Yes, I decided to dust off these wonderful 2010 photos of Prince Harry and the service puppies. I have a good reason! I was glancing through this charming royal-gossip piece by Katie Nicholl at Vanity Fair, and I couldn’t stop thinking about Harry and puppies. Apparently, Harry wants a puppy for his 30th birthday. That is just the cutest thing I think I’ve ever heard. Harry’s such a big kid at heart – I imagine him saying, “I want a puppy for my birfday!” like a 4-year-old would. But he doesn’t just want any old puppy – he has specifications.
As Royal Watch was the first to reveal, Prince Harry will be celebrating his 30th birthday with an exclusive party at Kensington Palace, and according to reports today, Kate Middleton and her sister Pippa may be in charge of the celebrations. While Kate is reportedly planning to cook for 30 of Harry’s closest friends (possibly including ex-girlfriends Chelsy Davy and Cressida Bonas) party planner Pippa has been pulled in to help co-host the party.
Pippa has teamed up with William and Harry’s close chum Guy Pelly, and the duo plan to create a nightclub in one of the rooms of the newly refurbished palace (well, William and Kate justified the cost of the recent £4.5 million refurbishment at Kensington Palace by saying they planned to entertain!). Pippa and Guy were reported to be the brains behind William and Kate’s wedding disco, which was a huge success, so expect something rather fabulous.
Kate, who has two kitchens at her London home, is apparently planning to cook the birthday meal, with Harry’s favorite dishes beef Wellington and fish pie both on the menu. His favorite dessert, Eton mess, (an English dessert of strawberries, meringue, and cream) will also be served.
Kate, Pippa, and Guy have also come up with a great idea to get the party swinging—some rather potent cocktails including the appropriately named “MacDonald Windsors” —made from gin, blue curaçao, and cranberry, and “King’s Ginger Cocktails”—a drink made using macerated root-ginger liqueur with a twist of lemon and a cheeky hint to the birthday boy.
“Harry will want a big party, so the drinks will be flowing,” says a chum.
While Harry has asked for donations to charity instead of presents, he has requested a rather special present of the furry variety. “Harry wants a labrador puppy and that’s what he has asked for,” says a source. Let’s hope the birthday boy’s wishes come true on September 15!
The cutest detail is about his birthday puppy, and I hope he gets a dog. I feel like Harry is really in full-blown “nesting” mode, and his “light is on,” to borrow a Sex & the City term. He’s ready to settle down. He wants to get married and have a real home and babies and puppies.
As for all the rest of it… Beef Wellington? Fish pie? And Kate is cooking all of it, for everybody? If I’m having beef for my birthday, it’s going to be prime rib, but I think Beef Wellington is appropriately decadent for an occasion-only outing. If they’re serving Eton mess… well, I hope they have a cake too. What is with people rejecting cakes these days? As for the drinks, I would probably try (and like) the King’s Ginger Cocktail, but I have never been able to hold my gin, so I can’t do the Macdonald Windsor. Not that I’m invited or anything.
And Pippa and Guy Pelly working together to organize the party? Eh. I don’t believe that. I mean, I think Guy is probably “helping” to organize something, but I get the feeling that Pippa isn’t so welcome these days around the princes.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet, Invictus Games’ Twitter, WENN.
Oh, give that poor boy a puppy! He looks so cute with one as an accessory!
He does look cute with puppies and babies. lol
Yum…..Eton Mess, Harry, and a velvet puppy. That would sort out the weekend.
Tip: M&S sell an Eton Mess cheesecake, guaranteed to make up for any cake-lack.
Kate is making Beef Wellington for 30? My eyebrow is raised.
I do love Eton Mess – can’t fault anyone for that!
And yes, his light is on big time!!!
My eyebrow is raised as well. She probably has help.
Sounds like Kate is working awfully hard to make Harry happy.
I think Harry should adopt a shelter pup or one of the many that are homeless on the streets of Europe.
My eyebrow also raises, but more that this is an atempt to say Kate is busy doing something.
And has anyone here ever made beef wellington? It’s hard. I love to cook and tend to be a perfectionist and i’d still have pressure to make that dish for 2. 30 and i’d go crazy.
