Meghan Markle reveals the sweet reason behind her dog's name

Meghan Markle has always been keen on pets; one of the patronages she held as a working royal was for animal welfare charity Mayhew, and it's publicly known that the former actress has owned numerous rescue dogs in her time.

Prince Harry, having grown up as a member of the royal family, also has a love of dogs, and the couple now share two. One, a Beagle called Guy, is a rescue dog Meghan owned long before she even met Harry. And in a recent interview with Ellen DeGeneres, the Duchess of Sussex revealed the sweet story behind his name.

Discussing her children's book, The Bench, Ellen asked Meghan if her young son knew the book was about him. "Does Archie know he's in here? Does he know that's him? And what does he think of the book?" quizzed the show host.

"He does, on that first page you open and you see our dogs, he goes 'That's Pula! That's Guy!'" shared Meghan. (Side note, this is completely adorable in itself).

Having referenced Guy, Meghan then went off on a tangent about how she named him. "My dog Guy, his name is that because I'd gotten him from a shelter years ago, and he was so tiny his name was just The Little Guy. And I was like, 'We'll just call you Guy'," the Duchess revealed.

"So Archie gets very excited to see the dogs and to see his chickens in there also," she revealed.

The family's other dog was one they got when they lived in London, in August 2018. Also a rescue pup - this one a black Labrador - Meghan and Harry named her Pula.

The name has a subtle but special meaning to the Sussexes; Pula is the official currency of Botswana, the country in Africa where Harry took Meghan shortly after they started dating. As well as that, the word pula means 'rain' in Setswana; given its rarity, this is viewed as a blessing in Botswana. So all in all, a lot of thought went into Pula's name!

Earlier this year, Meghan Markle did a reading of her children's book The Bench over on Penguin Random House's Brightly Storytime channel. In the video, she can be seen in a blue blouse, sitting outdoors for the reading session.

The book originally started life as a poem written by Meghan to Prince Harry on his first Father's Day. "It was about my observation of him and, you know, him being a dad, which was the most beautiful thing to watch," she told Ellen DeGeneres.

And now it's a story she's shared with the world - a very sweet one at that.