Kate Middleton's younger brother James Middleton has opened up about his love of beekeeping just days after David Beckham revealed that he has also been building beehives at his home in the Cotswolds. James shared a video of his hives at the house he and Kate grew up in, Bucklebury Manor in Berkshire, and penned an article for the Daily Mail in which he discusses the positive effect that beekeeping has had on his mental health.
MORE: Inside Kate Middleton's younger brother James' gorgeous London home
WATCH: James Middleton shares his passion for beekeeping
"I've written in this paper about the clinical depression that first hit me in 2016, and one of my strategies for coping with it is beekeeping. I see it as an active form of meditation, a chance to escape from mental tumult. When I'm with my bees it's as if someone's pressed the mute button on everything that's worrying me."
SEE: David Beckham shares update on latest home DIY project
James and his fiancée Alizee Thevenet posed for a photo at the end of the video wearing beekeeping suits at the Middleton's family home, where James has eight hives.
Speaking of Alizee's role in his hobby, he added, "I'm glad too, that my fiancée, Alizee, is a convert. Early in our relationship I bought her a beekeeping suit and when she's helping me with the hives, as she has been during the weeks of lockdown we've spent at Bucklebury, she couldn’t be happier."
WATCH: David Beckham builds beehives at Cotswolds home
David, meanwhile, has been building beehives to make honey. His wife Victoria shared a video of him hard at work and announced his new venture, saying, "David decided to start building beehives. Is that your new project darling?" David replied, "You'll be very happy when we have our own honey." Sure enough, a few days later David shared an update with a photo of bees surrounding his new hive.
James has been beekeeping since his parents and older sisters, Kate and Pippa, bought him a colony of bees for his 24th birthday in 2011, and though we can't be sure, we love the idea that David took inspiration from the royal.
Like this story? Sign up to our newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.