James Middleton reveals his past struggles with ‘January blues’ while sharing adorable photos of his son Inigo and wife Alizee during a family ski vacation.

Kate Middleton’s brother James has opened up about his mental health in an Instagram post, sharing heartwarming photos of his family on a ski trip.

Princess of Wales’s younger brother, aged 37, openly discussed his past challenges and also expressed his anticipation about the future and watching his one-year-old son Inigo grow up.

Sharing a collection of glamorous photos from snowy mountains on his Instagram, followers were thrilled to see his cute toddler trying out skiing.

Elsewhere James’s wife Alizee was glamorous as ever as she posed with a glass of wine amid the idyllic scenes.

The sweet family huddled up together – joined by two of their dogs – in the snaps from their winter getaway to the mountains. 

In the caption, James wrote: ‘A different type of January blues… 

‘In the past, I used to struggle a lot with the January blues…and to some degree, I still do – the lasting effects of the holiday season and the long dark evenings, combined with overly ambitious New Year’s resolutions, made me feel like I was barely getting by, and it was only the beginning of the year…

‘But a few years ago I set myself a new mantra which was inspired by my dogs. Don’t spend every moment thinking of the one to come, or ones in the past.

‘The past is imperfect, the future will be too – take each day as a new day, you can be excited about the future…the past won’t mind!’

James revealed that he and his family started their 2025 with an ‘adventure into the mountains’.

‘We were lucky enough to be engulfed blue skies and cold crisp air,’ he continued.

‘I can’t believe how quickly Inigo is growing up- in fact that scares me the most…I fear if I blink I will miss it…but like with the dogs we include him in all of our adventures making memories taking each day as it comes…’

James and Alizee donned all-black skiing gear in the sweet family photos, while little Inigo was adorable in a navy ensemble – with goggles and a protective helmet to match.

Another picture featured the trio during a break, as Alizee fed their son – who looked snug in a pram – in the beautiful snowy surroundings. 

It comes as, a few weeks ago, James gave a sweet insight into childhood holidays with his family.

Kate’s brother revealed that the three children, including Pippa, 41, used to go ‘rock climbing on the crags’ and ‘explore the caves’.

Speaking to The Times, he fondly reminisced on their adventurous outings, telling the outlet: ‘We were like something from The Famous Five.’

‘Growing up, we’d also head to the Lake District, staying in rented cottages around Coniston Water and Windermere. It’s a very special place for us as a family.

‘The Old Man of Coniston is one of my favourite mountains — I first climbed it on my dad’s back when I was four years old.’

He explained now that he and his sisters are adults, they still make sure to bond as a ‘wider family’ so that their own kids can play with their cousins – ‘especially around Christmas’.

James added that holidays with the Middletons when he was little ‘tended to be packing up the car and driving somewhere’.

His parents – Michael and Carole – would treat the kids to trips to the Swiss Alps in the summer.

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James recounted how his father would find a mountain refuge and the family would end up having ‘a rather sloppy soup-like meal for tea’ – but they were ‘so hungry from a day of hiking that it tasted amazing’.

All five would then fall asleep on ‘one long bunk’, totally ‘surrounded by other walkers’ and get up early for another day of hiking.

‘I can’t wait for Inigo to form those sorts of memories,’ he said of his son, who turned one in September.

The Princess’s brother also fondly recalled listening to storybooks on car journeys when he was a child, particularly tapes of Swallows and Amazons as well as The Famous Five.

Last year, James opened up about his past with mental health issues. He had also recounted his struggles in opening up to family members while he was battling depression – and revealed how he instead confided in his beloved late spaniel Ella.

The 37-year-old, who now lives in a farmhouse in Berkshire with his wife Alizee and their first child Inigo, appeared on Loose Women last month as part of their 25-hour talkathon which fundraised for the mental health charity Get Britain Talking.

In an unfiltered conversation with hosts Kaye Adams, Colleen Nolan, Janet Street-Porter and Judi Love, James revealed that his mental health first started to nosedive when he was at boarding school.

‘Exams didn’t reflect my knowledge base,’ James candidly explained. ‘On paper, I was failing and so I was made to feel like a failure. 

‘Expectations of you are a round hole and I was a square peg. I felt like the edges of me were being shaved off to get me through this round hole.’

Despite being at his lowest, James admitted: ‘The hardest people I found it to speak to were my family.

‘I think it was embarrassment. There was a stigma in myself because I’ve had such a privileged upbringing, how could I possibly be depressed?

‘But it’s an illness, it’s a cancer of the mind.’

Despite looking ‘normal’ on the outside, James said it felt like he was ‘burning’ on the inside.

James went on to tell the Loose Women panel that his family knew that something was wrong but the more they tried to reach out, the more he became ‘a recluse’.

‘Only after therapy and chatting a lot was it suggested that my family should be involved and I’m so grateful for their patience.

‘When the timing was right, they were there. They didn’t just give up and say: “Deal with it yourself”.

Instead of speaking to his family, James found himself seeking comfort in his dog Ella.

The mental health campaigner said: ‘I’ve connected with animals more than humans. Animals don’t judge you and that’s something that is really comforting.

‘Ella was one of those dogs, I’ll never try and replace her,’ he said. ‘She was there when I was a teenager all the way to adulthood and passed away right before we found out my wife was expecting.

‘At the beginning, when I picked her up as an eight-week old pup, I thought that I would be looking after her but actually she was the one looking after me for those 15 years.’

James was in his first year at the University of Edinburgh when he brought Ella into his life.

He said that having something he ‘was responsible for’ helped keep him afloat during his darkest days.

‘Ella saved my life because there were some very dark days where the anxiety meant I couldn’t sleep and the turmoil that was going on in my mind, I just wanted to shut it off.

‘It may have been pouring with rain or freezing cold but you still have to put a coat on and go outside.

‘It was the ability to take yourself out of that moment and see a dog charging around and happy gives you that serotonin rush that really helped me.’

The entrepreneur went on to found raw dog food brand Ella & Co in 2020 which he named after his beloved spaniel.

On the website, James reveals that Ella came to ‘every single one’ of his therapy sessions. 

He wrote: ‘Just being by my side, she was helping me tremendously and had an immense positive impact.

‘It’s not always been easy for me to talk about my struggles with anxiety and depression, but Ella has been the one to encourage me to get the help I needed.

‘I believe she is a large reason I was able to overcome the deep struggles I have had with my mental illnesses.

James credits Ella for not only saving his life but introducing him to his wife Alizée.

Writing in The Telegraph in 2021, James explained he met Alizee in 2014 at the South Kensington Club when Ella ‘made a beeline for Alizee’.

James, who was ’embarrassed’, went over ‘to apologise and bring Ella back’, recalling how Alizee thought he was a ‘waiter’ and ‘ordered her drink while continuing to stroke Ella, who at this point was on her back lapping up the attention.’

Although Ella passed away last year, James has kept her memory alive by writing a touching book about their time together.

The book, which is titled Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life, was published in September 2024.