The Duchess of Cambridge watched her beloved younger brother James marry his French fiancee Alizee at their secret Cote d’Azur wedding over the weekend, after being twice forced to postpone because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Kate and Prince William flew to join James Middleton as he wed Alizee Thevenet in the village of Bormes-les-Mimosas on Saturday.
But the future king and queen weren’t the guests of honour – the couple’s dogs were – with golden retriever Mabel even photobombing the wedding pictures. Mr Middleton, 34, wrote on Instagram: ‘Yesterday I married the love of my life surrounded by family, friends and of course a few dogs.’
The couple got engaged in September 2019 but had to delay the ceremony last year due to Covid.
Mr Middleton and Miss Thevenet, a trilingual French financial analyst, also in her 30s, met in 2018 when his cocker spaniel, Ella, approached her at a private members’ club in London.
France is on the UK’s amber list so Kate and William, who are vaccinated, must get tested on or before the second day after returning. It is not known if George, Charlotte and Louis also attended.
The royal couple both attended the event, along with James’ other sister, socialite Pippa, and her businessman husband James Matthews.
His parents Carole and Michael Middleton, and his beloved dogs, Luna and Mabel, are also thought to have watched them walk down the aisle.
Announcing his marriage with a picture of him and bride Alizée on Instagram yesterday evening, James said: ‘Words cannot describe how happy I am.’
The entrepreneur, 34, who is the younger brother of the Duchess of Cambridge, revealed he had tied the knot on Saturday ‘surrounded by family and friends’
Sharing a picture of him and his bride Alizée on Instagram yesterday evening, he said: ‘Yesterday I married the love of my life surrounded by family, friends and of course a few dogs in the beautiful village or Bormes-les-Mimosas. ‘Words cannot describe how happy I am.’
James, founder of British greetings card firm Boomf, initially met Alizée (pictured left with James) in 2018, before getting engaged in September 2019. James is the youngest of the three Middleton siblings, after his eldest sister, Kate (pictured right with James in 2007), 39, and Pippa, 38. He was watched by millions around the world as he delivered a reading from the Bible at Kate and Prince William’s 2011 wedding
It comes after James revealed last year that he and Alizée had been forced to postpone their wedding twice because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The couple, who met in 2018 and who announced their engagement in 2019, had originally planned to get married in May last year.
But they were twice forced to push back the date. He said in a post on Instagram in September last year: ‘It’s a year since I asked Alizée to marry me… what a year it’s been!
‘Two homes, lockdown, two attempts at a wedding, a litter of [dog emoji], launching of new company @ella.co, a beard shave and much more but the best part is that I get to share it with you @alizeethevenet and I can’t wait to take on whatever the future holds for us.’
However the wedding did go ahead this time in Alizée’s native France, which is currently on the the UK’s amber travel list.
It means the couple and their guests from the UK will need to take a Covid test two days after their arrival back in Britain, if they are double vaccinated.
Those who aren’t double vaccinated will have to self-isolate for 10 days on their arrival back in the UK.
James, founder of British greetings card firm Boomf, first met Alizée in 2018, in private members club, the South Kensington Club, in Chelsea.
He told the Telegraph they met when his beloved dog Ella ‘made a beeline’ for Alizée while she was relaxing in the £3,500-a-year club.
He said: ‘The two of us (Ella and me) were at the South Kensington Club in Chelsea. Ella was lying at my feet under the table; realising she might want some water, I trusted her to take herself over to the water bowl across the terrace.
‘However, she made a beeline for Alizée. Rather embarrassed, I went over to apologise and bring Ella back.
‘But Alizée thought I was the waiter and ordered her drink while continuing to stroke Ella, who at this point was on her back lapping up the attention.
‘Little did I know, but I had just met my future wife, all thanks to Ella. If I hadn’t trusted Ella, I wouldn’t have brought her to the South Kensington Club and she wouldn’t have been able to say hi to the woman who became my fiancée.’
After more than a year of dating, the couple announced their engagement in September 2019. James is believed to have proposed during a trip in the Lake District.
Alizée was seen in a picture shared on his Instagram with a stunning sapphire ring on her finger.
The couple were last pictured together at the Bvlgari Magnifica Gala dinner at Spencer House in St James’, London, in June.
James is the youngest of the three Middleton siblings, after his eldest sister, Kate, 39, and Pippa, 38. He was watched by millions around the world as he delivered a reading from the Bible at Kate and Prince William’s 2011 wedding.
All three grew up in Berkshire to parents Michael Middleton and wife Carole Goldman, both of whom are successful entrepreneurs.
James, like his two sisters, attended the private boarding school St Andrew’s School, in Pangbourne, Berkshire, before moving to Marlborough College in Wiltshire.
Alongside Boomf, James launched Ella & Co, a mail order dog food company that offers freeze-dried, raw, organic dog food in May last year.
