The sweet way William and Kate's dog Orla is helping them through grief

There's truly nothing like a dog's love.

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There's truly nothing like a dog's love.

Prince William sadly lost his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II last week, but he has found a solid support system in his family - which includes the Prince and Princess of Waleses' dog, Orla.

On Saturday, William and Kate were joined by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to greet well-wishers at Windsor Castle.

During the walkabout, the new Prince of Wales admitted to a royal fan that Orla has been a huge help to him as he grieves his "Grannie," as he called her in a statement following her death.

According to Express, as he encountered the royal fan with their dog, he exclaimed: "Aw look, who's this?"

He was then told the pup's name was Luna, to which the royal replied: "Hello Luna, you're very sweet Luna, how old is she?"

The royal fan explained that Luna was almost two years old, and Prince William shared the following wisdom: "Dogs at this time are so important, I give my dog a lot of cuddles at the moment, I've got a little spaniel called Orla, she's very sweet."

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, with their dog 'Orla', attend the Out-Sourcing Inc. Royal Charity Polo Cup at Guards Polo Club, Flemish Farm on July 6, 2022 in Windsor, England.

Credit: Getty

The former Cambridges confirmed their dog's name when they took her to the Royal Charity Polo Cup in July. They previously owned another black cocker spaniel named Lupo, who sadly passed away in November 2021, and adopted Orla shortly before.

Princess Charlotte notably posed with little Orla for her seventh birthday portrait, which was released in May.

As recently as August, there were rumours circulating that the family would be adopting a golden retriever from Kate's brother James, but there has been no word on that development since.

Of course, William and Kate aren't the only royals to absolutely adore animals of the fluffy variety. The late Queen famously loved corgis, and bred them for the vast majority of her life, while King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla currently own two rescue Jack Russell terriers named Beth and Bluebell.

Iris Goldsztajn
Iris Goldsztajn is a celebrity and royal news writer for Marie Claire.
As a London-based freelance journalist, she writes about wellness, relationships, pop culture, beauty and more for the likes of InStyle, Women's Health, Bustle, Stylist and Red. Aside from her quasi-personal investment in celebs' comings and goings, Iris is especially interested in debunking diet culture and destigmatising mental health struggles.
Previously, she was the associate editor for Her Campus, where she oversaw the style and beauty news sections, as well as producing gift guides, personal essays and celebrity interviews. There, she worked remotely from Los Angeles, after returning from a three-month stint as an editorial intern for Cosmopolitan.com in New York.
As an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles, she interned at goop and C California Style and served as Her Campus' national style and LGBTQ+ editor. Iris was born and raised in France by a French father and an English mother. Her Spotify Wrapped is riddled with country music and One Direction, and she can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.