That said i’m very sure it’s more likely Kate is supervising the chefs. Maybe kneeding some dough that the chefs will maybe use or toss and replace.
Right? Being good in the kitchen is one thing. Cooking a meal for 30 requires an entirely different skill set.
Prince Harry with a puppy is definitely a look that suits him.
I cannot resist some bitchery, in any case: Sausage Curls herself, in the kitchen slaving over party food for Harry’s birthday? … Right. Yes. And Crackie Lohan hasn’t touched a drop of anything stronger than kambucha tea since the day she got out of rehab. Kim K naturally has a large caboose–it’s all her! Justin Bieber is a practicing Buddhist who lives by the philosophy of non-violence and non-attachment…he’s also about to start a Ph.D. program in comparative world religions!
I could go on, but y’all get the drift.
Lol, I’m with you. No way is she cooking that all by herself. The sausage curls might collapse, then the party would be over before it began!
I think you should carefully pick out your own puppy, but that’s just me, maybe.
I agree gnat. You know when you find your puppy.
Not to mention prep time for food and prep time for party. Kitchens and cooking is hot! Your hair gets messed up, your makeup in the kitchen isn’t even an option with sweat. Then you must clean up, dress, and then you can enjoy yourself.
Cooking is a beloved hobby of mine. I use to always want to cook for parties and host them at my home. It’s more work than you can know. Then I hired help and actually enjoyed a few of my partys
Agree on both counts… especially picking a puppy/dog out yourself. I hope Harry gets a puppy, but one that he meets and chooses on his own. 😉
Eton mess is amazing. I’d take that over cake anyday and I love cake.
‘Tis. My girlfriend in England’s cook makes one that is to-die-for.
“‘Tis” Hah! I’ve taken trying to use that in common speak after watching Outlander.
Two sentences caught my eye …”Pippa and Guy are PURPORTED to be the brains behind” the party plans.LOLLOLOL. And secondly, Harry wants a Lab. Most of the Labs I see in these pics are a lovely golden color, hmmmm. *kri prepares to savage aisles of hair color brands til she finds “Chien d’or” and a sparkle harness*.
Haha…the brains…yeah, those two are practically a think tank.
I think our now just over one year old german shorthaired pointer has ruined me for all puppies forever. God, what a miserable time puppy-hood was. I think a greyhound rescue will be the next dog. I swear, Juno pushed me right back into depressed mode between the lack of sleep and the destruction – which are understandable with puppies, though still awful haha. And she HATED me. She only started warming up to me when she was fixed and her ‘dog dad/idol’ was gone camping when she came off the pain meds and needed someone to sook to.
Funny story Erin. What bothers me the most is all the peep and poo on the rugs. Don’t the royals get dog handlers for all of these complaints?
First puppy drove me to distraction, two years later we got our second, crate trained him and zoomed right through puppyhood like it was nothing. Crate training is a miracle; they feel so much more secure when they’ve got their little den, minimizes the destruction and the worries that they may have gotten into something they shouldn’t. Highly recommend it.
I’m pretty sure the royals aren’t getting up at 2:00 a.m. to walk the puppy through Kensington gardens waiting for it to pee.
My daughter crate trained her puppy and it worked well for her. I have a cute boy dog; he’ is as old as a 56 year old man, and sometimes bossy because he wants to be the ‘alpha’. He was a rescue dog and had been trained very well by his previous owners. Still, I wonder about a puppy because there will come a time when I want one. Thanks for the advice RobN. I feel more confident about the future when Darby gets too old…he’s a great dog and great for the exercise walks I enjoy so much.
Crate training is the only way to go. My boyfriend and I (stupidly) decided to get a lab puppy in the dead of winter, with 6 inches of snow on the ground, while we were both struggling through law school. Neither of us realized how tiny their little bladders are and that they basically have to pee every 2 hours. We would both lay in bed, silently competing with each other to see who could pretend to stay asleep the longest when she’d start howling at 2 in the morning, ha!
I foster for a rescue but there is no way I will foster a young puppy. housetraining an older puppy or adult is about as much housetraining as I can handle
This story seems soooooo fake. Didn’t Katie Nicholl used to be a key Middleton mouthpiece? Is she still on their payroll?