The couple were last pictured together at the Bvlgari Magnifica Gala dinner at Spencer House in St James’, London. Here they are pictured left at the 2019 the London Premiere of Apple’s acclaimed documentary ‘The Elephant Queen’. Pictured right: At the UK Premiere of ‘Very Ralph’ at Royal Academy of Arts on November 14, 2019
Earlier this year it was revealed that James and Alizee had snapped up the Middleton’s fourth property in the Berkshire village of Bucklebury, for £1.45 million
James Middleton and Alizee Thevenet were pictured vacationing in St. Barts in January 2020. They were due to get married last year but twice had to cancel their wedding due to Covid
James, founder of British greetings card firm Boomf, first met Alizée in 2018, in private members club, the South Kensington Club, in Chelsea. He told the Telegraph they met when his beloved dog Ella ‘made a beeline’ for Alizée while she was relaxing in the £3,500-a-year club
James Middleton and Girlfriend Alizee Thevenet on Centre Court at Wimbledon during the Gentlemen’s Final Wimbledon Championships 2019
James Middleton Alizee Thevenet were pictured together arriving at Wimbldeon during the summer tournament of 2019
James (pictured right alongside Pippa and husband James Matthews in 2019) is the youngest of the three Middleton siblings, after his eldest sister, Kate, 39, and Pippa, 38. He was watched by millions around the world as he delivered a reading from the Bible at Kate and Prince William’s 2011 wedding.
James was watched by millions around the world as he delivered a reading from the Bible at Kate and Prince William’s 2011 wedding. Pictured: James second right back row in 2011 during a photo call for the wedding of his sister Kate and Prince William
He is also a mental health advocate. In 2019, in a first person piece published in the Daily Mail, he wrote passionately about his private battle with the depression – which he described as a ‘cancer of the mind’.
Earlier this year it was revealed that James and Alizée had snapped up the Middleton’s fourth property in the Berkshire village of Bucklebury, for £1.45 million.
The property is four-bedroom Grade II listed period farmhouse with beams and leaded windows in a village on the Bucklebury fringes.
Parents Carole and Michael live in a £4.7million Georgian manor house in the same village, while sister Pippa recently bought Bucklebury Farm Park, a petting zoo which is a favourite of Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
James had previously been staying at his parents’ home throughout lockdown with Alizée.
His parent’s Georgian pile is the former family seat of a family whose ancestors were granted the land by Henry VIII. It is set in 18 acres of landscaped grounds with views across a picturesque valley.
Speaking about the move to his new home, he said in a post on Instagram: ‘Think buying a house is up there with one of the most stressful experiences in my life.
‘It’s been a hectic few months moving in to our new home & we couldn’t be happier. We are settling into our life in the country and the dogs their new home.’
Earlier this year, while speaking to The Telegraph, James declared he and Alizée were ‘country people’.
Prior to the move into the new house, he said he was looking forward to being ‘reunited with our belongings, which have been in storage for almost a year now’.
Kate Middleton’s brother James last month revealed a glimpse of his new £1.45 million mansion after announcing he and his French fiancée Alizée Thevenet had bought their first home together
Another snap shows James’ beloved dogs posing in front of a brick fireplace inside their new home
Friends for Life Ambassador James Middleton with his dogs Luna, Inka Ella and Mabel Friends for Life award Crufts in 2020
The Duchess of Cambridge’s brother announced his engagement to his French partner in September 2019 and is believed to have proposed while in the Lake District
The pair had earlier in the year been seen house-hunting in south-West London, just a stone’s throw from the home his sister Pippa shares with her husband and two children.
At Easter, James shared snaps to Instagram from a garden showcasing four out of six of his beloved dogs alongside his pet rabbit Pretzel.
He shared the photographs to promote a training video posted on the social media account for his pet supplies company Ella & Co.
The caption read: ‘Happy Easter from my family to yours. Many of you don’t know I have a rabbit called Pretzel and is really important for me all my animals get along.
‘I’ve made a little training video on how I introduce my dogs to other animals over at @ella.co starting Pretzel and Daphne.’
In April, James revealed he has adopted a blind lamb in a touching Instagram post celebrating his 34th birthday.
The entrepreneur said he was celebrating his birthday with Alizée, his dogs and a lamb, who he said was ‘a new member of the pack’.
In one snap posted on his own page, James could be seen hanging out of a window, with Ella and the new lamb, Captain, who he said he adopted after he was rejected by his mother.
James had previously been staying at his parents’ home throughout lockdown with Alizee. His parent’s Georgian pile is the former family seat of a family whose ancestors were granted the land by Henry VIII. It is set in 18 acres of landscaped grounds with views across a picturesque valley.
James Middleton shared his first family photo of himself in 2019 with his fiancee and dogs, thanking his friends for their support during his battle with depression
The couple announced their engagement in 2019, with James saying that his girlfriend, who is from France, had said ‘oui’ to his proposal
In another photo, posted on his company’s Instagram, James can be seen smiling and being showered in confetti as he sat next to Ella, while the pair wore matching blue birthday hats.
The final snap showed four dogs, a golden retriever, two black cocker spaniels and a brown spaniel, as well as Captain in a dog bed.
Alongside the series of snaps, posted in April, James wrote: ‘Today is my Birthday and I’m celebrating with my wonderful fiancee Alizee, and of course all the dogs and a new member of the pack.
‘I always reflect on my Birthday and I’m truly so thankful to Ella for bringing me so much happiness into my life.’
‘She was the one who introduced me to Alizee, she supported me during my experience with clinical depression, she has kept my young & active and is the driving force behind my motivation to launch @ella.co.
‘So you might be wondering why there is a little lamb in the photo… well Captain is partially blind and rejected by his mother so we’ve adopted him… although I think he now thinks he’s a spaniel.’