Who is James Middleton's wife, Alizée Thevenet?

In the wake of his surprise secret nuptials, we reveal all there is to know about James Middleton's wife.

As the sibling of the Duchess of Cambridge, James Middleton was always going to be one of Britain's most eligible bachelors. But alas the businessman is now off the market - for good - following news of James Middleton's wedding to new wife Alizée Thevenet.

The two newlyweds - who recently bought their first house together - have a seriously cute 'how they met' story with James's pet pooch Ella playing accidental matchmaker to the pair.

Who is James Middleton's wife Alizée Thevenet?

She's a French financial analyst

James Middleton's new wife is one accomplished woman. The 34-year-old currently works as as a Director for TreasurySpring, a financial technology company based in London.

She grew up between France and Belgium, obtaining an undergraduate degree in accounting and finance in Brussels.

After some time out travelling the world she headed to London for further study, graduating from Queen Mary, University of London in 2013 with a Master’s degree in Investment and Finance.

Her unique name was chosen by her father

Her first name Alizée is based on her father Jean-Gabriel Thevenet's love of sailing.

The retired French diplomat told the Daily Mail, "My daughter is named after my first love, which is wind-surfing, and the Alize wind that fills the sails."

Jean-Gabriel's career saw him take up positions in countries like Chile and Indonesia, giving daughter Alizée a well-travelled childhood.

He's now settled in Uzerche, central France, where he runs a charming converted windmill B&B.

Alizée can speak three languages

According to her LinkedIn, she's a trilingual woman.

The 34-year-old has listed French, English and Spanish as languages she readily speaks on her professional profile.

She loves getting active outdoors

Alizée is a "keen skier" according to the Daily Mail.

She has also shown off some expert water-sport skills, helping to sail a boat with James on a recent holiday in Sicily. And we're sure her father's love of wind-surfing might also have rubbed off on her.

She's recently taken to bee-keeping too

Last June, James Middleton revealed that his wife also shares his passion fro bee-keeping.

"I'm glad, too, that my fiancée, Alizee, is a convert," he wrote in the Daily Mail. "Early in our relationship I bought her a beekeeping suit and when she's helping me with the hives, as she has been during the weeks of lockdown we've spent at Bucklebury, she couldn't be happier."

The two looked happy posing bee-side the eight hives that James keeps at his parent's home Bucklebury Manor in Berkshire.

James Middleton met his future wife with help from a furry friend

Alizée met James in 2018 when the two were attending an event at the South Kensington Club in Chelsea. With James' beloved dog Ella seeming making the first move.

James wrote in The Telegraph, "I have Ella to thank for introducing me to Alizée in 2018. Ella was lying at my feet under the table; realising she might want some water, I trusted her to take herself over to the water bowl across the terrace. However, she made a beeline for Alizée."

An embarrassed James went over to apologise and the two struck up a conversation, whilst Alizée gave the pet pooch a well-earnt pat.

"Little did I know, but I had just met my future wife, all thanks to Ella," adds James. "If I hadn’t trusted Ella, I wouldn’t have brought her to the South Kensington Club and she wouldn’t have been able to say hi to the woman who became my fiancée."

Of course, she's a dog person too

It seems Alizée shares her husband's same love for a canine companion.

The two are proud pooch parents to six: Ella, Zulu, Mabel, Inka, Luna and Nala.

Alizée regularly shares snaps with the dogs on her personal Instagram feed. And even referred to one as her "new BFF" in one post.

She and James helped raise Luna's litter of six in lockdown last May. And in fact, Prince William and Kate Middleton's new puppy addition was one of Luna's litter.

James proposed to Alizée in the Lake District

James Middleton confirmed his engagement to Alizée Thevenet in September 2019.

The youngest Middleton shared the news publicly one month later in October with a sweet post on Instagram.

"She said OUI," he captioned the post, signalling to Alizée's french heritage. He also gave an adorable nod to their couple name with the hashtag #Jalizee

It seems that an engagement was on the cards for quite some time. With Alizée's dad telling the Daily Mail in January 2019, "My daughter Alizee is very happy with James, they are very much in love."

The two live together in west London. But during the pandemic, they relocated to the Middletons' home in Berkshire.

James and Alizée's wedding plans were also de-railed due to coronavirus.

They were initially set to wed in May 2020 but rearranged to a later date that summer due to the lockdown wedding rules in place.

Their second wedding date was also postponed again due to the ongoing coronavirus situation.

They married in a romantic ceremony in the South of France

James Middleton married Alizée Thevenet on the second weekend of September 2021.

The new husband and wife shared the good news on Instagram in a loved-up snap.

“Mr & Mrs Middleton ❤️ 🇬🇧 🇫🇷  Yesterday I married the love of my life surrounded by family, friends and of course a few dogs in the beautiful village or Bormes-les-Mimosas. Words cannot describe how happy I am ❤️,” wrote James in the caption.

Guests in attendance at the secret South of France wedding ceremony were James's parents Carole and Michael, plus sister Pippa and her husband James Matthews.

According to the Daily Mail, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge also made it to the Cote D'Azur for the nuptials. Prince William and Kate wore stunning outfits to the wedding, after the dress code was revealed by the mayor of the town. But it is not known if Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis were in attendance.

One of the couple's six dogs Mabel is also hilariously seen photobombing the couple in their wedding Instagram post.

She's a French girl at heart

Though she's now permanently based in the UK, friends insist she hasn't lost sight of her heritage.

One told the Daily Mail that Alizée was "about as French as you get," adding: "She only drinks red wine and loves cheese".