Yes and Yes. In all Nicholl pieces you’re sure to see a shining image of Kate.
Regarding her info on the princes. It’s a leak direct from Midd camp or it’s total fabrication. She doesn’t come off as too keen on them.
He’s so lovely.
Prince Harry is one of a kind, he’s a great guy. I hope he has a great birthday.
One word: Adorbs !
He is just beautiful – the soul shining through his visage… (I’m sure that I shouldn’t idolize him like this).
Long live the spare!
One word: “Woof”
Cute photos! Ah, I remember the days when people though he wasn’t Prince Charles son because he looked different from Prince William. Lol.
I don’t think Harry is in a “settle down” mode at all. It’s going to be difficult to find another Kate (I mean a girl with determination to stick to him whatever comes.)
He has now a couple of failed relationships under the belt and we’re only too ready to blame the demands of RF and court but I sometimes think that both brothers are royally screwed up by their parents and not to easy to live with.
I don’t believe that Harry’s screwed up. I think that his girls did not want a royal life, and who could blame them? The lux really is not enough. Lots of men can provide luxury, vacations, staff, and a palatial (two kitchens!) and country home, without the pressure of being part of the royal family. Who wishes for a PR team? Social climbing seems to be way more desirable to the plebs. Harry will find the girl who loves him just for him. He’s so much more lovable than the man who will be King Wills.
Blue blood is just the way that a few families have ensured their great wealth. Clever, being that blue blood is actually red! I think that Prince Harry is red hot!
I think both brothers are like lost children, not really matured although they’ve seen a lot early in their lives. The difference is that William is pressed to grow up in a “role” and there’s noway out. Therefore he tries to drag feet and not take real “royal” Job. Harry has a lot more freedom and I give him props for trying to use it wisely but there is the other reckless side with truly stupid PR mistakes.
Whether he’ll find a “blue blood” girl to marry- aren’t the ones so far better connected than the Middletons?
P.S. William tried at least twice to shake off Kate- both times with no success.
It seems that the women in their own circle may want to party with them but not marry them.Whaat do they know that we don’t?
+10000 wolfpup
I also don’t Harry is as screwed up as William.
I think he’ll choose wisely for himself ,when all is said and done and not a doormat.
He was said to refer to Kate as the Limpet to those close to him.
No doubt that Harry has had some truly stupid PR mistakes, it should also be noted that his errors are free reign for the press. William’s role does have the upside of coming with more press protection. This protection (or in Harry’s case lack thereof) has also been extended to their significant others, respectively. Thus, I’m not sure if William hasn’t made any great mistakes or if they’re just covered up.
I find it very interesting that no one’s pointing out the most obvious reason for Harry’s failed relationships – it’s actually a trait he shares with William: both men are chronic cheaters. Harry needs to find a woman motivated enough to put up with his B.S. and the press B.S.
Philosophically, why do we refer to any relationship that doesn’t end in marriage a “failed relationship”? He was with Chelsy for 7 years. They parted on good terms, because she knew the restrictions of royal life were not for her. He was with Cressida for what, 1.5-2 years (since we didn’t really see how early it started), and again, they decided to part amicably.
Not every relationship is supposed to end in marriage, and not every marriage is happy or works for a lifetime. Are all of these to be labeled “failures” or can we just admit that life is life? Are we supposed to be so afraid of something being labeled a “failure” that we fail to live?
Maybe it was “The Seven Year Itch” (Marilyn Monroe’s movie), for Chelsy. I agree with you, notasugarhere; Harry had a wonderful time with Chelsy, and that should be enough. Cressida, not so much in my opinion, but she did look a bit like his mother.
Love Harry. Sweet Prince.
Why is it hard to believe that Kate is cooking for a party of 30? We know she likes to cook and 30 isn’t much. I’m sure my mother could have done it and probably did. (I can hardly feed myself, though.) Kate has the money for help but maybe she doesn’t want help with the meal itself and wants to keep the party private. Cleanup is a different matter…. But a party of 30 people isn’t a huge crowd especially if she’s had experience doing it.
