Prince William’s inner circle: How ‘VC’, ‘Zipper lips’ Baker and ‘court jester’ Pelly are among the heir to the throne’s closest friends – and now he’s rewarded William Van Cutsem with a top job on the Duchy Estate
If any further sign were needed of how highly the Prince of Wales values his friendship with William van Cutsem, it came late last month.
The Prince of Wales made his most loyal friend and closest confidant an adviser for the Duchy Estate.
The two Williams have been friends since childhood and van Cutsem is said to be like a brother to the Prince.
But the aristocrat, who is a chartered surveyor, is by no means the only member of William’s close-knit inner circle, as we reveal below.
William van Cutsem
William recently made his friend, William van Cutsem, an ‘an adviser to the council’ at the Duchy Estate. Above: The pair at the wedding of the Duke of Westminster in June
Van Cutsem, known as ‘VC’ to friends, is Prince George’s godfather.
As a chartered surveyor, he specialises in logistics, renew-able businesses and building storage facilities across Britain.
William inherited the 130,000-acre Duchy Estate when his father, King Charles, acceded the throne in September 2022.
In the Duchy’s annual report, van Cutsem is said to have a ‘keen interest in regenerative farming practices within the family’s home and farming businesses’.
The two men own country homes 20 miles apart in Norfolk.
The two men, who are said to be like brothers, own country homes 20 miles apart in Norfolk. Above: The pair playing cricket in Chipping Norton in 2010
Prince William and William van Cutsem attend the wedding of Edward van Cutsem and Lady Tamara Grosvenor at Chester Cathedral in 2004. Edward is a godson of King Charles
William van Cutsem and his wife Rosie Ruck Keene are pictured at the christening of Prince George in 2013
Van Cutsem’s father Hugh, a friend of King Charles, was a banker and a passionate conservationist. He died in 2013.
Prince William is a regular visitor to van Cutsem’s Hilborough House estate in Norfolk.
It has won awards for its conservation work and is regarded as one of the leading wild-bird shoots.
In 2013, van Cutsem married Rosie Ruck Keene, and William served as an usher.
Van Cutsem’s niece, Grace, was affectionately dubbed the ‘grumpy bridesmaid’ after she covered her ears on the Buckingham Palace balcony at the 2011 wedding of the Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Another niece, Florence, was a bridesmaid at Prince Harry’s wedding.
James Meade
James Meade, son of Olympic gold medallist equestrian Richard Meade, is one of Prince William’s old friends from Eton
As Prince William partied in Camden’s Koko nightclub last summer, by his side was James ‘Badger’ Meade, a friend from Eton.
James is the son of Olympic gold medallist equestrian Richard Meade, who dated Princess Anne before she transferred her attentions to his teammate, Captain Mark Phillips.
Prince Harry’s infamous Nazi uniform gaffe happened at a ‘Colonials and Natives’ themed bash, held in a marquee at the Meade house in honour of James’s birthday.
He has known William since childhood, and to him, he is ‘Willy’.
James is also friends with Prince Harry. He has maintained the relationship despite the feud between the brothers.
Guy and his wife have even visited Harry and Meghan in California.
In fact, Guy and James, alongside William’s other good friend, Thomas Van Straubenzee, have been described as a ‘trio of tearaway toffs’ who have lead the elder royal astray.
As Prince William partied in Camden’s Koko nightclub last year, by his side was James ‘Badger’ Meade
Prince William and Catherine attend Royal Ascot 2016 alongside their friend James Meade
James (second from right) also attended this year’s races with William and Zara Tindall
Lady Laura Meade, Emilia Jardine-Paterson, David Jardine-Paterson and James Meade join Prince William and Catherine for a Sunday church service at Sandringham in 2019
While they are prized by the prince for their loyalty, that doesn’t mean they don’t also indulge in raucous behaviour, which has previously been said to irk the Princess of Wales.
William and Kate watched James take part in a charity boxing match at Boodles Boxing Ball in London in 2008. He fought under the nickname ‘the Badger’
At the Prince’s request, James accompanied Kate to the Badminton Horse Trials in 2007, during her brief split from William.
James and his wife Lady Laura Marsham, daughter of the 8th Earl of Romney, are both godparents to Princess Charlotte.
The couple have been married since 2013, when William was an usher at their wedding.
In 2011, James delivered a joint best man’s speech with Thomas van Straubenzee at William and Kate’s nuptials.
Thomas van Straubenzee
Thomas van Straubenzee has been close friends with both William and Harry since attending Ludgrove School together. Above: The pair after playing polo in 2014
Thomas van Straubenzee has been close friends with both William and Harry since attending Ludgrove School together.
Van Straubenzee, whose parents are Captain Alexander van Straubenzee and Claire Fenwick, accompanied William to New Zealand on his gap year.
Currently the global head of the private office of estate agency Knight Frank, he is also godfather to the Wales’s daughter, Princess Charlotte.
Van Straubenzee used to holiday with William in Cornwall when they were children.
Before his 2020 marriage to second wife Lucy Lanigan-O’Keeffe, who was Princess Charlotte’s former teacher from St Thomas’s Battersea, he had a reputation for enjoying a night out.
Van Straubenzee and his wife, who were introduced by the Prince and Princess of Wales, share two young children, Mary and Albert.
Prince William with Thomas van Straubenzee in New Zealand in 2005
His family’s royal links go back decades. They were old friends of Princess Diana, who was even the nanny of Thomas van Straubenzee’s cousin.
Diana reportedly dated his uncle, Willie, after divorcing Prince Charles.
William and Harry were devastated by the death of Thomas’s brother Henry, who was killed instantly when the car in which he was a passenger hit a tree outside Ludgrove prep school in 2002.
