The world’s thoughts are with Kate Middleton and her family at this difficult time for the Princess of Wales, following her admission in March that she is undergoing treatment for cancer.
While this is undoubtedly a tough time for the Princess and her loved ones, at least we know that Kate has a full support system behind her, comprised of her close family members. Her mother, Carole, for instance, is reported to have been “a rock” for her daughter during this period. Meanwhile, Kate is known to have a close relationship with her two siblings, younger sister Pippa — who has herself enjoyed a measure of fame — and her younger brother, who is much less well-known to the public.
Who is Princess Catherine’s brother, James Middleton?
The youngest of the three Middleton children is James William Middleton, Kate’s 36-year-old brother born in 1987. Just like his sister, and her husband, James is another alum of the University of Edinburgh, although he dropped out after a year of studying environmental resources management. Instead, James found his forte in business, founding a highly successful cake-making business, The Cake Kit Company, before that was dissolved in 2015. In 2020, he launched boomf, a personalized greeting cards company, although that was liquidated in 2022.
In 2019, Middleton opened up about his struggles with depression and his mental health, and has said that sister Kate and brother-in-law William’s charity Heads Together was what inspired him to do so. He’s also been supportive of Kate’s Early Years initiative supporting childhood development. The two siblings have also given each other some meaningful gifts over the years. In 2020, Kate clubbed together with their parents to help James start a lifelong dream of keeping bees while, in 2021, James — who is also an ambassador for Pets As Therapy — gifted Kate and her family a new puppy after the loss of their much-loved dog, Lupo.
As for his own family, Middleton has been married to French financial analyst Alizée Thevenet since 2021 and in October 2023 the couple welcomed their first child, a son named Inigo. For his birthday on April 15, 2024, James shared an adorable photo on Instagram in which father and son were wearing matching berets.
James Middleton’s shared a heartwarming response to Kate’s cancer diagnosis
In the wake of Kate announcing her cancer diagnosis to the world, James Middleton shared his response to his sister’s health update in a way that made clear the close familial bond between the pair, and probably brought a lump to the throat of anyone with a vested interest in the Middleton family.
James posted an old photo of brother and sister as children during what looks like a walk up a mountain. “Over the years, we have climbed many mountains together,” Middleton captioned the photo. “As a family, we will climb this one with you too.”
It’s likely that James, along with his mother and sister, were among the first to know about Kate’s diagnosis, unlike her brother-in-law, Prince Harry, who is reported to have only found out when the rest of the world did.