Prince William has a small circle of friends who have helped him during the conflict with his brother, Prince Harry.
Prince William may have struggled to deal with the split with Prince Harry, but he has subsequently demonstrated his allegiance to another close friend, William van Cutsem.
At the end of July, the Prince of Wales appointed Mr van Cutsem, the son of the late Hugh van Cutsem, a personal friend of King Charles, as an adviser to the Duchy Estate.
Mr van Cutsem, known as VC to his friends, has been friends with William since they were children and is an ideal pick because he is a chartered surveyor.
According to the Duchy’s annual report, Mr. van Cutsem has a “keen interest in regenerative farming practices within the family’s home and farming businesses”.
Mr van Cutsem, who lives just 20 miles from the Waleses’ Norfolk property, Anmer Hall, is also Prince George’s godfather.
William also served as an usher at Mr van Cutsem’s wedding to Rosie Ruck Keene in 2013, and their niece Grace made an unexpected appearance as the small bridesmaid with her hands over her ears at William and Princess Kate’s own wedding in 2011.
Harry was also friendly with the van Cutsems at one point, as their niece, Florence, served as a bridesmaid for him when he married Meghan Markle in 2018.
The Duke of Sussex has also maintained a strong relationship with another of William’s buddies, James Meade, who joined him to dance the night away at Camden’s KOKO nightclub last summer.
These are some of the friends William has had to lean on since his rift with Harry began, with many of them stretching back decades.
Mr Meade joined Thomas van Straubenzee, another long-term friend who attended Ludgrove School with William and Harry before moving on to Eton, in delivering a combined best man’s speech at William and Kate’s wedding.
Mr van Straubenzee has been married twice: first to Lady Melissa Percy from 2013 to 2016, and now to Lucy Lanigan O-Keeffe, Princess Charlotte’s former teacher at St Thomas’s Battersea, with whom he has two daughters.
He is also Charlotte’s godfather, having spent a childhood holiday with William in Cornwall, where the Prince and Princess of Wales introduced him to his second wife years later.
Oliver Baker and his wife Mel Nicholson are another couple in the royal circle, having met while attending the University of St Andrews alongside William and Kate.
He wants to keep his friendship with the royals quiet, giving him the nickname Zipper Lips Baker; yet, he is also one of George’s godparents.
Guy Pelly has become close to William and Harry over the years, and his pranks have earned him the title of Court Jester within his inner circle.
He planned William’s stag night and made a name for himself by shimmying 40 feet on a marquee during a Prince’s Trust concert while wearing just boxer shorts.
Mr Pelly is also Prince Louis’ godfather, but William’s choice to leave the late Queen Elizabeth’s Christmas lunch in 2015 to support his friend at his father’s burial demonstrated the strength of their bond.
Rounding out the group are Harry Aubrey-Fletcher, the youngest son of Sir Henry, 8th Baronet and Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire, and Mike Tindall, who is married to William’s cousin Zara and has formed a close bond with the Prince during Harry’s absence.
