William and Kate pay tribute to `dear dog'
Cocker spaniel `at heart' of family for 9 years
LONDON • Lupo was born to be a star. At an early age, he graced the front cover of Hello! magazine and was a regular at landmark royal family events.
Yesterday, Prince William and Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, announced with great sadness the death of their English cocker spaniel, a dog that had been at the “heart” of the family for nine years.
The couple used Instagram to inform their followers of the royal death. “Very sadly last weekend our dear dog, Lupo, passed away,” the couple wrote. “He has been at the heart of our family for the past nine years and we will miss him so much.” They signed off the message with a very personal “W & C,” short for William and Catherine.
The statement was accompanied with a photograph of Lupo, looking frankly just a little bit regal, lying down but with his head held high. Lupo appeared thoughtful, as if the future of the monarchy was dependent on him, although in reality, he was probably just wondering where his next dog biscuit was coming from.
Within an hour of the message being posted, it had garnered an astonishing 300,000 messages of support from well-wishers. Lupo had touched hearts.
The spaniel had been a wedding present from the Duchess's younger brother James, who said “nothing can ever prepare you for the loss of a dog.”
Lupo arrived in the royal household in early 2012, just in time to keep the Duchess of Cambridge company, after the Duke had deployed for six weeks to the Falkland Islands while serving as an RAF search and rescue pilot.
His name, at first, remained a secret, royal aides refusing to disclose it as a breach of privacy, but the Duchess let it slip to schoolchildren in February 2012. Within hours, Lupo had his own Twitter account, while Hello! put him on the front cover. “Kate's puppy love,” declared the magazine.
Lupo appeared in 2013 alongside a tiny Prince George, the Duchess cradling her baby son and the Duke with his arm around the panting, smiling dog. Prince William declared at the time: `For me, Catherine and now little George are my priorities,” before adding, “and Lupo.”
Reports suggested Lupo had a role to play in making history. Unsure what to call the future king, the couple had written a number of names on scraps of paper and invited Lupo to wander among them. He stopped at the piece with George written on it.
Lupo was a family affair; his mother Ella was owned by the Duchess's parents. Ella is still alive and Lupo (“wolf ” in Italian) died at a relatively young age for a cocker spaniel. Kensington Palace declined to discuss the cause of death.
In a post on Instagram, James Middleton wrote: “Nothing can ever prepare you for the loss of a dog ... those who have loved a dog know the truth: a dog is not just a pet; it is a member of the family, a best friend, a loyal companion, a teacher and a therapist.”