James Middleton: How Kate’s brother slipped into depression

James Middleton is the brother of Princess Kate. And in this role, a lot of attention is placed on him. Gossip magazines portrayed him as the problem child of the Middleton clan. While Kate and Pippa were considered the clean-cut ladies in the 2000s, James Middleton had the reputation of being a party animal.

James Middleton suffered from pressure to succeed

In his autobiography “Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life”, the entrepreneur remembers what it was like growing up with his sisters as role models. Middleton had problems even at school. He was diagnosed with dyslexia, a reading and writing disability, at an early age. While Kate and Pippa Middleton enjoyed academic success at the prestigious Marlborough boarding school, he felt like a disappointment to his parents. “I didn’t despair when I failed because it happened so often, but I was embarrassed. I felt let down because I thought those results didn’t properly represent me,” the English “Times” quoted the princess’s brother as saying.

Michael Middleton was particularly disappointed in his son when he had to repeat the same chemistry exam four times to get his high school diploma. He is said to have told him that his education was a “waste of money”.

According to the Times, Middleton admits in his book that his parents only wanted the best for him, but the pressure was too much. “I was an outsider… alienated from my classmates.” Animals and nature helped him. “Dogs never judged me. My mother kept asking me if I wanted to bring friends home for a sleepover at the weekends, but in truth I just wanted to see Tilly,” says the 37-year-old. Tilly was the family dog, a golden retriever.

Dog Ella saved Middleton

When he failed his university exams, Middleton wrote in the Times, his parents were disappointed again. His mother cried, his father was angry. But through a mutual friend at university, he got his dog Ella. As the title of his autobiography says, he says he owes his life to the animal. Whenever he didn’t feel well, a walk with Ella helped him.

When Middleton’s sister Kate got together with Prince William, the family’s situation changed. The media interest was huge. Too huge for the introverted James, even though he explains in the book how much William helped. “He did everything he could to protect us from the huge interest that existed not only in Catherine, but also in her immediate family. But at that time I was already in a vulnerable state and that was an additional pressure,” says Middleton.

Middleton’s mental health deteriorated over the years until he wanted to end his life. It was Ella who helped him out of this dark time. By simply being there. “They just feel everything. Ella accompanied me to every therapy session, she was always with me. I think we can learn from dogs. They don’t think about yesterday or tomorrow. They don’t even think about the next few hours. They only think about the here and now. I’m here, they’re here, in this moment,” he explains.

He said his sisters were very understanding of his depression. His parents reacted differently. “For people of their generation, I can understand why that is the case. Society was only just beginning to break the stigma,” he recalls of that time.

Ella died in January last year. A few days later, Middleton’s wife Alizée announced that she was pregnant.

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