The Duchess of Cambridge’s younger brother James Middleton confirmed the happy news that he’s engaged to Alizee Thevenet in post shared to his Instagram today.
The 32-year-old shared a beautiful selfie of the two of them beaming at the camera with the breathtaking scenery of England’s Lake District in the background and a sapphire ring on Alizee’s, 29, ring-finger visible.
“❤She said OUI ❤”, James captioned the post, a sweet reference to his fiancée’s French heritage.
“Our secret is out but we couldn’t be happier to share the news,” adding emojis of a champagne bottle, champagne glasses and the flags of France and Great Britain, along with their cute couples hashtag ‘#jalizee’.
News of the couple’s engagement was first reported by The Daily Mail on Saturday, with one of their close friends telling the publication that the couple had been keeping the engagement a secret but the news had started to leak out among their friends.
“They’ll be announcing it formally next week,” the friend adds, and it’s clear James’ followers were delighted to see the exciting news confirmed.
“Congratulations,” one follower wrote.
“You both look very grounded, lovely and very much in love. Hopefully we the public could [sic] see your ceremony (all the doggos much be included)! All the best.”
While another follower added: “Huge congratulations! Wishing you both happiness and fulfillment.”
James shared a compilation of photographs to his Instagram story ahead of announcing the happy news. (Image: Instagram /@jmidy)
As well as the post to his Instagram grid, James also shared two sweet videos to his Instagram stories – the first shows the couple swimming and sharing an underwater kiss, captioned: “I asked @alizeethevenet a question the other day…”
The following video was a compilation of photographs of the couple throughout their relationship with the caption: “And she said…”
According to The Daily Mail, the couple met last year when she stopped to say hello to James’ Cocker Spaniel Ella, and initially, Alizee did not know who James was until after their first date when she was told by one of her friends.
The couple were then spotted holidaying on the Caribbean island of St Barts in January and moved in together in West London last month.
The compilation of photographs showed the couple throughout their relationship. (Image: Instagram/@jmidy)
The happy news comes just days after the Duke and Duchess of York’s eldest daughter Princess Beatrice announced her engagement to property investor Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.
The official announcement was made by Buckingham Palace at the end of September, with those close to the couple expressing their delight on social media.
Beatrice and Edoardo, affectionately referred to as Bea and Edo by their nearest and dearest, are set to tie the knot in 2020.