She has what, 7 kitchen among their three properties. We have rumors of her loving to cook. We have the information that she didn’t have time to do royal work, but had time to take a basic introductory cooking class. We have photo evidence of her at the grocery store filling her cart with frozen pizza. Kate Middleton cooking a meal for 30 people, not likely.
Well, if any of this is true, and I rather doubt it, she chose the most complicated route to feed the throng that she could.
Beef Wellington is a very complex dish, let alone to make enough for thirty. I made it for six people last Christmas and almost had a breakdown.
If you are throwing chili on the stove for thirty, that’s completely different.
…aaaaannnddd then, Prince Harry shows up in a Nazi officer costume, ruins the whole thing, creating a huuuuuuuge PR embarrassment, and ends up on a mission to the Falklands.
And that’s why we must cuddle him.
He’ll only do that again if William is there pressuring him to do so. Like last time. Harry wore the costume, but big brother Will was pressuring him to do so. As he became more intoxicated it was harder to resist William.
Ah yes, the party where William draped himself in animal skins and said he was dressed as an African native. Classy, William, classy.
Notasugarhere.
No mention of that costume. Only Harry to be sacrificed.
Isn’t beef wellington notoriously difficult to make? I highly doubt she is making 30 of those on her own. But hell, if she does, I will officially be impressed.
Beef Wellington is VERY difficult to make. The dough part is what makes it a killer. I’ve tried 5 or 6 times so far, and have yet to get it right. I’d be SHOCKED if she really was the one cooking it. And if she is, I would bet a lot of money that someone else is doing the dough, and she’s just wrapping it around the meat. Takes 5 minutes to wrap and shove in the oven, if that’s the case.
I posted on this too. It’s very tricky. And slicing it becomes very tricky. I made it correctly once. I don’t know what I did since i’ve never replicated it.
It’s great PR though.
Pippa tip: If the prince has stated he wants a puppy for his birthday, get him a puppy. I think he’ll get it. 🙂
If there’s anything that rich people like to do, it’s cater their own parties.
Fun rumour: Pippa and Guy may have dated for a hot minute in 2009.
Hmm.. That is a fun rumor!
i melted !!! harry and a puppy!! my ovaries!
I think it’s ridiculous that the Vanity Fair article makes it sound like Kate is going to make beef wellington, fish pies, & Eton Mess for 30 people all by herself. Or is it the W&K PR people pushing that tidbit?
It’s Nicholl pushing it. She is pro Kate pr.
Just going by the article it’s to sound as if Kate is the one spearheading this. She will make everything yb being in the kitchen with a dozen chefs.
I wouldn’t harp on this if it was believable, but i’ve attempted Beef Wellington before. It’s difficult to say the very least. They tried to make her sound ambitous, but it’s just too far fetched when you know the details.
Harry and puppy kisses are everything! How wonderful if he chose to adopt, especially a black lab since black dogs have a harder time in shelters.
So…what does one call a King Charles reign/era? Charlean? Charlesian?
It would depend on what name he chooses for his reign – he may choose another of his names, i.e. George or Arthur, therefore it could be Georgian for George VII or even Arthurian. However no British monarch has given his or her name to an age or era since Edward VII – the Edwardian era. Somehow, I think the time for naming an era after a monarch has passed so he may just go with plain old Charles III so it may be called Carolinian from the Latin version of Charles.
Ngiyabonga, Jaded.
Ngiyabonga for the info, Jaded.
Gin, blue curaçao, and cranberry? sounds horrid
Depends on the Gin. Different flavors for different brands. The rght Gin can make or break that drink.
That’ s what money’s for. If I was rich, I’d have an animal for each birthday, they’ re the best ones to be close to.
Animals and babies; those have always been our beloved ginger prince’s sweet spots ❤️
And while I’m normally totally against people ever receiving living creatures as “gifts” for birthdays, holidays, etc.-the novelty tends to quickly wear off and these poor animals account for over 75% of the population in shelters here in the States-in this case I think it’s a wonderful idea 🙂 Harry certainly has the heart and resources (if not the time) to provide a lifelong loving home for a pet. Huzzah!
I do worry because he’s always off somewhere doing something, therefore leaving the dog to the staff.