#Charlie van Straubenzee

[heavyarethecrowns]

[trexalicious]

Of all the public criticism levelled at the Duke of Sussex in recent days, the comments from his old friend Ben Goldsmith were possibly the most significant.

‘Tragic but true – Prince Harry’s behaviour is unforgivable,’ the 44-year-old financier, who grew up with the duke, said this week.

The reference to forgiveness is thought to be in response to Harry’s extraordinary BBC interview last Friday in which the prince admitted that a reconciliation with the Royal Family would be difficult because of his tawdry memoir, Spare, and his criticism in numerous interviews.

‘Of course, some members of my family will never forgive me for writing a book,’ Harry, 40, said. ‘Of course, they will never forgive me for lots of things.’

But the importance of Ben’s intervention this week should not be underestimated.

For the Goldsmith family – particularly Ben’s sister Jemima – were so close to Princess Diana and her sons that rumours persisted that the two were sisters.

Such claims were unfounded even though Diana’s mother, Frances Shand Kydd, was rumoured to have had a long-running affair with Jemima and Ben’s father, billionaire Sir James Goldsmith.

Ben is the first former pal of the duke to condemn him publicly. But, if Harry thinks those comments are strong, he should hear what his old chums are saying in private.

For friends tell me they are ‘disgusted’ by Harry’s interview, in which he made a number of explosive personal claims such as that he didn’t know ‘how much longer’ his father had after his cancer diagnosis.

He also claimed that those who ‘wish [him] harm’ would consider his defeat last Friday in a legal challenge over his taxpayer-funded security in Britain as a ‘huge win’.

One friend told me: ‘I don’t know what’s more disgusting – Harry’s comment about his father’s health or his suggestion that people want him dead.

‘It’s very sad, but we all know that he doesn’t want to hear things he disagrees with.’

A handful of British friends are still in touch with Harry, including Mark Dyer who recently stepped down as a trustee from the prince’s beleaguered Sentebale charity, businessman Charlie van Straubenzee and Lord (Charles) Vivian. But, I am told, many are reluctant to say anything out of turn for fear they will be cut off.

Indeed, anyone in doubt about how willing Harry is to drop friends need look no further than Dominic West.

The Crown actor, 55, was so close to his fellow Old Etonian that they trekked to the South Pole together in aid of the charity Walking With The Wounded in 2013.

However, ten years later, West revealed that he had been cut off by the duke.

A close friend of the actor told me they had fallen out after the expedition with injured servicemen and women, including double amputees, when West told a series of anecdotes about the trip at a joint press conference.

West revealed they had celebrated completing their 208-mile trek by drinking champagne from one of their co-adventurers’ prosthetic legs.

‘Two of the Aussie guys stripped naked and ran round the pole but most of us – Harry included – just went on a two-day bender with the Icelandic truck drivers who had brought some lethal home brew with them,’ West told the press conference in 2014.

‘There was a lot of liquor drunk. We all drank champagne out of [one of the team’s] favourite prosthetic legs.’

But it seems the prince did not see the funny side of his disclosures.

‘Harry threw a s*** fit,’ West’s friend told me in 2022. ‘He accused Dominic of invading his privacy. Dominic told him not to be ridiculous. They haven’t spoken since.’

West, who also starred in US drama The Wire, appears to have backed up the claims. Speaking of his broken friendship with Harry in 2023, he said: ‘We sort of [lost touch because] I said too much in a press conference, and so, we didn’t speak after that.

‘I think I was asked what we did. What we did to celebrate when we got [to the South Pole] and I probably said too much.’

If only the increasingly isolated Harry was prepared to listen to those who say ‘too much’ again, he might find a way to mend fences with old friends – and, perhaps, with members of his own family.

[claireofluxembourg]

I have a PhD on Aristo Friends from the University of Cambridge lmaooooo

Can you share some of that knowledge lol? Do you know what happened to them after they all stopped partying and left the spotlight to start families? They're all so quiet I only thought Guy Pelly probably had to sell his nightclubs to be suitable to be Louis' godfather

Well, they're all married now, boring people in their 40's lmaooo

Guy and Lizzy are mostly in the USA.

I used to follow Zoe Warren on insta (because sometimes I do yoga for my menstrual cramps and anxiety) but she deleted her account a million years ago, however she has another site, Peachy with Zoe, I think she and Jakie divide their time between London and Hampshire, where the family business is (Jakie is involved in races, much like his grandfather, dear old Porchie was. They were the Queen's race managers)

Skippy and Lara are in the USA. He works as CCO of Afiniti. Lara is a Software Manager but idk where she works.

