An “unusual” hobby enjoyed by Queen Camilla until tragedy struck in 2024.
Much has been written about the hobbies enjoyed by members of the Royal Family. For example, Tom Parker Bowles, son of Queen Camilla, said that his mo...
Read MorePrincess Kate's brother James Middleton has opened up about the Prince and Princess of Wales' royal wedding and the nerve-wracking request they never thought they would make.
In an excerpt from his forthcoming book, Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life, recently published in the Daily Mail, Middleton talks about his struggle with depression that led to suicidal thoughts, his time with the former queen, and the “grandma-sized As well as the “blank spaces,” he also revealed how surprised he was when Prince William and Kate asked him to read a passage from the Bible during their 2011 wedding at Westminster Abbey.
“When the wedding was eight weeks away, Catherine and Princess William were on the phone together, bubbling with excitement.
“Readings? I thought it was a joke. My mind kept going back to school and my faltering, incoherent efforts to recite in front of the class. As a dyslexic, reading is my least favorite occupation. 'Seriously?' ' I asked. 'Seriously,' they chorused. 'Oh no,' I thought! I thought.'
Despite her apprehension and disbelief, Middleton wrote that she agreed to do the reading, hiding her true feelings from her sister and soon-to-be husband.
“'No problem at all! . I lied briskly. If this is what my sister and William want, of course I will do my best not to disappoint them,” he explains. Then he adds, “This will be the only Bible reading in the service.”
In preparation for his own big day (when all eyes would be on the Royal Family), Middleton wrote that he carried the reading “everywhere with him and took it out of his pocket to practice his lines.” He further explains that he “stumbled, stumbled, swapped syllables, and my nemesis, ps and bs, twisted.”
In addition to practicing in public and in venues to familiarize Middleton with the acoustics of Westminster, Middleton says he also practiced his readings aloud to his dog Ella, whom he credits with saving his life in the book.
“Back in my apartment, I practiced over and over again. Ella sat patiently in the chair in front of me. Occasionally, I would include her name in my recitation, and her ears would prickle,” he writes. 'I recorded my readings and listened to them during our long walks with Ella. Sometimes I even said the lyrics out loud as we walked.”
Finally, on the day of the wedding, Middleton wrote of the details of the happy couple, the wedding attendees, and the moment he delivered his reading to the world.
“I walked steadily to the lectern and stood ready to begin. But where was my crude paper? I couldn't find it. Panic almost overcame me, but as I turned the pages of the Bible in front of me, the paper was discreetly hidden.
“Relief washed over me,” he continues. 'I waited for the abbey to quiet down, ten seconds, maybe fifteen. Then I slowly counted to four, and all the things that could possibly go wrong came to mind. Was my fly untied? Would I cough or sound hoarse?
“I didn't want to exchange a single glance at Catherine and William, lest I burst into nervous laughter. I wanted to make them both proud.”
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