The VERY awkward friendship circles of Prince William and Harry

There was a time when Prince William and Prince Harry were so close they were more than brothers – they were also friends. 

While they were close for years, even acting as Best Men for one another at their respective weddings, the brothers have been separated by a rift that is said to have begun four years ago. 

In March 2019, William reportedly threw Harry and Meghan out of Kensington Palace over the alleged bullying of staff, which has been denied, with the Sussexes breaking up their joint foundation and setting up a new office at Buckingham Palace. 

In his bombshell biography Spare, Prince Harry claimed his older brother physically attacked him when he was still living in Nottingham Cottage within the grounds of Kensington Palace.

But while the brother’s relationship remains fractured, they are still in a number of similar friendship circles – leaving the pals they once partied jointly with, firmly stuck in the middle.

Here FEMAIL reveals the friends who are firmly part of William’s posh posse – Harry’s loyal band of brothers – and who is stuck in the middle. 

HARRY’S BAND OF BROTHERS 

Adam Bidwell

Long since part of the inner circle, stockbroker Adam Bidwell – who hit the headlines in 2013 after a romance with singer Katherine Jenkins – featured on the far left of the suited and booted band of brothers snap. 

Long before Harry met Meghan, Bidwell was frequently around for the Prince’s solo adventures, and was even thought to be present on that notorious trip to Las Vegas, along with Harry’s other close pal Tom ‘Skippy’ Inskip.

In May 2018, Bidwell was an usher at the couple’s wedding, and by 2019 was very much still part of the couple’s life; he attended a polo match with the Duchess of Sussex in July 2019, with the Princess of Wales also in attendance. 

In the same year, the financier travelled with Harry on a charity trip to Lesotho, where the Prince opened a dining hall at the Phelisanong Children’s Home. 

His close friend also remains an ambassador for Sentebale, Harry’s charity, which he  founded in honour of his mother Princess Diana.

Lord Vivian

A major player in the world of PR, Lord Vivian – full title Lord Charles Crespigny Hussey Vivian, aka 7th Baron Vivian – appeared second from left on the wedding party photo, and is thought to have helped the Prince set up several of his charity trips to Africa. 

Lord Vivian and the Prince were introduced by mutual friend Mark Dyer, Harry’s long-term mentor, who’s also pictured on the far right on the band of brothers image.   

Lord Vivian already spends several months a year in Africa due to his role as director of Tavistock PR, and is thought to be close enough to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to have attended Archie’s christening.

Henry Warhurst

Nicknamed ‘Wago’, Henry Warhurst, a car collector who runs his own storage company called Henry’s Car Barn, stands directly to the right of Harry in the photograph. 

Warhurst is married to Tamara Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax, who is the niece of Tiggy Legge-Bourke – Prince Harry’s former nanny. The pair wed in April 2016 in Wales.

It’s thought that the Duchess of Sussex and Wago’s wife Tamara are also good friends, having bonded while at the wedding of Harry’s Eton pal Charlie van Straubenzee to bride Daisy Jenks in 2019.

Jack Mann 

Prince Harry befriended Jack Mann at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He is the son of Simon Mann, a SAS officer turned mercenary, who was jailed for five years for allegedly trying to overthrow the government in Equatorial Guinea in 2004.

Harry’s friend served with the British Army for tours of Iraq and Afghanistan.  After leaving the army he worked in Libya as a country manager for a UK security company called Aegis Defence Services. He went on to create his own private security company in 2015 called Alma Risk.

This weekend, Mann, 40, exchanged vows with osteopath Isabella Clark at St Peter’s church in Stutton, Suffolk, where guests included Harry’s friend Thomas van Straubenzee, godfather of Princess Charlotte.

Tom Inskip

Tom Inskip’s father is Owen Inskip, a field-master of Prince Charles’s favourite hunt, The Beaufort, who has made a fortune over the years from a number of businesses, including ‘managing’ thousands of council homes for local authorities and upmarket estates. 

Tom, also known as ‘Skippy’, is one of Prince Harry’s oldest friends, having met the Duke of Sussex when they were classmates at Eton College.

‘Skippy’ and sister Victoria — ‘Tor’ to her friends — have known Princes William and Harry since childhood. 

The Inskips were regulars at Club H, the ‘nightclub’ William and Harry set up in the basement of Highgrove. 

