The Tragic Truth About Kate Middleton's Younger Brother James
James Middleton lives a privileged life and he knows that. But being Kate Middleton's younger brother means he has lived his ups and downs in a spotlight he didn't look for. And not only that, but he has also had to deal with the pressures and expectations that come with being related to the Princess of Wales and future queen. "Suddenly, and very publicly, I was being judged about whether I was a success [or] a failure. That does put pressure on you," he told Tatler in 2019.
It also doesn't help that James is different from Kate and Pippa Middleton in some fundamental ways. Carole and Michael Middleton worked hard to send their three children to expensive schools in an effort to give them the best opportunities. But James wasn't cut out for school, whereas his sisters definitely were. While he was able to snag a spot in the prestigious University of Edinburgh, he never completed his environmental resources management degree. "I knew that that mouthful of academic prescription was not going to do it for me," he told GQ in 2012.
Meanwhile, Kate earned a degree in Art History from the University of St. Andrews, graduating with honors in 2004, and Pippa earned a Master's from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David in 2022. But James has faced adversities that neither of his sisters had to. That includes suffering from mental and cognitive disorders that impacted his personal, professional and educational goals — for better or for worse.
James Middleton was diagnosed with depression in 2017
In November 2017, James Middleton learned he had clinical depression after months of the disorder taking a toll on his life. "I couldn't communicate, even with those I loved best," he wrote in a 2019 essay for the Daily Mail. " ... that day [of the diagnosis] was the first day I learnt about mental health and how it is integral to the way we live our lives," he wrote in a May 2021 Instagram post.
A month after his diagnosis, Middleton drove to the Lake District in northwest England to be alone with his dogs in nature. He needed to calm his mind and come to terms with the reality of his condition. Most of all, he needed to accept he couldn't face it alone. "And this recognition led to a sort of calm: I knew if I accepted help there would be hope," he penned in his essay. Middleton spent close to a year treating his depression through cognitive behavioral therapy.
His family attended sessions with him at different times — including Kate Middleton. "And that was so important because that helped them understand me and how my mind was working," he told The Telegraph in 2019. "I realized I had to really focus on getting back to being James Middleton — and that's what I went on to do," he told the outlet in 2020.
If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.
He lost his beloved dog that saved him
Amid his mental health journey, James Middleton found invaluable solace in the company of his dogs, particularly a black cocker spaniel named Ella (pictured above). "Ella helped me to learn, especially during my days of depression, that talking and sharing can be a powerful, healing thing," he wrote in an essay for The Times. Nothing could have prepared him for the grief he felt when she died following a short illness in January 2023. "For 15 years Ella has been at my side, from my darkest days to my happiest," he wrote on Instagram to announce her death.
Ella wasn't just company in Middleton's dark days. He credits his dog with saving him. "I have thought about suicide but never actually contemplated it. My thoughts were stopped short because Ella got in the way," he wrote for The Times. Middleton often celebrates Ella on social media, highlighting the role she played in how he met his wife, Alizee Thevenet. "For that reason I will always have two valentines," he captioned a February Instagram post in celebration of Valentine's Day.
Middleton, who also has five other dogs with Thevenet, keeps Ella's memory alive in a number of different ways. He has a dog-food business named after her, James & Ella., and is set to release a book about her. " ... when Ella passed I started writing all of our adventures and memories down as a way of processing the grief," he shared in a March Instagram post.
James Middleton grew up with dyslexia and ADHD
Depression isn't the only disorder that has made James Middleton's life in the spotlight more difficult to navigate. The more than 17 million viewers who watched him read a biblical passage at the wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales had no idea what he had to overcome to be there. When he was 11, he was diagnosed with dyslexia after years of leaning struggles. "I used to spell everything phonetically, or I would have little tricks for words I could not figure out," he told the Daily Mail in 2012.
Middleton has that old technique to thank for his spot-on reading at Westminster Abbey in April 2011. "I had to retype the whole of the reading phonetically, and that's how I learnt it," he said. "In that way I became confident in it, and then I felt I was perfectly capable of doing it." While living with dyslexia comes with a series of difficulties, Middleton believes it comes with its own blessings as well. "I feel it helps me see things in a different way," he said.
Dyslexia wasn't the only obstacle that stood in the way of his learning abilities. But he wouldn't know that until 2018, when he was also diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. "It explained so much. It is the reason ... simple tasks such as making my bed assume the same enormity as filing my tax return," he wrote in the 2019 Daily Mail essay.
James Middleton has faced a series of business setbacks
The last few years have not been kind on the Middletons' businesses. Michael and Carole Middleton have suffered financially from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on their previously successful company, Party Pieces. Their youngest child had suffered a similar fate just months earlier. In December 2021, James Middleton's personalized marshmallow company, Boomf, filed for bankruptcy after racking up more than $1 million in debt.
The news came four months after James had made his first $1 million in profit. While Carole and Michael were in uncharted territory, James was well acquainted with business adversities. Shortly after founding Boomf in 2013, James saw the demise of his Cake Kit Company in 2015. The company, established in 2007, was dissolved after running a deficit in the previous years. James also established three other companies — Nice Cakes, Nice Wine, and Nice Group London — in 2011, all of which have since been dissolved.
His remaining business also seems to be struggling. His dog-food company, which he registered as Ella & Co. in 2020 but changed to James & Ella following her death, experienced a drop in assets of more than $300,000, going from roughly $420,000 in 2022 to $116,000 in 2023, the Daily Mail reported. But James is still hopeful. "I'm in a business that I love," he said, adding that James & Ella has only been around a few years and is still finding its footing.
Dyslexia and ADHD may have played a role
James Middleton's learning disorders may be a blessing and a curse for his entrepreneurial ambitions. On the one hand, he has credited dyslexia and ADHD for his creativity and drive. "I think outside the box. I don't try to think outside the box, it's just that my route from A to B is a very different one to a lot of other people's," he said in the 2019 interview with The Telegraph. That energy led him to drop out of college and take his chances in the business world.
The disorders are also why he wanted to start his own companies and have no one above him. Responding to a boss is a challenge because he struggles with following directions. "Not because I'm belligerent, but because I have never been able to explain myself, or finish [what I'm doing]," he said. On the other hand, those traits may also not make him the ideal person to handle the challenging day-to-day of a company.
He knows this himself. " ... I have had difficulties with the minutiae of running a business," he wrote in his Daily Mail essay. Some believe the dyslexia and the ADHD contributed to the dissolution of so many of his enterprises. "He has lots of great ideas, but he's less practical when it comes to following those ideas through, which is partly due to his ADD," a friend told The Standard in 2023. "He finds it hard to stick at things."