Kate Middleton was delighted with the antique earrings - pictured here with a similar pairWhen Prince William bought Kate Middleton a pair of pearl earrings for her 28th birthday, he carefully tracked down the finest and most expensive pair he could find.
But now he may be wishing he had not gone to so much trouble – after the precious antiques were eaten by Kate’s dog.
Otto, her beloved black cocker spaniel, chewed up the jewellery so badly that they were rendered unwearable – much to her consternation.
Kate was delighted on her birthday when her 27-year-old boyfriend presented her with a small ornate box containing the exquisite pair of cultured pearl stud earrings, which he had personally tracked down from a private dealer.
She told William she ‘adored’ them, and starting wearing them straight away.
But her delight turned to horror when, just days later, the earrings went missing from the ornamental dish on her bedside table where she kept them.
A friend said: ‘Kate flew into a panic. She was on the floor, looking under the bed, she searched the entire house but couldn’t find them.
'When she went back upstairs, she spotted that a couple of things on her bedside table had been moved around and the tube of handcream she keeps there had tooth marks in it.
‘It seems that Otto had got into her room and eaten the pearl earrings. He was sitting on the end of her bed looking very pleased with himself and licking his paws.’
Dog's dinners: Otto, a black cocker spaniel like this dog pictured, has previously chewed shoes and even a coffee tableAfter inspecting the animal’s mouth, which contained no trace of the delicate jewellery, Kate told William she feared her dog had eaten them.
‘Kate can see the funny side now, but at the time she was really upset,’ said the friend. ‘She knew William had spent a lot of money on the earrings and she was embarrassed that she had mislaid them.
‘When she told William she suspected Otto had eaten them, he burst out laughing and told her that she would have to wait for them to come out the other end.’
Kate, who divides her time between her London home and her parents’ house in Bucklebury, Berkshire, then became fastidious about taking Otto for his daily walks.
‘She was out with Otto waiting for the inevitable,’ said the source.
How Kate's naughty spaniel swallowed the VERY expensive antique gift William bought her for her birthday‘She was walking him a couple of times a day and when the earrings finally emerged, she realised that there was no rescuing them, they were so badly damaged and chewed up. She had to call William and tell him the news.
‘He told her not to worry and that he would get her another pair. He said the main thing was that Otto was OK. He adores the dog, who’s very sweet.’
Otto, an all-black cocker spaniel, was given to Kate by her parents as a Christmas present and always accompanies her whenever she goes to Sandringham or Balmoral for weekend shoots.
The couple are said to love walking their dogs on the Royal estates. William has a black labrador puppy, another Christmas present, given to him after his previous labrador Widgeon, a gift from his mother, died.
‘Otto is a regular guest at Sandringham and Balmoral when Kate visits,’ says a friend of the couple.
‘Kate puts him on the back seat of her Audi and he’s as good as gold. The thing is, he has a tendency to chew everything because he’s still quite young.
‘Kate’s father once left a pair of shoes out and Otto totally destroyed them, and he’s gnawed away the corner of their coffee table, too.
‘The Middletons can’t stop laughing about the earrings and have called the episode, “The dog with the pearl earrings”.’
William and Kate celebrated her birthday on January 9 with a quiet dinner at the Middletons’ family home before he flew off to New Zealand and Australia for his first solo overseas state visit.
‘He was determined not to miss Kate’s birthday after missing it in previous years because of his work commitments,’ said a friend.
‘It was a really low-key celebration, and after dinner William presented her with the pearls. Everyone was cooing over them, they really were gorgeous.’
It is not known whether William has replaced the earrings yet. He is currently undergoing search and rescue training at RAF Valley on Anglesey, which he will complete this summer.
It is widely expected that he will announce an engagement to Kate once training is over. Palace insiders believe that 2011 is the most likely date for a Royal wedding.
However 2012, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, is also a possibility.
source: dailymail
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