising on the backs of their family’s shameless grifting.
Seems like all 3 Mid siblings have been infantilised esp Kate and James – Pippa seems to be a bit more independent than the other 2, probably cause she was the middle child – narcissistic parents tend to ignore the middle child.
He has been propped up by others his whole life – he’s someone who ‘play acts’ at being things i.e. a farmer, business owner etc.. He makes a mess of things and leaves it to others to clean up after him.
I died laughing at that part! Ummm, you were still begging YOUR PARENTS for a dog when you were 20?!
No, James, no dog for you until you clean up your room!
Now James comes across as much a simpleton as Kate does. They like being outdoors! They like nature! They like dogs! Begged, pleaded with mummy & daddy to get them a dog…at 20!!
Oh? So THIS is okay, but Harry talking about his life is not? Interesting…
I was going to say the same thing! The double standards are WILD.
I am not entirely sure this will knock Harry’ s book off the ‘best selling non fiction book of the decade’ list 😂
The picture of him casually posing by the log is really something.
James the Mediocre, First of his Name. He’s a nice-looking boy, that’s all he’s got. Sad.
He is less than mediocre and he is trying to use his sisters in-laws to sell his book because who really want to read about him. So he must use the royal connections to sell it .
I’m not going to lie…I love the picture! He could probably do some great cover shots with the dogs. But I just don’t see it for this memoir, unless I hear about all of Ella’s royal experiences.
That photo is hilarious, and not just for the faraway, look at my estate, look. No self respecting rural living Brit would wear a bright white shirt out in the country to walk the dogs nor the boots that seem to imply he’s off riding, which he isn’t. He should be in a ripped up old jumper and wellies. If I met him out with the dogs, I’d think, twat. Strong words, I know, but seriously, come off it, James!
I always thought that with the beard and everything he was trying to look like George V of England and Nicholas II of Russia. He looks like a bad cosplay.
Yes, you’ve got it with Nicholas!
🎯 What I was thinking, exactly.
He’s striking the country squire/aristo pose. Someone must have told him he looks like a cousin of George V and Nicholas II.
A memoir??? For what? Oy yoy yoy so cringe inducing!!! I cannot imagine who the audience for a memoir from James Middleton could possibly be. Even royalists, like what? Who wants to read about this guys childhood and failed business ventures? It’s either 100% Kate with some attempts to make stories out of passing interactions with the other royals or no one could possibly want to read this.
He gives me the creeps for some reason. Hard pass on the book.
I’ve always thought he looks terribly immature.
Understand why he gives people the creeps, possibly because the image is so staged and so false.
I absolutely adore dogs. But if you need to use your dog as a plot device, maybe your life doesn’t warrant a memoir?
It would be cute if the memoir was from the POV of the dog.
Good point, Miranda! Talk about hanging on the coattails of your sister’s royal connections. It’s going to be about his battles, the dog that brought him through…and growing up with Kate Middleton! One thing. He was a good speaker at her wedding: it would seem he drained the family pool of its public speaking genes.
Anyone else think the whole ‘begged for a dog all his childhood’ set up is a bit weird? They’re going to great lengths to set up Ella as this life saving pet – only he didn’t actually get her until he was 20 – and presumably bought her himself? Are we to understand that poor, struggling James’s piteous letters to his loving parents all his childhood were ignored??
Somehow I don’t see Carole as a dog person or someone who would want a dog in the house.
This may be nothing, but Tatler refers to K using her maiden name and Pippa with her married name. Since this pub has real behind the scenes access, just wondering why they didn’t add K’s title here? I know media often call her Kate Middleton, but pairing it with ‘Pippa Matthews’ seems like a specific choice to phrase it that way.
I was thinking the same thing! Why not refer to Kate by her title, Princess of Wales? I get that James has struggled with his mental health, and dogs can be very helpful, but I guess I would be more impressed if he went back to school for a degree in animal therapy (is that a thing?) or headed an animal charity. Instead, he’s just started a third business, selling dog food in a crowded marketplace.
Isn’t it to do with search engine results and clicks? More people search for her as Kate Middleton.
That photo of James leaning onto the tree trunk doesn’t do him any favors.
I refuse to believe he mingled with CIII, even the Rottweiler is hardly ever allowed to go to Highgrove, and she is his wife.
And even when the Chorizo-fingered one was PoW, he didn’t mingle with the Middletonedeafs.
So why JMeddlington of all people? It’s not like CIII owns spaniels, and the Jack Russells are Camilla’s.
I don’t believe it for a moment, either. And I’m looking forward to seeing whether anyone is willing to call bullshit on him. Camilla (or her proxies), maybe.
I don’t think we have ever heard of even Kate spending time at Highgrove, so I find it hard to believe that James and Charles are having these cozy weekend retreats or something.
but he has to include some stories about Kate and the other royals or else this wouldn’t have been published.
Maybe he took the dog with him to visit the Highgrove gift shop?
As long as he doesn’t even allude to the Sussexes then he can write whatever he wants
I love us. We are all just waiting with baited breath for one of them to so much as mention the names of Harry and Meghan. LOL!
This😂. He better keep their names out of his mouth.
Even if this was recent (I don’t believe it was) , it just further highlights how sycophancy is the only way to be accepted in that crew. It’s wild that Camilla’s son can write cookbooks using royal in the title and get access, he can talk about spending time and the King’s private residence but the King’s son is wrong for writing about his actual life and talking about his past, and broke the family trust telling “secrets”.
It’s ok as long as the “secrets” are cute and fawning – Charles loves cheesy baked eggs!
Good grief! The photo of him leaning against the fallen tree gives me “wanna be Ralph Fiennes, circa 1996, page 4 of the J Peterman catalog” vibe.