My husband Hugh is a Duke and a Billionaire and he does what Billionaire Dukes do. Billions. Soon to be married and not to me, how dare he.

Lady Edwina (Hugh's sister) and her husband live in London. She works on prison reform.

The Van Cutsems are all over the place. Edward married Tamara Grosvenor, Hugh's other sister (lol) and they have 3 kids, he’s King Charles' godson. Hugh married an Astor and their daughter Grace is William's goddaughter and their son Charles was Charles' page of honour. Nicholas is Louis' godfather and his daughter Florence is Henry's goddaughter. And last but not least William is godfather of George.

Thomas van Straubenzee (or Van) is in my honest opinion William's best friend. He married Missy Percy in what we consider one of the tackiest aristo weddings ever (her tiara was crooked and it was... well, interesting) but they divorced not long after. He remarried to one of George and Charlotte's school teachers and he's the godfather of Charlotte. Charlie as you know is Archie's godfather and possibly the only friend that's still on speaking terms with Harry. Their brother Henry had a car accident and died and they hold a Christmas Carol concert in his honour every year.

If you have questions about a specific Aristo let me know and I'll tell you.

[saintmeghanmarkle]

My best friends weddings by u/Mickleborough

My best friends’ weddings Meghan at various weddings.Tom Inskip - Lara Hughes-Young wedding, March 2017.I’m not nitpicking but…Reception at Pippa Middletown’s wedding to James Matthews, May 2017 (not invited to the ceremony).https://ift.tt/HD9sLA5 McCorquodale - George Woodhouse wedding, June 2018.A duvet, some loo paper, a bit of leg, et le voilà!Charlie van Straubenzee - Daisy Jenks wedding, August 2018.Meghan’s cup runneth over…she wishes. ‘This old thing? I’ve had it for years.’Princess Eugenie - Jack Brooksbank wedding, October 2018.‘Guess what, you guys! I’m pregnant!’Misha Nonoo - Michael Hess wedding, September 2019.‘I’m wearing Valentino, for crying out loud.’This is what the Duke of Westminster and Olivia Henson would be missing at their wedding! post link: https://ift.tt/MZnHr3P author: Mickleborough submitted: May 24, 2024 at 11:27PM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit disclaimer: all views + opinions expressed by the author of this post, as well as any comments and reblogs, are solely the author's own; they do not necessarily reflect the views of the administrator of this Tumblr blog. For entertainment only.

[practicalmagicintuitions]

"guests were appalled Meghan gave a speech during the memorial concert held for Henry van Straubenzee (Charlie's brother)"

Scratching my head. Why would Meghan, who knew no one in the aristo circle and didn't know the van Straubenzee family, give a speech at a memorial concert?

And not just that but allegedly she was talking about menstrual poverty. At a memoral service. Held for a man she never met with. In front on his family and friends. Tell me this girl is not tone deaf…

[gritsr3]

If Lord Vivian was disappointed, given that his old friend would be in London scarcely a day later, he was not saying.

It is all the more remarkable when you consider that Harry had been present at Vivian’s first wedding and that Vivian was rumoured to have been among the very select hand-picked guests invited to the christening of Harry’s son Archie, an occasion that the prince chose to keep largely private.

But let’s return to that group shot of grinning, happy friends, caught up in the spirit of that warm May evening of Harry and Meghan’s wedding day.

Some might ask about the whereabouts of others known to be close to Harry, Prince William for example, who as far as the watching world was concerned had acted as his brother’s best man as bride and groom exchanged their vows in St George’s Chapel.

On the night before the wedding, he had accompanied his brother to greet well-wishers and royal fans camping out on the streets of Windsor, just as both had done in 2011 on the eve of William’s big day at Westminster Abbey.

Harry later revealed in his memoir Spare that Buckingham Palace had ‘put out the story’ that William was best man when in fact it had actually been ‘my old mate Charlie’. Intriguingly, however, the Charlie he was referring to, schoolfriend Charles van Straubenzee, is not in the Band of Brothers snap. What we do know about the picture is that it was special enough for it to be included in material to promote the six-part Harry & Meghan Netflix documentary series in 2022.