Mr Inskip was with Harry on his ill-fated trip to Croatia in August 2011, when they got drunk on vodka, whisky, beer and tequila, and were photographed jumping into a pool fully-clothed at a nightclub on the party island of Hvar.

He was also with him on a skiing trip to Verbier in November 2012 when they amused themselves by childishly hurling snowballs at unsuspecting passers-by from a balcony.

He was with him at a party in 2010 when Harry was seen inhaling ‘hippy crack’ — otherwise known as nitrous oxide or laughing gas — a recreational drug which, although perfectly legal, has been associated with a number of fatalities.

And he was with Harry during his infamous trip to Las Vegas in 2012, when the prince was photographed naked during a game of ‘strip billiards’.

But he’s been leading a more settled life since marrying flame-haired literary agent the Hon Lara Hughes-Young in Jamaica in 2017.

The groom and his bride, the daughter of Lord St Helens, hired out the super exclusive Round Hill Hotel and Villas, a private 110-acre plantation style resort first built as a colony of cottages for the rich, famous and glamorous of the 1950s.

It was one of the first events to which Harry took Meghan, and he was one of the ushers.  

However the two apparently fell out after Tom warning Harry against marrying Meghan.  

According to the 2020 book Finding Freedom, Tom expressed doubts about how quickly the relationship was moving and decided to warn his friend Harry.

He is believed to have advised Harry and Meghan to live together before ‘doing anything more serious.’

A source close to Duke and Duchess of Sussex told the book’s authors that although his advice ‘came from a good place,’ Prince Harry ‘didn’t totally see it that way’.

As a result, Mr Inskip and his wife Lara were reportedly ‘punished’ by being excluded from Prince Harry and Meghan’s wedding party at Frogmore House. 

WILLIAM’S POSH POSSE

William Van Cutsem 

The late Queen’s Sandringham estate is 24 miles away from Hilborough House and the Van Cutsems are stalwarts of the Royals’ ‘Turnip Toff’ social set.

Mr Van Cutsem’s father Hugh, a friend of Prince Charles, was a banker and a passionate conservationist who died in 2013.

Prince William is a regular visitor to the Hilborough estate, which has won awards for its conservation work and is regarded as one of the leading wild-bird shoots.

His closest friend from the family is William, whom he has known for a number of years and who is godfather to Prince George. 

In 2013, he married Rosie Ruck Keene, and William served as an usher. 

Mr Van Cutsem’s niece Grace was affectionately dubbed the ‘grumpy bridesmaid’ for covering her ears on the Buckingham Palace balcony at the 2011 wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Another niece, Florence, was a bridesmaid at Prince Harry’s wedding.

Harry Aubrey-Fletcher

Harry, 38, is one of Prince William’s closest friends, having attended Ludgrove Prep School and Eton with him.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attended Harry’s wedding to Louise Stourton in January 2011, just four months before the couple’s own nuptials.

Prince William was an usher at the ceremony, held at Aldborough Parish Church in Boroughbridge, West Yorkshire.

Harry is the youngest son of Sir Henry Aubrey-Fletcher, 8th Baronet and Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire.

His similarly blue-blooded wife, who also attended Prince Louis’ christening, is the eldest daughter of Edward Stourton, the 24th Baron Stourton, 28th Baron Segrave, 27th Baron Mowbray.

Harry Aubrey-Fletcher made headlines in 2013 for playfully tugging on Prince William’s ear during that year’s Cheltenham Festival.

He was also one of the main guests at Prince Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle.

Oliver Baker 

Godfather of Prince George, Oli Baker and his blonde wife Mel (nee Nicholson) were a St Andrews couple, just like William and Kate.

Oli, with another friend, Alastair Coutts-Wood, shared the farmhouse that William and Kate lived in for their last two years there.

After university and before marriage, Oli’s wife Mel 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, where a colleague said he had ‘never, ever mentioned his friendship with William and Kate’ in years.

STUCK IN THE MIDDLE  

Charlie Gilkes

Glitzy nightclub mogul Charlie Gilkes runs the company Inception Group, which oversees high society haunts including Bunga Bunga and the Mr Foggs chain of cocktail bars.

Nearly a brother-in-law to William, Gilkes once dated Pippa Middleton. His older brother Alexander, who attended Eton with Princes William and Harry, was married to Misha Nonoo, who now has a close friendship with Meghan Markle, but the couple split in 2016.    

At his Italian wedding in 2014, Gilkes enjoyed royals galore in attendance, with Prince Harry, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie all heading to Puglia for his nuptials to Anneke von Trotha Taylor. Pippa also attended the wedding of her former beau, along with her parents.  

