Everyone inside Prince William’s very private inner circle

We all need friends, and having all the pressure that comes with being next in line to the British throne no doubt requires some support.

Having just come through one of the worst years of his life, following the double cancer diagnoses of his father, King Charles, and wife, Catherine, Prince William most likely relied on his friends like never before. But who are the people in the future King’s inner circle, and how did they find themselves in the role of confidante to the heir apparent?

According to the Daily Mail, the Prince of Wales, like all senior royals, learned early on in life not to let his guard down or trust just anyone.

“He is wary of getting too close to others. His true inner circle is very select,” a source recently told the publication.

“They have no axes to grind and know how to behave.”

As he inches closer to becoming King, these friendships are proving more important than ever.

“He’s a 40-something bloke, well off, with a happy family, but all that currently waits for him is a metaphorical straitjacket and a very heavy crown,” the source said.

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William’s recent trip to Istanbul in Turkey to watch his beloved Aston Villa football club win the UEFA Europa League put the spotlight on his inner circle.

As he clapped and cheered, and even sang along animatedly to the Neil Diamond classic Sweet Caroline, many royal fans wondered who was with the Prince of Wales in the stands.

According to the Daily Mail, some of William’s closest friends joined him on the trip of a lifetime, which was reportedly organised just weeks before. 

But while some in his inner circle come from aristocratic circles, and even have longtime associations with his father, King Charles, other friendships were cultivated at school − both his prep school Ludgrove, and Eton − during his university days, and even from his years growing up in the countryside.

Read on to learn more about William’s inner circle.

Thomas van Straubenzee

William met Thomas van Straubenzee, one of his oldest friends, when they were classmates at Ludgrove School in Berkshire, which the prince attended from the ages of eight to 13.

William boarded at the school from 1990 to 1995, and it is thought Thomas, the eldest of three boys, also boarded there.

After prep school, William went off to Eton while van Straubenzee went to Harrow School. But despite this, the two remained close, with Thomas even accompanying William on a royal tour of New Zealand in July 2005.

After graduating from university, van Straubenzee worked as a chartered surveyor before co-founding a high-end residential and commercial real estate firm in 2012. It was later bought by real estate giant Knight Frank and van Straubenzee became its head of Global Wealth Advisory.

The two have supported each other though great tragedy, including the death of William’s mother Princess Diana in 1997.

In 2002, van Straubenzee’s younger brother Henry, a close friend of Prince Harry, died in a car crash.

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His grieving parents later set up the Henry Van Straubenzee Memorial Fund, of which Princes William and Harry are patrons.

While the public was led to believe Prince Harry was his brother’s best man at his 2011 wedding to Catherine, he disclosed in his book Spare that van Straubenzee and another of the heir’s close friends, James Meade, actually shared the role.

Van Straubenzee is one of Princess Charlotte’s five godparents.

He was married to Lady Melissa Percy, the daughter of the 12th Duke of Northumberland, from 2013 to 2016.

In 2020, he married Lucy Lanigan-O’Keeffe. It is believed the Prince and Princess of Wales introduced their friend to Lucy, who taught their two eldest children during their time at Thomas’s Battersea school in London before their move to Windsor.

The couple later became parents themselves to son Albert in 2022.

He has also cheered on Prince William in polo matches and has been seen with the Wales’s at Royal Ascot.

He is part of the circle of friends who support Aston Villa, and has been photographed with William and even Prince George at numerous games over the years.

He was part of the group that travelled to Istanbul with Prince William last month and was photographed celebrating the win with the future king.

Edward van Cutsem

Another of Prince William’s childhood friends is Edward van Cutsem. The two met as children through their fathers, who are also longtime friends.

King Charles was friends with Hugh van Cutsem Sr, a banker, businessman, landowner and horse-breeder who died in 2013.

The two met while studying at the University of Cambridge. Edward married wife Emilie in 1971 and they had four children, including Edward.

A young Edward was among the page boys at Charles’ 1981 wedding to Lady Diana Spencer, who became the Princess of Wales.

In 1990, the van Cutsem family began renting Anmer Hall, on the royal family’s Sandringham Estate, which the late Queen gifted Prince William and Catherine following their wedding in 2011.

During William’s childhood, he and Edward spent a great deal of time together and became friends, despite Edward being nine years William’s senior.

When he married his wife Tamara in 2004, Prince William was an usher. 

Van Cutsem is among William’s circle of football-loving friends and was snapped on the trip to Istanbul with the future king. Also joining them was Edward’s teenage son Jake.

It is not their first football adventure, with the two taking in an Aston Villa game in Birmingham in January 2025.

He is the founder and director of a private equity firm.

Hugh van Cutsem

Another of William’s inner circle is Edward’s brother, Hugh.

He in turn chose William to be godfather of his daughter Grace when she was born in 2007.

Grace went on to serve as a flower girl at the 2011 wedding of Prince William and Catherine, where she was dubbed the grumpy flower girl.