Thomas’s friendship with the princes made headlines in 2011, when he was mugged at knifepoint in Battersea while talking on the phone to Harry, who drove across town to check on him.
Van Straubenzee’s first wife was Lady Melissa Percy, the daughter of the Duke of Northumberland.
The couple married in 2013 and Prince William and Prince Harry were among the guests.
But they divorced three years later in 2016, with Thomas’s disputed ‘unreasonable behaviour’ allegedly cited as the reason for the relationship breakdown.
Oliver Baker
Oliver Baker is another close friend of Prince William and is the godfather of Prince George. He and his wife Mel attended the University of St Andrews with William and Kate. Above: William and Oliver at Royal Ascot last year
Educated at King’s Canterbury in Kent, Baker is now a grand-sounding strategic sourcing manager for Barclays Capital. A colleague once said he had ‘never, ever mentioned his friendship with William and Kate’. Above: Oliver and Kate at Cheltenham in 2007
Oliver Baker and his wife Mel (nee Nicholson) were a St Andrews couple, just like William and Kate.
After university and before marriage, Oliver’s wife shared the Middleton family flat in Chelsea with Kate.
Described as ‘a real rugger bugger’ who played the sport with William at University, his discretion earned him the soubriquet ‘Zipper Lips Baker’.
Educated at King’s Canterbury in Kent, Baker is now a grand-sounding strategic sourcing manager for Barclays Capital.
A colleague once said he had ‘never, ever mentioned his friendship with William and Kate’.
Baker is one of Prince George’s godparents.
Guy Pelly
‘Court jester’ Guy Pelly shares an unshakeable bond with Prince William and his brother, Prince Harry. Guy is pictured dancing with Kate Middleton at the Kensington Roof Gardens in 2006
Guy Pelly and his wife Elizabeth Wilson attended the christening of Prince Louis in 2018
‘Court jester’ Guy Pelly shares an unshakeable bond with Prince William and his brother, Prince Harry.
When Harry was photographed wearing a Nazi uniform to a private fancy dress party, Pelly was at his side dressed as Queen Elizabeth, whom he apparently mimicked to great effect.
He was thrown out of the royal fold after being erroneously blamed by Palace officials for introducing Harry to drugs.
However, when it later emerged that he had nothing to do with Harry’s adolescent experimenting with cannabis, Pelly was welcomed back.
He organised William’s stag night and is known for such antics as shimmying 40 feet up a marquee during a Prince’s Trust concert while stripped to his boxer shorts.
William and Guy’s friendship dates back to 2001, when they met during a fox hunt.
Such is the closeness of the family that Prince William skipped the late Queen’s Christmas lunch to support Pelly at his father’s memorial service, following his sudden death in 2015. Above: William and Guy watch the rugby, 2005
Such is the closeness of the family that Prince William skipped the late Queen’s Christmas lunch to support Pelly at his father’s memorial service, following his sudden death in 2015.
Nightclub owner Pelly is famously tight-lipped about his friendship with the royals, despite being a godfather to Prince Louis.
William and Harry attended his wedding to Elizabeth Wilson in 2014.
He has remained close to both princes, and even visited Harry and Meghan in California with his wife and their daughter, Willow, in 2020.
Harry Aubrey-Fletcher
Harry Aubrey-Fletcher is the youngest son of Sir Henry, 8th Baronet and Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire. He is pictured attending the wedding of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, in 2018
Aubrey-Fletcher (back) attended the christening of Prince Louis in 2018
Harry Aubrey-Fletcher is one of William’s closest friends, having attended Ludgrove School and Eton with him.
The Prince and Princess of Wales attended Harry Aubrey-Fletcher’s wedding to Louise Stourton in January 2011, just four months before the couple’s own nuptials.
William served as an usher at the ceremony, held at Aldborough Parish Church in Boroughbridge, West Yorkshire.
Harry Aubrey-Fletcher is the youngest son of Sir Henry, 8th Baronet and Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire.
Harry Aubrey-Fletcher, Thomas van Straubenzee, Guy Pelly and Tom Inskip attend the wedding of William van Cutsem and Rosie Ruck Keene at the church of St Mary the Virgin, Ewelme, in 2013
His similarly blue-blooded wife, Louise, is the eldest daughter of Edward Stourton, the 24th Baron Stourton, 28th Baron Segrave, 27th Baron Mowbray.
The couple attended Prince Louis’ christening in 2018, shortly after Prince Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle.
Aubrey-Fletcher made headlines in 2013 for playfully tugging on Prince William’s ear during that year’s Cheltenham Festival.
The prank was noticeably enjoyed by Kate, who was seen smiling in the background.
Mike Tindall
William shares a close relationship with his cousin Zara’s husband, Mike Tindall, who calls him ‘One Pint Willy’
The duo are frequently seen laughing together at events, such as Royal Ascot. Above: The pair hug at a charity polo match in 2017
William shares a close relationship with his cousin Zara’s husband, Mike Tindall.
The duo are frequently seen laughing together at events, such as Royal Ascot, with the former England rugby star eschewing royal protocol to throw his arms around William.
During an appearance on Rob Burrow’s podcast last year, Mike revealed that he calls William ‘One Pint Willy’ because ‘he is not the best of drinkers’.
When William celebrated his birthday, he took Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis to a Taylor Swift concert at Wembley Stadium, where they were joined by Zara and Mike.
The group were seen dancing the night away in the VIP box.
And their children have become close, too. Prince Louis was seen walking hand-in-hand with Mia Tindall to the Christmas Day service at Mary Magdalene Church, Sandringham, in 2023.
William is Mia’s godfather.