Alex Gilkes   

Alexander, who was educated at Eton College and the University of Bristol, is the co-founder of venture studio Squared Circles.

Alex attended both Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding in May 2018 and Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge’s in April 2011. 

He is said to be good pals with Princes William and Harry, who also attended Eton College. 

From 2011 to 2018, he was the president and co-founder of art and collectibles online auction house Paddle 8, but stepped down when it was sold to The Native.

In other pivotal career moments, Alexander has served as auctioneer for auctions including Madonna’s Raising Malawi and Elton John’s AIDS foundation.

The businessman has been married once before, to Meghan Markle’s friends fashion designer Misha Nonoo.

The pair tied the knot in Venice in 2012, with reports of their break up emerging in 2016.

The divorce was finalised in the summer of 2017.

They made their major red carpet debut as a couple at the 2019 Met Gala.

The British businessman proposed to the five-time Grand Slam tennis champion in December 2020. He presented her with a dazzling £300,000 diamond engagement ring.

James Meade 

As Prince William partied in Koko club in Camden last month, by his side was James ‘Badger’ Meade, a friend from his Eton days.  

James, who Harry claimed was the other ‘real’ best man at Prince William’s wedding, went to Eton with the older royal.

He 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.

Harry’s infamous Nazi uniform gaffe happened at a ‘Colonials and Natives’ themed bash which was held in a marquee at the Meade house in honour of James’s birthday.

He has known the Prince since childhood, and to him, he is ‘Willy’.

James, who is Princess Charlotte’s godfather, is also close pals of Prince Harry, maintaining 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 best friend Thomas Van Straubenzee, have been described as a ‘trio of tearaway toffs’ who have lead the elder royal astray.

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.

Last time the future King was spotted busting some old-school moves was in 2018, inside the Farinet nightclub in Verbier during a lads skiing trip to Switzerland, he was once again alongside Guy, James and Thomas. 

Known to his friends as ‘Meadey’ or ‘Badger’ he once took part in a charity boxing match at Boodles Boxing Ball in 2008 – watched by William and Kate, under the nickname ‘the Badger’.

At the Prince’s request, James accompanied Kate to the Badminton Horse Trials in 2007 during her split from William, a sign of the great trust he places in his friend. He also gave a speech at their wedding.

He 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.

Meade reportedly used to take the Prince drinking at the Cuckoo Club in Piccadilly in their youth, where he reportedly always encouraged the royal heir to hit the dance floor.

Guy Pelly

‘Court jester’ Guy Pelly shares an unshakeable bond with both royal brothers Harry and William.

When, infamously, Harry was photographed wearing a Nazi uniform to a private fancy dress party, Pelly was at his side dressed as the Queen, whom he apparently mimicked to great effect.

When he was erroneously blamed by Palace officials for introducing the teenage Harry to drugs, and ostensibly cast out of the royal circle, he didn’t complain and stayed silent.

When it later emerged that he’d had nothing to do with Harry’s adolescent experimenting with cannabis, Pelly was welcomed back into the royal fold almost as a third brother.

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, stripped to his boxer shorts. And William asked Pelly to be godfather to Prince Louis in 2018.

Such is the closeness of the family, Prince William skipped the late Queen’s Christmas lunch in 2015 to support Guy at his father’s memorial service following his sudden death.

In many of the pictures of the Prince of Wales in nightclubs over the years, Guy is by his side.

Pelly has never spoken about his friendship with the royals.

He has remained close to Prince Harry over the years, and even visited the couple in California, alongside his wife Elizabeth Wilson, and their then-three-year-old daughter, Willow in 2020.

‘They were kindly invited by Harry and Meghan,’ a source told Richard Eden at the time. ‘Despite what’s been said about Harry losing touch with his old friends, he was keen to see Guy.’

The visit is understood to have taken place while the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were staying at the £14million mansion owned by American entertainment tycoon Tyler Perry.

Meanwhile Prince William was spotted partying at Camden club KoKo just last week.  

Thomas Van Straubenzee

Thomas Van Straubenzee has been close friends with the brothers for years. His relationship with the royals dates all the way back to their prep school days at Ludgrove.

Van Straubenzee is the global head of the private office of estate agent Knight Frank, and accompanied the Prince to New Zealand on his gap year.

He is also godfather to the Wales’ daughter Princess Charlotte.