Anyone else notice that he shares the Middleton short leg syndrome with his sisters?
Someone is publishing this to keep Kate in the public narrative. On the one hand she cannot step into public until the doctor gives her the green light ( she must be super sick, as Charles is clearly demonstrating how to live with cancer) … and they are running out of busywork updates.
Gonna be a long summer
I don’t care about him but what do we know about who visits high grove or not? Does really anyone care about that?
And is it important?
unless he is going to elaborate what happned to his parents in this whole kate saga. and what happened to their debt. i dont see the point in reading
I’m sorry, wait! His handwritten pleas to his parents asking for a dog were finally answered…AT AGE 20?!? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
He does know that he became a legal adult a couple of years before that, right? And that legal adults are allowed to get a dog all by themselves, right? He’s suuuuuch a loser!!!! A failure at everything he tries and somehow still is able to get new investors and deals and offers. What it must be like to be a mediocre white man, I can’t imagine (and really, he’s even less than mediocre!).
Also shouldn’t a memoir be written in the first person since it’s, you know, your own story? I wonder if his wife gets upset at playing second fiddle to his dogs in all things?
And finally, echoing what so many of you said above, it’s qwhite shocking/not shocking that this grifter is able to spill the tea about his sister and other royals – up to and including the king – and he’ll be praised for it. While Meghan gets slammed for every made up thing under the sun.
It really is sending me that his parents finally got him a dog at … age 20.
Some rugged adventurer he is, relying on mummy and daddy as an adult. He should be photographed leaning on his parents, not a log.
His parents finally relented about a dog when he was 20? It gives the impression that he lived at his parents’ home well past becoming an adult. I gather that he is trying to write a book about mental health? He has talked about his depression, I believe. The press won’t focus on that, though. They will talk about any royal tea he spills to sell his book.
I’ve been binging Midsomer Murders these days and the Middletons would be the perfect villains on that show. Not necessarily guilty, but Barnaby would be struggling to keep the look of disgust off his face. Midsomer is even fake Berkshire/Oxfordshire border! Typecasting.
I LOVE Midsomer. I recently took out the ITV subscription for no adverts and access to the Midsomer back catalogue, just to watch ones I’ve not seen before and the brilliant ones I know well. Then I cancelled it. The rest of ITV is pretty damn crap. And yes they would be brilliant, particularly Carole.
I see they are really pushing the ‘lord of the country manor’ persona with him.
As for the ‘visits’ to Highgrove – might have been to party when Kate was still the beck and call gitl. The Sandringham is likely reference to the estate NOT the big house as like Balmoral invitations to the big house are limited to family, close friends and VERY RARELY to those outside of those circles.
He’s just like his sisters – a climber who thinks he’s something he’s not. I wonder how long it will take for the bad press to come for him, like it did his parents and sisters. Chuck and Cams are not going to like him dragging them into his attention seeking.
Poor James!
At least his parents love him….
Don’t they?
That is so funny, Renae!!!
Hmmm…this sounds more like this book is really going to be Kate, an answer to Spare rather than a memoir about him and his dog.
The dogs are beautiful…that’s all I have. 🙂
That sounds like the most boring load of bollocks of a book you could ever imagine.
Absolutely. I wouldn’t even use it for scrap paper or to line the bottom of a bird cage. If it wasn’t for Kate, no one would know who the hell he was.
I have just realized what the picture leaning against the tree reminds me of. Some years ago there were a series of ads for Old Spice aftershave with a guy who morphed into various things including sitting on a horse, all things that could be possible if your man used Old Spice.
He’s trying to look like those Gainsborough portraits of the landed gentry. Such a poser. Suburban squire.
Yes, he is, but the landscape looks so American, as does his clothing. It’s hilarious.
Why is this supposed to be interesting? This guy does nothing except fritter away money and have a royal sister.This guy should get hired by one of those private equity firms that buy up companies just to dismantle them, except he’s never had a real job.
He’s never had a real job, true. He married an educated high earner woman. I hope she understands that she will be doing the heavy lifting for the foreseeable future.
Considering his lack of follow through I’m not surprised his parents didn’t allow him to have a dog before 20y.o. They probably didn’t think he would follow through on the care of a dog before he became an adult.
After he dropped out of Edinburgh – which he attributes to his dyslexia yet graduated from Marlborough and theoretically achieved the necessary levels to get into Edinburgh – that’s exactly what he did essentially until he married. At times he moved into the apartment in Chelsea, but between all 3 of them, only Pippa ever seemed to have a life that required her to regularly be in London in her own space.
It always cracks me up how they talk about a few acres, if that, of carefully landscaped lawn and land as “the countryside.” Berkshire is the equivalent of backcountry Greenwich CT or *maybe* Litchfield. It is the countryside in comparison to Chelsea, sure. In comparison to Yorkshire? Come now. Like these people could survive being more than half an hour from a waitrose or Whole Foods.
I think he needs money and got the go ahead from William. The dog food business is probably tanking too and the Middletons couldn’t pay off the firm they or their company hired. Princess Charlotte’s christening was at Sandringham. I think the Queen would invite them to some parts of the day when they spent Christmas with Kate too. She invited Meghan’s mom to stay for Christmas, but she declined. Prince William would invite Kate and Pippa to shoot at Balmoral sometimes and stay at the cottage according to old tabloid stories. James probably went too. She just didn’t meet the Queen and before the engagement he invited the Middletons and taught them to shoot. The first time they were invited and everyone said they were engaged. They were right. Harry invited Chelsy and Cressida I think to Sandringham too just not for Christmas. James has a few stories and may make a few bucks, but no chance he got Pippa money upfront. The family needs money except for Pippa. The shady uncle too.
‘Just twenty’??? He was pleading with his parents for a dog & didn’t get Ella until he was 20????