If there's one thing we love more than seeing the Royal Family on social media, it's seeing the Royal Family holding a little doggo on social media. You can imagine our absolute d-e-l-i-g-h-t then, when last night we spotted that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge had shared a snap to their Instagram Story featuring the very adorable Alfie. But, while the cute cockapoo certainly got plenty of people's attention, it was something else about the post that got royal fans all saying the same thing.
ICYMI, yesterday (20 January) Kate Middleton and Prince William shared a photo of them both hugging therapy pup Alfie. As well as posting the pic, they asked their 13.4 million followers who they thought Alfie preferred – and, it's safe to say, the results were a landslide.
"Who do you think Alfie the therapy dog preferred?" the couple asked in a poll on their Instagram Story, to which royal fans almost unanimously voted in favour of Kate. Yep, poor William was more than pipped to the post, with his wife racking up 83% of the votes, leaving him with just 17%. Bit harsh, eh?
The pair met the little pup while on an official visit to Clitheroe Community Hospital in Lancashire on Thursday afternoon, where they learnt more about the challenges faced by the NHS during the pandemic. They also got to meet frontline workers, and discovered how NHS Charities Together has been supporting staff's mental wellbeing.
During their visit, the Duke and Duchess were introduced to 10-week-old Alfie, who's currently being trained to support both patients and staff at the East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust. Understandably, the couple quickly took to the little dog, with Kate describing Alfie as very "sweet", before admitting that their own dog is "going to be very upset" at having missed out on the cuddles.
Their canine encounter comes not long after after the Cambridges revealed they'd got a new dog of their own during lockdown – just a few months before their family dog, Lupo, sadly passed away. Speaking about the new addition, whose name has been kept under wraps, a source close to the Cambridges said: "They were devastated when Lupo passed away, as any dog owner will understand, but got the new puppy before he died. It was hoped that a younger dog would give Lupo some company and give him a little more life and energy."
We hope Lupo is enjoying his time up in doggo heaven!
Jade Biggs (she/her) is Cosmopolitan UK's Features Writer, covering everything from breaking news and latest royal gossip, to the health and fitness trends taking over your TikTok feed. She also works on first-person features and investigative long-reads, taking a deep-dive into mental health, celebrity culture and women's rights. Jade has been a journalist and content writer for ten years, and has interviewed leading researchers and doctors, high-profile influencers and fitness experts. She is a cat mum to four fur babies and is obsessed with Drag Race, bottomless brunches and wearing clothes only suitable for Bratz dolls. Follow her on Instagram or Twitter.
