Meghan Markle has today paid a touching tribute to her late ‘beloved friend’ Oli Juste as she opened a new wing of a London animal charity.
The Duchess of Sussex emotionally told how the dog trainer’s sudden death in January 2022 has left her heartbroken as his friends and family gathered at Mayhew where the Oli Juste wing was unveiled.
The announcement was made on the Harry and Meghan’s Sussex.com website which showed the beaming Duchess wearing a beige coat crouching down and petting a pooch at the north west London charity.
Meghan had been patron of her favourite animal charity since 2019 which she had held in a private capacity.
But she stepped down from her role in 2022 just one year after she and Harry moved to California.
Meghan Markle has paid a touching tribute to her late ‘beloved friend’ dog-trainer Oli Juste as she opened a new wing of a London animal charity
The duchess gave an emotional video message as she opened the new wing named in memory of her friend
The couple stepped down as senior royals in 2020.
In the video message watched by Oli’s friends and family, Meghan said: ‘A heartfelt thank you to the wonderful team at Mayhew who have worked tirelessly to bring this dream to life.
‘It was so important to find a way to celebrate Oli’s memory in a manner that he would have loved.’
The charity said the new wing of refurbished kennels to provide warmth of shelter for dogs was made possible thanks to a ‘generous’ donation by Meghan.
Sherine Wheeler, chief executive of Mayhew, said: ‘We are so delighted to celebrate and honour Oli’s life in this way, we are so grateful for his friendship and contribution to Mayhew.
‘He combined his expertise as a renowned dog trainer with a passion for animal welfare to make a huge difference for rescue dogs.’
The star-studded opening was attended by celebrities such as Strictly’s Nigel Harman and actress Rula Lenska.
Mr Juste, who appeared on Channel 4’s Puppy School, died in Chichester hospital in 2022 surrounded by his fiance Rob and his mother Jenny, and his siblings Helene and Michel.
Rob posted a touching tribute on Mr Juste’s Instagram page announcing his death at the time in which he said their beloved dog Bernard was also able to say goodbye.
‘Even though I find it hard to fathom what has happened, I take solace in the fact that, up to his last breath and beyond, Oli was and is helping people by being an organ donor, so there is the possibility of helping people beyond the end of his life,’ he wrote.
Meghan spoke at the time of her heartbreak following the animal behaviourist’s death, who had introduced her to the charity in 2019.