Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Holiday Card Includes a Surprise First for This Family Member

12/18/2024 04:27 PM

A rarely-seen member of the Sussex family was spotted in the holiday shot

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's holiday wishes included the debut of a much-loved family member: their rescue beagle, Momma Mia.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's office released their annual holiday card on Dec. 16, and the season's greetings included a new family picture with their kids, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. It was a sweet surprise to see Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3, featured in the card, as Prince Harry and Meghan haven't featured their children this way since their 2021 holiday card. The shot showed the children excitedly running towards their parents and marked the family's first public picture with Momma Mia, plus their other two dogs, Guy and Pula.

In August 2022, Prince Harry, 40, and Meghan, 43, adopted a senior rescue beagle affectionately nicknamed Mia. The dog was one of 4,000 beagles rescued from a Virginia breeding facility owned by Envigo RMS that July, and the couple adopted her from the Beagle Freedom Project rescue facility in California's San Fernando Valley, not far from their home in Montecito.

Related: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's 2024 Holiday Card: The Deeper Meaning of the Photos They Chose

"The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are the most loving, sensitive and caring adopters I have ever met!" animal rights attorney Shannon Keith, who runs the Beagle Freedom Project, told PEOPLE at the time. "We were so honored that they have been supporting Beagle Freedom Project and chose to adopt a dog who has been abused."

Keith said that Harry and Meghan could have taken one of the many puppies available. but opted to adopt a senior dog.

"They made a point to adopt a rescue named Mia, who most would overlook because she is older, has health issues and is traumatized by her past," Keith said. "I was so impressed by their commitment to animal welfare! They have been following up letting us know how well Momma Mia is doing in her new, amazing home!"

Related: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Holiday Hugs for Archie and Lilibet Echo an Iconic Princess Diana Moment

Envigo RMS was fined $35 million for animal cruelty for its mistreatment of the dogs at the breeding facility, the BBC reported last summer, and Mia found a forever home with the Sussex family.

While Prince Harry and Meghan's pack expanded with the third dog, their menagerie already included a rescue beagle! In 2015, Meghan rescued a beagle named Guy from A Dog's Dream Rescue in Ontario, Canada. At the time, the future Duchess of Sussex was living abroad for her work as an actress onSuits, and would begin dating her future husband Prince Harry in 2016.

Dolores Doherty, the founder and owner of A Dog's Dream Rescue, later told PEOPLE she was grateful for the spotlight Meghan's profile brought to the shelter and the fairytale ending that Guy the beagle had. The pup made its way to Canada after being saved from a kill shelter in Kentucky and found a match with Meghan. 

"It's just wonderful the exposure she created. She could've bought a dog, but she chose to adopt," Doherty told PEOPLE.

Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!

Prince Harry wrote in his 2023 memoir Spare that "fur babies" (dogs) were one of the topics he and Meghan bonded with King Charles and Queen Camilla about the first time she met them in 2016. Meghan then owned rescue dogs Guy and Bogart, a German Shepherd-Lab mix, but rehomed him when she moved to the U.K. to be with Harry.

In the summer of 2018 — shortly after they married! — the Duke and Duchess of Sussex adopted a black Labrador named Pula. Pula means "rain" in Setswana, the official language of Botswana, a meaningful country to the couple and where they had their third date. Because rain is scarce in Botswana, it's considered to be a valuable blessing, making the name a poignant choice.

While Momma Mia the beagle makes her debut in the Sussex family's 2024 holiday card, Guy and Pula already shared a cameo before! In 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan sent an illustration of a picture taken by Meghan's mom Doria Ragland of them playing in their California backyard with Prince Archie, with Pula and Guy depicted alongide him.