Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry "sat on the floor" when their beloved dog was having surgery

Fitzpatrick, 58, told The Times newspaper: "Meghan rang me from Canada, where she was living at the time, to say Guy, her beagle, had escaped and been found with two busted 'wrists' (the carpus). Would I operate? I agreed, and she brought him over."

The vet continued: "The duke and duchess sat on the floor. We had cake. Guy was fixed.

"He lived until January this year, and I had a wonderful note of gratitude from Meghan, which was sweet."

Meghan revealed in an emotional Instagram post in January that Guy - who she had adopted in 2015 - had sadly passed away and recalled how the care of Fitzpatrick and his team had changed the pooch's life.

The 44-year-old royal wrote on the social media platform: "He endured a terrible accident before I moved to the UK, which had him undergoing surgeries for several months and unable to leave the clinic. Doctors said he would never walk again, but Dr. Noel Fitzpatrick said he could do it.

"H (Harry) and I would drive late at night, after hours, to see Guy as he recovered in Surrey for months on end."

She added: "I will always be grateful to Noel and his team, the team at Queen West Animal Hospital in Toronto, our vets now, and my friends and community: Thank you for loving him so."

Meanwhile, Fitzpatrick also had a royal encounter with the late Queen Elizabeth where the pair discussed caring for animals over lunch.

He recalled: "She said all kinds of things which I will never speak about, but yes, we chatted for an hour and a half.

"She was interested in what's called a dermal integration module used in animal prosthetics (a medical device that helps skin integrate with an implant) because it's like an antler growing out of a deer. She wanted to know how the skin grew into metal.

"She was also interested in what time of day she should give tablets to her dogs, and we discussed hip dyslapsia. She had a million questions."