Kate Middleton’s Very Outdoorsy Brother Has Made His Instagram Public
Behold, some joyous news: Kate Middleton’s younger brother, James Middleton, has unprotected his Instagram, where, under the handle @jmidy, he’s been posting a constant deluge of rustic, dog-centric, adventurous images since 2013. It’s not clear what prompted him to make his account public, but it was brought to the attention of the tabloid-reading public this week when Spencer Matthews, the former reality television star and brother of Pippa Middleton’s husband James, tagged Middleton in a post. Intrepid Instagram sleuths followed the link, and Middleton’s glorious feed was quickly brought to our attention. Whatever the cause, it’s a delightful respite from the seemingly relentless onslaught of drama emerging from Kensington Palace.
Matthews and his wife, model Vogue Williams, Middleton and his reported girlfriend, financial analyst Alizee Thevenet, and Pippa and James also recently all embarked on a beachfront vacation in St. Bart’s, but images from that getaway have yet to make their way onto Middleton’s Instagram. (Though recently unblocked, his last post was on December 31, celebrating his cocker spaniel Ella becoming a therapy dog.)
Instead, his feed tends towards images of a more rugged variety—a video taken from the summit of the Matterhorn, in Switzerland; a slideshow of waterskiing photos against a dramatic sunset; a selfie with a small lamb, captioned “Impromptu Lambing.” Middleton, presumably, delivered this lamb. There are chickens and chicks, ducklings, rams, lambs, farm-fresh produce, fish, and the occasional human or two; judging by his feed alone, he seems to be an avid outdoorsman and restorer of… something old and mechanical.
Per The Cut, Middleton is a “tour guide in the Scottish highlands,” which would seem to align with all the interests included in his feed. He’s also the questionably titled “Wonka-In-Chief” of Boomf, a startup that allows customers to print photos on marshmallows. Think those grocery-store cakes with photos on them that you used to get for birthdays in elementary school, but tiny and only made of sugar and gelatin.
Let’s also not under-emphasize the aforementioned “dog-centric” here: Middleton’s favorite genre of post, it seems, is a perfectly normal outdoorsy photo that happens to be foregrounded by dogs. In one image, he lounges in some tall grass, dogs encircling him (“Beautiful family James,” one friend commented); in another, he looks to be pausing in the midst of a trail run, his dogs seated next to him. Judging by his account, Middleton owns, or regularly plays with and/or cares for, somewhere between eight and 10 pups, which is a lot.
No one loves dogs like James Middleton loves dogs.
Related: All of the Hot Bachelor Princes Twitter Has Rounded Up Now That Prince Harry Is Married
The 12 Royals You Should Already Be Following on Instagram
Pauline Ducruet was raised in Monaco—she’s the granddaughter of Grace Kelly, and inherited her grandmother’s fashion savvy—before moving to New York to study at Parsons.
Pauline Ducruet’s younger half-sister Camille Gottlieb has her own bold sense of style and, it’s hard to miss, a penchant for animals. She has a quantity of dogs that would perhaps best be described as a “fleet,” and she recently visited an elephant orphanage in Sri Lanka (likely a vestige of her time growing up in a circus while her mom dated an elephant trainer).
The late Princess Diana’s 26-year-old niece, Lady Kitty Spencer, was once named “one of the most eligible girls in Britain” by Tatler—and she’s earned a reputation as a woman-about-town, regularly spotted in the front row during fashion month and, on occasion, with fellow It girls like Pixie Lott and Lottie Moss.
Maharaja Padmanabh Singh of Jaipur had the distinct honor of accompanying Reese Witherspoon’s daughter Ava Phillippe to the Bal des Débutantes last month. He doesn’t boast nearly as many Instagram followers as his 18-year-old scion date, but his Instagram does offer a bit of insight: He is, judging by his feed, above all, an avid polo player.
Princess Olympia of Greece turned 21 this summer with a socialite- and model-filled party whose guests included Nikki and Paris Hilton and Poppy Delevingne, as well as her parents, Crown Princess Marie-Chantal and Crown Prince Pavlos. (It was, perhaps, the only thing that could motivate both Hilton siblings to make a pilgrimage to the Cotswolds.)
The Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway’s son Marius Borg Høiby celebrated his 20th birthday this year by announcing he would retreat from the public eye while attending university in the United States. (He was, however, never in line for the throne.) But his Instagram remains unprotected, offering his nearly 50,000 followers an inside look at a life spent surfing, skating, and lounging in various hammocks.
Arthur Chatto is 23rd in line for the throne of England, but that didn’t mean he caused any less of a stir when his Instagram surfaced online earlier this year. It’s filled with shirtless selfies, images of his travels in Iceland, Switzerland, and Wales, and behind-the-scenes shots of his days at Eton (and some combination of the three).
Grace Kelly’s daughter-in-law Princess Charlene of Monaco posts images of her humanitarian work and her kids alike—both categories that have her Instagram comments filling up with “aw”s and heart-eye-emojis.
There is perhaps no more proud mother than Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece, mother of Olympia. She regularly posts images of her daughter—on stage with Michael Kors, wandering the English moors with her brother, Prince Alexios of Greece—in between promoting her childrenswear line, Marie-Chantal Children.
Prince Constantine Alexios of Greece, the son of Crown Princess Marie-Chantal and brother of Princess Olympia, also holds the distinction of being Prince William’s godson. The Georgetown University freshman fills his Instagram feed with moody black-and-white images, as well as the occasional selfie, broadcasting his antics to his 30,000 followers.
Princess Tatiana of Greece and Denmark goes by a relatively unassuming handle on Instagram—simply @tatianablatnik, which pairs well with her husband’s handle @skylightchaser—but don’t be fooled. The co-founder of TRIA ETC, a sustainable fashion brand based in Greece, Princess Tatiana is also an avid foodie, judging by her Instagram feed, where she posts the salads she’s been eating and far-flung destinations to which she’s been traveling lately.
Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan’s Instagram bio describes her as “a mum and a wife with a pretty cool day job,” and there’s not much we could add to top that.
