James Middleton has opened up about how his older sisters the Princess of Wales and Pippa Matthews helped their parents, Carole and Michael Middleton, understand that they weren't to blame for their son's depression.
In an exclusive interview with HELLO!, the author, 37, described how he relied on his siblings' intervention and how his whole family attended some therapy sessions with him.
Of these sessions, he recalled: "It gives somebody the opportunity to ask questions that I don't necessarily know the answer to, or might be too emotional to give the answer to, or not have the confidence to say it. It's like having a translator."
© Richard Murgatroyd PhotographyJames added: "It was easier for my sisters, because initially my parents saw it as a challenge for them – where had they gone wrong?
"And that's why it was so important to have somebody else in the room to explain: 'No, this isn't you that's done this to your son. This is a combination of multiple things. It stems back to childhood but there's not a single trigger point.'
"Once I started to understand a bit myself, and then for my sisters to understand it, who could then also speak to my parents… Now, it's something that can be discussed at the dinner table. It's helped us as a family – not just me individually, but as a unit – to be more open."
Before he sought professional help, James didn't confide in his family about the mental illness from which he began to suffer in 2017.
© Richard Murgatroyd PhotographyJames' new book
He battled it alone, a torturous experience he writes about in his new book, Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life, with clarity and depth, describing it as "a cancer of the mind" that brought with it "a fog of anxiety and inertia". It robbed him of the desire to live.
It was only when, on the advice of his GP, he saw a consultant psychiatrist and began to slowly understand the nature and root causes of his depression through therapy that he opened up to his family.
© Richard Murgatroyd PhotographyJames openly writes about his depression in his new book, which is out next week.
Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life is a tender tale of James's relationship with the cocker spaniel who came into his life when he was 20 and the adventures they encountered along the way, including trips to the Scottish mountainsides, royal weddings, and meeting Alizée, the woman who has become his wife and with whom he shares 11-month-old son Inigo.
But at its heart is a story of survival, how James' pet dog Ella held him back from the brink of despair. "Only Ella gave me cause to keep living," he writes with typical candour of the torment he felt only a few years ago.
To read the full exclusive interview, pick up the latest issue of HELLO! on sale in the UK on Monday. You can subscribe to HELLO! to get the magazine delivered free to your door every week or purchase the digital edition online via our Apple or Google apps.
Meet Ella by James Middleton is published by Radar on 26th September. In celebration of his dog Ella, James Middleton is supporting Dogs Trust and its very first 'Walk for Our Old Friends' (WOOF) event in October which encourages people to walk in memory of their beloved canine companion. Find out more at https://events.dogstrust.org.uk/woofevent
Photos by Richard Murgatroyd Photography
