James Middleton, brother of Catherine, Princess of Wales, has shared a joyful photograph of his son Inigo to mark the toddler’s second birthday.

The image, posted on James’s Instagram page on Sunday, showed fair-haired Inigo with his arms wrapped tightly around the family’s golden retriever, Mabel, one of their six dogs.

James, 38, who shares Inigo with his wife of four years, Alizée Thévenet, 35, captioned the post: ‘Happy Birthday Inigo.

‘We love you as much as you love Mabel….and that is a lot and Ella is saying hello today too.’

Ella was James’s eldest and beloved cocker spaniel, who passed away in January 2023.

She was the subject of his 2024 memoir ‘Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life’, in which the businessman and mental health advocate opened up about his battle with depression and the role the pooch played in his recovery.

In the vibrant picture, Inigo, whose face is obscured by Mabel’s neck, is dressed in a pair of blue shorts, a blue polo shirt, and red, white, and navy stripy socks. 

The photo, snapped on a sunny day when a rainbow lit up the sky, was likely taken near the Berkshire farmhouse that James, Alizée, and Inigo share, not far from where the three Middleton children grew up with parents Carole and Michael. 

James’s legions of fans were quick to send their birthday wishes to Inigo, with many describing the image as ‘beautiful’.

In August, James shared a touching message for his ‘adventurous’ and ‘cheeky’ son ahead of Inigo’s second birthday today.

The father-of-one posted a heartwarming video of Inigo wandering through the countryside with Alizée and their dogs.

The tot was seen throwing sticks into a small creek and even trying to push his mother into the water.

In the short clip, Inigo donned a khaki green dungarees romper, a blue T-shirt, and a sun hat to shield his face from the summer sunshine. 

At the time, James shared a heartfelt message alongside the candid clip: ‘My adventurous (and cheeky) little boy how are you nearly two already.’

The proud father added: ‘Everyone says it goes fast…but I didn’t realise it would be this fast’.

Earlier this month, James shared previously unseen pictures from his wedding to Alizée to mark the couple’s fourth anniversary.

The younger brother of Kate and Pippa, James, married French financial analyst Alizée on September 11, 2021, in Bormes-les-Mimosas, a medieval village in southeastern France.

Exactly four years after the couple tied the knot in an intimate ceremony, James shared two new photographs from their special day, which was reportedly attended by the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children.

Posted to Instagram, the first picture showed Alizée and James holding hands as they emerged from their wedding venue to a shower of confetti after finally becoming husband and wife – they were forced to postpone the ceremony twice due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

What appears to be the beaming couple’s wedding car, decked in greenery, was visible in the foreground.

The second image was a stunning romantic shot, showing the newlyweds from behind as they walked along a sandy beach hand in hand, against the perfect backdrop of a beautiful sunset.

Alizée looked breathtaking in her mother-in-law Carole Middleton’s off-the-shoulder wedding dress on the couple’s big day. 

At the time, she told Hello! magazine: ‘My something borrowed was in fact my dress from my mother-in-law Carole who last wore it 41 years ago on her wedding day in June 1980.’

James’s celebratory post was warmly received by his thousands of fans, amassing, at the time of reporting, 16,500 likes and attracting 290 comments from well-wishers. 

Since his marriage, James has occasionally posted glimpses of his and Alizée’s rural life together, often surrounded by dogs, fields, and fresh air.

James, who founded dog food company Ella & Co, has been open about his past struggles with depression, and has previously credited nature, animals, and fatherhood with transforming his mental health.

In 2021, he took to Instagram to detail his experience, writing, ‘It has been exactly 1255 days since I got diagnosed with clinical depression – but that day was the first day I learnt about mental health and how it is integral to the way we live our lives.’

‘Why did I do this? I wanted to be in Nature.

‘Nature is central to our psychological and emotional health and as @mentalhealthfoundation says ‘Nature is our great untapped resource for a mentally healthy future’ – this I whole heartedly support.

‘One of my best strategies for coping with my own mental health today is taking my dogs for a walk each time to inhale the powerful benefits nature has to offer.

‘Another strategy is beekeeping, when I’m with my bees it’s as if someone’s pressed the mute button on everything that’s worrying me.

‘I have endless tales of how nature has helped me over the last few years and I couldn’t not recommend an ongoing prescription to nature as a fantastic support for your mental health and wellbeing.

‘(PS/ the photo of me on the mountain was exactly ten days after being diagnosed – I couldn’t feel joy, excitement or anticipation – only heart-thudding anxiety, which propelled me through the day… but this moment with the dogs onto of that mountain I will never forget.

‘I shouted at the top of my lungs (like they do in films) I cried and I absorbed everything that nature could give me, giving me the strength to tackle the upcoming battle to overcome my depression.

‘Fast forward three years, and each time I climb that mountain, [I] always say thank you for playing an unknowing part of my recovery.’