The Princess of Wales revealed that the royal family has welcomed a new addition in a rare insight into home life during a visit to textile manufacturers in West Wales on Tuesday. During the visit, Kate, 44, was seen gushing over English cocker spaniel Barney as she visited Hiut Denim, a family-owned company in Cardigan, for her second engagement of the day.
The Princess's adoration for Barney was clear - and she soon discussed her love of animals. Crouching down to stroke Barney, she said: "You are lovely!" And speaking to staff, she added: "We have the same breed of dog."
Kate was asked, "How old are yours?", to which she responded: "So we've got a little puppy, he's only eight months, and Orla's five." Kate and her husband Prince William live in their "forever home", Forest Lodge in Windsor, with their children.
Kate and William's very royal pets
The Prince and Princess of Wales are known to be fond of animals - as are their children, Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, ten, and Prince Louis, seven. The Waleses are the proud owners of Orla, who was given to them by Kate's brother, James Middleton, in 2020.
Orla even gave birth to four puppies last May, with the litter featuring in a post to mark Prince William's birthday in June. The message was signed "with love", alongside Kate and the children's initials, "the puppies" and a paw print emoji. Previously, they had another spaniel, called Lupo. It was reported at the time that the family was planning to keep one of the puppies, but this was not confirmed.
Orla joined the Prince during his appearance in Eugene Levy's Apple TV+ series, The Reluctant Traveler, last October. The Prince spoke about his and Kate's previous English Cocker Spaniel, Lupo, who sadly passed away in November 2020.
"So [Orla's] actually the niece of our other dog, Lupo, who sadly we lost in lockdown," William explained to Eugene. The Schitts Creek star responded: "Were you there? When it happened?" to which the Prince says: "Yeah we were all there sadly, it was very sad."
William and Kate announced the death of Lupo on their Instagram account, writing in a tribute: "Very sadly last weekend our dear dog, Lupo, passed away. He has been at the heart of our family for the past nine years and we will miss him so much."
Kate's meaningful visit to Wales
The Princess of Wales championed a brand once made famous by Meghan Markle on Tuesday as she paid a visit to textile manufacturers in the stunning landscapes of West Wales.
Kate, 44, spent time at Melin Tregwynt, a woollen mill weaving traditional designs in a remote wooded valley on the Pembrokeshire coast. She joined weavers at the loom, learning about the traditional process of double-cloth weaving, and following the process of blanket weaving.
Later, she visited Hiut Denim, a brand once associated with Meghan Markle. The Duchess of Sussex famously wore the their high-waisted skinny jeans on a trip to Cardiff Castle with Prince Harry in 2018, her first official royal visit to Wales, and brought the company to global attention.
It sparked what the founders called the "Meghan Markle effect", telling the BBC previously: "When Meghan Markle wore our jeans we had the world's press on our doorstep, so our grand masters [workers], as we call them, have become used to being featured in things... it's good for business."
It is the latest of the royal's visits to British textile manufacturers, having last month paid a trip to a tartan-weaving studio in Stirling in Scotland. In 2025, she visited textile manufacturers in Carmarthenshire, Suffolk, Kent and County Tyrone and has sought to increasingly give them a platform with her work. Kate also has a close family connection to the industry, as her paternal ancestors owned William Lupton & Co, a woollen merchant and manufacturer based in Leeds.