The businessman and property consultant, whose parents are Captain Alexander van Straubenzee and Claire Fenwick, used to holiday with William in Cornwall when they were children, and, before his marriage to Charlotte’s former teacher from St Thomas’s Battersea Lucy Lanigan-O’Keeffe, 32, in 2020, had a reputation for loving a night out.

The couple share a young son, Albert. 

His family’s royal links go back decades — old family friends of Princess Diana, she was even the nanny of Tom Van Straubenzee’s cousin briefly and was also said to have dated his uncle, Willie, after divorcing Prince Charles.

Van Straubenzee is said to be interested in music, wildlife and conservation. 

William and Harry were said to be devastated by the death of Thomas and Charlie’s brother Henry, who was killed instantly when the car in which he was a passenger hit a tree outside Ludgrove prep school. 

Following Henry’s death, his family set up the Henry van Straubenzee Memorial Fund, of which Thomas is a patron.

The charity works to fight poverty in Uganda through education, and both William and Harry are patrons.

His friendship with the princes made headlines in 2011, when he was mugged at knifepoint in Battersea while talking on the phone to Harry, and the concerned Prince drove across town to check on him.

In 2013, Van Straubenzee married Lady Melissa Percy, the Duke of Northumberland’s daughter, at her family’s ancestral home Alnwick Castle, which doubles as Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films. Princes William and Harry were among the guests. 

The couple divorced three year’s later in 2016, with Thomas’ disputed ‘unreasonable behaviour’ allegedly cited as the reason for the relationship breakdown.

Charlie Van Straubenzee 

Prince William met Mr Thomas and Charlie Van Straubenzee’s when he attended Ludgrove School in Berkshire. 

Thomas’ younger brother, Charlie is very close with Prince Harry and is godfather to his son Archie.

The families have been friends for decades, with their uncle, William van Straubenzee, a close friend of their mother Princess Diana. 

Harry made annual summer visits to the Straubenzee family home in Cornwall while he was growing up.

The friends have been pictured together in the past attending events such as the Rugby World Cup in 2015, where they watched England play Australia. 

Charlie and Harry were known as perpetual batchelors, and when Charlie’s relationship with Daisy got serious in 2016, a mutual friend told the Daily Mail: ‘This means Harry really does have to find a girlfriend.’ Luckily this was around the time he began his relationship with Meghan. 

Both brothers were ushers at the Sussexes’ wedding in 2018 and Charlie even gave a speech at the reception. 

In his wedding speech, Charlie allegedly made reference to the prince’s ‘ginger locks’ and teased Harry about his days as a dormitory monitor at their school.

‘All I wanted was a cuddle from my mummy,’ he said. ‘Instead Harry nicked my teddy bear and chucked it out onto the roof.

‘Ladies and gentlemen, I ask you, how can you put someone in charge of a dorm when that someone is worse behaved than the whole dorm combined?’

The Duke of Sussex acted as Charlie’s best man at his wedding to Daisy, a society wedding and party videographer who runs a company with her sister Kitty, on August 4 later that year in Frensham, Surrey.

Princess Eugenie and her now-husband Jack Brooksbank also attended the nuptials.

Meanwhile Prince Harry is believed to be godfather to Charlie’s daughter Clover, whom he welcomed in 2020. 

The Princes also knew Charlie and Thomas’s late brother Henry, who died in a car crash aged 18 in 2002.

The funeral was attended by members of the Royal Family, and a memorial fund was set up in his name in 2007, with Princes William and Harry as patrons. The charity helps schools in Uganda.

Every year a Christmas carol concert is held at St Luke’s Church in Chelsea, organised by the Henry van Straubenzee Memorial Fund to boost funds for its projects.

In 2020, Harry honoured his late friend Henry van Straubenzee with a Christmas donation to the charity fund set up in his name.

Arthur Landon 

Another friend of Harry’s who dates back to his school days, Arthur Landon is a royal himself.

He is the son of Austro-Hungarian Princess Katalina Esterhazy de Galantha and Tim Landon, but mainly works as a filmmaker.  

When his father passed away in 2007, Arthur inherited his fortunes and soon became one of the wealthiest young men in the UK.

A friend to both Prince Harry and Prince William, Arthur was a guest at both their weddings.

He was also present on a trip to Las Vegas in 2012, from which photos of a half-naked Prince Harry emerged.

However, Arthur managed to go unnoticed on the trip and was not pictured in any photos.