Prince William and Kate Middleton; Otto the cocker spaniel
Credit: Chris Jackson/Getty; The Prince and Princess of Wales/X
NEED TO KNOW
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Kate Middleton and Prince William revealed the name of their new puppy as they celebrated his first birthday
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The brown cocker spaniel is the son of their other family dog, Orla
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The dog made his royal debut in a new family portrait that the Prince and Princess of Wales shared to celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary this week
Kate Middleton and Prince William are formally introducing their new puppy to the world.
The Prince and Princess of Wales celebrated their family dog’s first birthday on Friday, May 1, by sharing a majestic photo of the young English cocker spaniel on social media. In addition, they shared his name for the first time in the caption.
“Welcome to the family, Otto! 1 today,” they wrote alongside two birthday-themed emojis.
The new photo was taken by Princess Kate, who has called herself an “enthusiastic amateur photographer” and often gets behind the camera for her three children’s portraits.
Kate Middleton and Prince William’s cocker spaniel Otto
Credit: The Prince and Princess of Wales/X
Otto is the son of Orla, Prince William and Princess Kate’s black cocker spaniel, who has been part of the family since 2020. Kate confirmed in February that the family had kept one male puppy from a litter Orla had in 2025.
Earlier this week, both dogs appeared in a new portrait shared to celebrate the Prince and Princess of Wales’ 15th wedding anniversary, marking Otto’s first publicly shared family photo.
The snap showed William and Kate lying in the grass with their three children, Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 8, while Orla and Otto cozied up to the royal heir to the throne.
William and Kate’s first family dog, Lupo, also a black cocker spaniel, was a “belated wedding present” from Kate’s brother, James Middleton, following their April 29, 2011, nuptials.
They brought Orla, whose mother is one of James’ dogs, into the family shortly before Lupo died in 2020.
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Orla has since joined the royals for public appearances, including accompanying Kate to support Prince William in a charity polo match. She has also joined Princess Charlotte in several of her birthday portraits, and joined the family in a video Kate shared about her cancer journey in September 2024.
“This time has above all reminded William and me to reflect and be grateful for the simple yet important things in life, which so many of us often take for granted. Of simply loving and being loved,” the princess said in the unprecedentedly personal home video.
Kate Middleton and Prince William with Orla in July 2022
Credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty
Orla even appeared in William’s episode of The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy, where the Prince of Wales opened up about royal life like never before.
After introducing Orla to Levy, Prince William shared, “She’s actually the niece of our other dog, Lupo, who sadly we lost during [COVID] lockdown.”
The royal also shared the personal detail that all three of his young children were present to help Lupo cross the rainbow bridge.
“Yes, we were all there, sadly,” he said. “It was very sad.”
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