Princess Kate's brother is opening up about the Middleton family's competitive game nights and how Prince William would find a way to avoid participating.
During a recent interview with Emily Dean on the Walking The Dog podcast, James Middleton said the future King of England would "make excuses" to get out of game nights when he first started dating Kate Middleton, the Daily Mail reports.
According to James, who was 13 when his sister started dating the Prince of Wales, Prince William would "come over for dinners," which inevitably led to a card game.
"It was after family dinner, we would be sat there and the cards would come out, and [Prince William] perhaps see if Ella needed a walk or make an excuse to get down from the table," James said, referring to his brother-in-law's reasons for excusing himself from the family game.
"Racing demon is probably the most fast-paced, competitive one that we all play together," he continued.
For the uninitiated, "racing demon" is a competitive form of the popular card games Patience or Solitaire, and apparently the Prince of Wales is not a fan.
In his new book, Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life, James described how his four-legged BFF gave Prince William an excuse to leave when a friendly card game turned heated.
"Ella gives [William] a good excuse to escape the fiercely competitive nature of the Middleton family, which emerges every time we play our favourite fast-paced card game, racing demon," he wrote.
"William flinches at our ruthless determination to win at all costs. He's delighted to be the first out, and when no longer compelled to take part, he slinks off to cuddle Ella," James continued, adding that he believed Prince William would "prefer to absent himself from the game entirely."
According to James, Prince William would often ask if Ella needed a walk "before we even started dealing cards."
In his tell-all memoir, which detailed how his dog Ella saved his life when he was experiencing severe depression and suicidal ideation, James also credited Prince William and Princess Kate for better understanding his mental health struggles as a result of their volunteer and advocacy work.
"I feel misunderstood; a complete failure. I wouldn’t wish the sense of worthlessness and desperation, the isolation and loneliness, on my worst enemy. I think I’m going crazy," James wrote.
"I am grateful to Catherine and William, whose work in the field of mental health has given them valuable knowledge and understanding," he continued. "My parents rely on them, and Pippa, to try to breach the impenetrable wall of my silence. Sometimes they do break through. My sisters gently cajole me out of the flat now and again."
