As science has shown, there’s no better way to celebrate an impending baby than to put a dog on a boat—unless putting five dogs on a boat is an option. Then that is, of course, the best way.
James Middleton and his pregnant wife, Alizee Thevenet, did just that in an Instagram post shared Tuesday by Middleton. In the first photo, Middleton stands on deck in front of his assortment of pups, wearing a blue button-up shirt and boardshorts. In the second entry into the carousel, Thevenet is shown from the back being nuzzled by one of the dogs.
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“Sun, Sea & Sand,” the caption reads. “Treasuring moments like this and cannot wait to have another little human joining our adventures.”
Middleton, younger brother of Princess Kate, announced in July that the couple was expecting the royal-adjacent niblet, their first child. The news was shared with a photo of one of the dogs, naturally. Middleton posted a photo of a smiling and baby-bumped Thevenet in a green dress with one of the dogs gnawing on her sweater. We assume this dog is the Mable Middleton mentioned in his caption: “We couldn’t be more excited,” he wrote. “Well, Mable might be.” Mable, you rascal.
If it wasn’t already obvious, Middleton is a certified Dog Guy. He credited his dog Ella, who died earlier this year, with saving his life and helping him have a meet-cute with his now-wife. His pet food company, Ella & Co., is also named after the pup. He’s also something of a dog evangelist: James gifted his sister and Prince William their beloved dog Lupo, one of Ella’s puppies, years ago. After Lupo’s death, James gifted the family another dog—this one a grandchild of Ella, mothered by Luna, one of Lupo’s dog sisters. That dog, Orla, has appeared in several royal family portraits, including multiple birthday shots of Princess Charlotte.
The Middleton family didn’t have pets growing up, James shared while talking about Orla. “[I would] write letters to my parents to try to convince them to let me have one.” He said that William and Kate’s three kids are “lucky that they have a dog in their life.”
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