Another of Hugh’s three children with wife Rose, Charles, was one of the Pages at King Charles’ coronation.

William van Cutsem 

William is the youngest of the four van Cutsem boys and is closest in age to the prince at just three years his senior.

He is godfather to Prince George and was described by The London Standard as not only his best friend but “like a brother” to William.

The two reportedly shared many adventures as children, from holidays at Balmoral, shooting parties at Sandringham, and sleepovers at Windsor Castle, to skiing trips and Greek Island cruises.

When Van Cutsem married Rosie Ruck Keene in 2013, William was an usher. 

They now have a home just 32 kilometres from Anmer Hall, and Catherine has been spotted wearing items from Rosie’s clothing range, Troy London.

They share a love of Aston Villa, and have been photographed at games together a number of times over the years.

They were also teammates for a pub cricket match back in 2010.

The two men now work together managing the massive Duchy of Cornwall land holding the Prince of Wales inherited from his father in 2022.

The London Standard reported in 2024 that the former chartered surveyor would take on the role of adviser to the council at the 52,000-hectare estate, which is now worth $2.1 billion

Ben Dawes

Another of William’s trusted friends is Ben Dawes.

It is not known how the two met, but they are said to be lifelong friends and he is part of the same circle that includes Thomas van Straubenzee and the van Cutsem brothers.

Dawes is also an Aston Villa fan and the two have been photographed together at many matches.

He was among the group that accompanied William to Istanbul to watch Aston Villa win the UEFA Europa League.

He is also among the trusted friends who accompany William on private getaways, such as an annual ski trip. They are also said to have bonded over a mutual interest in the environment and corporate sustainability.

Dawes is a wine distributor and the co-founder of Marlo Wines alongside wife, Pip. 

Guy Pelly

Pelly is a longtime friend of both William and his younger brother Prince Harry.

Their mothers were reportedly friends and the two got to know each other during their childhood.

After her death, the boys continued to catch up at Highgrove − their father’s country home − where they bonded over their love of horses, rural life, including shooting and fox hunting, and partying. 

The two also share a love of English rugby, having been photographed at a number of games in the early 2000s.

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It was Pelly who reportedly organised William’s stag party before his 2011 wedding to Catherine. He is godfather to their youngest child, Prince Louis. 

Pelly is a nightclub owner who accompanied Prince Harry on his infamous 2012 trip to Las Vegas. 

It was during that trip that Pelly was approached by reporters posing as investors who tried to get information from him about the royal family, however, he became suspicious and cut the meeting short.

James Meade

Prince William’s friendship with James Meade dates back to their time at Eton College, but he is said to be equally close to Catherine, and was photographed with her during the brief period she and William split.

He was one of the best men at the couple’s wedding, and helped deliver the best man’s speech. He was later chosen as a godfather to Princess Charlotte.

William was among the guests when Meade married his wife, Lady Laura Meade, the daughter of the Earl of Romney, in 2013.

The couple lives close to the Wales’ country home, Anmer Hall, on the Sandringham estate.

They are often seen with the Waleses and other members of the royal family at events including Royal Ascot, which Meade has attended the past two years. He has even attended church services with the royals on the Sandringham estate.

Meade and Pelly are among the close friends William goes out for a beer with, often donning a hat and glasses to slip into London pubs unrecognised, according to the Daily Mail.

Oliver Baker

Oliver Baker is a friend of both Prince William and Catherine from their days at St Andrews University.

William and Catherine were guests at Baker’s wedding to wife Melissa in 2010, and the couple was spotted at William and Catherine’s wedding the following year.

He is one of Prince George’s godfathers, and the couple has often been seen at royal events, such as Royal Ascot, and at family gatherings.

Baker has no aristocratic ties, and according to The Telegraph, he lives a comparatively modest life as a strategic sourcing manager, but the Wales’ are said to value this normality as well as the discretion he has shown over the years.

Hugh Grosvenor

Another of William’s close friends is Hugh Grosvenor, who is also known as the Duke of Westminster.

Like the van Cutsems, the two became acquainted through their fathers − King Charles was a close friend of Hugh’s late father, the sixth Duke of Westminster.

The King is also Hugh’s godfather, and Hugh’s mother, Natalia, is one of Prince William’s godparents.

The close bond between the boys was on display when Grosvenor was asked to be a godfather to Prince George.

When Grosvenor married Olivia Henson in 2024, William was among the ushers, attending the ceremony alone because Catherine was undergoing cancer treatment at the time.

Grosvenor is one of the richest men in Britain, having inherited the multibillion-dollar Grosvenor estate from his father.

He and William are thought to bond over their shared experience as landowners, and sustainability − Grosvenor was previously an account manager at a company that turns coffee waste into bioproducts.

They also share a love of football, and in particular Aston Villa, with the two pictured celebrating a goal during the UEFA Champions League quarter final in April 2025.