James Middleton ‘appalled’ at royal wedding request

James Middleton says he felt “appalled” when sister Kate and Prince William asked him to do a reading at their 2011 wedding.
James, 37, was pleased at the request at first, but when he was told he’d be the only one doing a reading at the lavish nuptials, his feelings quickly changed.
The dog breeder and author has recalled his experience in his newly-released memoir Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life.
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He writes in the book: “The wedding was barely eight weeks away when Catherine and William, on the phone together and bubbling with excitement, asked me brightly if I might be up to doing a reading on their big day at Westminster Abbey.
“A reading? I thought they were joking,” he continues.
“My mind raced back to school and my stumbling, incoherent efforts to read in front of the class.”
James, who is dyslexic, described reading as his “least favourite occupation” and felt he was risking “humiliation in front of the entire world” by agreeing.
But agree he did, feigning delight, saying “if that was what my sister and William wanted, then of course I’d do my best not to let them down.”
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His attempt at confidence over the prospect was quickly dashed, however, when they told him: “This will be the only Bible reading in the service.”
“I didn’t know whether to be honoured or appalled,” James confessed.
Over the next few days he attempted to conquer his fears, only to be told he’d been sent the wrong reading.
He was to read Romans 12: 1-2, 9-18, but not f rom the easier-to-read New English Version of the Bible, but the more complex New Revised Standard Version favoured at Westminster Abbey.
“You can still say no,” his sister reassured him but James felt “loath to disappoint them” and readily agree.
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James was battling mental ill health at the time, but his family was yet to discover the extent to which the illness had taken hold.
James sought the assistance of voice coach Anthony Gordon Lennox to prepare for the reading and he also sought comfort from the movie The King’s Speech, which had been released a year earlier.
The King’s Speech, starring Colin Firth, chronicles the efforts of King George VI who ascended the throne upon his brother King Edward VIII abdication in 1936.
King George VI worked with voice coach Lionel Logue to overcome a stammer, the pair forging a strong bond during the experience.
James also practices at a nearby church.
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Lennox advised James to learn the reading by heart, to overcome the challenge of reading. He was able to practice once at Westminster Abbey.
James said he battled nerves on the day but did his best to focus on his sister and to keep “calm.”
Then, his big moment arrived.
“I walk steadily, trying to calm my breathing. I stand, poised to begin. But where is my scruffy piece of paper? I can’t see it. Has it been thrown away?” he writes.
As panic threatens to “overwhelm” him he spots it, concealed in the Bible in front of him.
“I don’t even cast a glace at Catherine and William, not wanting to exchange smiles with them in case I erupt into nervous giggles,” he recalls.
“I want t do them both proud.
James delivered the reading perfectly, saying once he got “into the flow of the reading, I actually enjoy it.”
He jokingly thought he’d task Catherine with an important job on his wedding day as a result of his hardship.
James wed wife Alizée Thevenet ten years later in 2021.
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