Kate Middleton's brother, James Middleton, married Alizee Thevenet (opens in new tab) earlier this month in a beautiful French village on the Côte d'Azur. It was like a fairy-tale romance: Prince William, Kate, and their children were in attendance, as well as, of course, other members of the Middleton family. The couple's marriage was a true one, for without the help of James' beloved dog Ella, he might never have met his now wife.

The story comes from royal expert Zoe Forsey of the podcast Pod Save the Queen (opens in new tab) (caught by Express (opens in new tab)) and is just classic meet-cute. According to Forsey, back in 2018, James and Alizee were at the same "exclusive private members club" in London, and James brought Ella with him. At first Ella was a good girl, sitting at James' feet, but when she got up to get a drink of water, she was "distracted" by a woman in the corner of the bar and went to greet the dog. Of course, the woman was Tevene.

But here's the best part: when James went to apologize for the puppy's intrusion, according to Forgey, "Alizee actually thought he was a waiter and just ordered a drink." Obviously, the mistake was resolved, and the two got engaged in 2019.

The wedding this month was long overdue, having had to be postponed several times due to the pandemic blockade. Tevenet wore her mother-in-law Carol's wedding dress to her own wedding, telling Hello! magazine (opens in new tab), "I always struggled with the idea of only wearing a wedding dress once, so it was amazing to be able to give such a beautiful dress a second life."

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How lovely.