If nothing else, the message it conveyed was clear, that these six men occupied a special place not just in the prince’s life but in

his heart. It is tempting to wonder if they still do. Lord Vivian, for instance, was not the only member of this Sussex squad whose wedding day went ahead in the absence of Prince Harry.Harry later revealed in his memoir Spare that Buckingham Palace had ‘put out the story’ that William was best man when in fact it had actually been ‘my old mate Charlie’. Intriguingly, however, the Charlie he was referring to, schoolfriend Charles van Straubenzee, is not in the Band of Brothers snap. What we do know about the picture is that it was special enough for it to be included in material to promote the six-part Harry & Meghan Netflix documentary series in 2022.

If nothing else, the message it conveyed was clear, that these six men occupied a special place not just in the prince’s life but in

his heart. It is tempting to wonder if they still do. Lord Vivian, for instance, was not the only member of this Sussex squad whose wedding day went ahead in the absence of Prince Harry.This week, with Harry in London to hear his lawyers’ appeal against what he claimed was an unfair decision by the Home Office to remove his police protection, the black-and-white picture suddenly took on a new significance. The reason was the balding figure second in from the left. This is Lord Vivian, the seventh baron of a distinguished Cornish family, but better known to Harry as marketing and PR guru Charles Vivian, with whom the prince shares a love for Africa and its untamed landscapes.

Last Saturday, some 24 hours before Harry jetted in alone from California, Lord Vivian was celebrating his wedding day. And judging by the pictures from Chelsea Old Town Hall it was an occasion just as euphoric as Harry’s back in 2018.

But the prince, who had been invited, was not there, as my colleague Richard Eden reported. The groom offered a pained explanation when asked why the Duke of Sussex had not come. ‘I don’t know,’ he said. ‘He has a lot on.’

Later, it emerged that his absence was wrapped up in the reasons that brought him to the Court of Appeal: without taxpayer-funded armed police protection – stripped when he and Meghan quit Britain for their life of exile in the US – his safety could not be guaranteed.When Jack Mann married two years ago – he is pictured second from right, and met Harry when both were at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst – Harry was not among the guests at the Suffolk church. According to one insider, the ties that once bound this group are no longer as tight as they once were, frayed by distance and the disintegration of Harry’s old life.

Naturally, there is a reluctance among them to discuss the changes that have brought this about; royal friends rarely want to talk publicly about a falling out because the door is always open for a possible falling back in.

Nevertheless, the picture is an indelible reminder of happier times. The six, some of whom were ushers earlier in the day helping the couple’s 600 guests to their seats inside St George’s, represent a cross-section of Harry’s life, from childhood and schooldays to maturity as an adult.

They certainly witnessed the best and the worst of the mercurial prince and they include figures who helped shape him and often provided a shoulder to lean on when times were tough.

So, who are these friends and how important were they in Harry’s story?

From the left they are Adam Bidwell, 49, a strapping Cambridge-educated former rugby player turned financier, known to friends as ‘Bidders.’ One of the most enigmatic of Harry’s circle, his friendship dates back long before the prince met Meghan, when he was frequently in the background during Harry’s adventures as a single man.

The one-time centre for London club Wasps was often at the prince’s side on excursions to watch the England team play at Twickenham and joined him for an F1 Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi, where Harry was pictured enjoying a hookah pipe.

In 2012, he was reported to have been present on Harry’s notorious party trip to Las Vegas when photographs emerged of the prince playing ‘strip’ pool with some obliging girls in a Sin City hotel.

The following year Brighton-born Bidwell was making headlines himself when he enjoyed a romance with Welsh-born mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins. She was pictured in tiny shorts sitting on the athletic Bidwell’s lap at the Glastonbury festival. He is thought to have been introduced to the prince through the television presenter Natalie Pinkham, a mutual friend and once a rumoured love interest of Harry.

A sign of his status emerged when it was revealed that the prince had invited him to become an ambassador for his African charity Sentebale, which he founded in memory of his mother Princess Diana. In 2019, he travelled with Harry on a trip to Lesotho, where the charity was launched, and to witness the prince opening a dining hall at the Phelisanong children’s home.

The same year he joined the prince and Meghan at a polo match, remembered because it was one of the few post wedding occasions when the duchess was photographed with Kate.

Urbane and discreet, he rarely if ever speaks publicly about Harry. Intriguingly, this week he used a social media channel to ‘like’ a post about another of the band of brothers, club owner Charlie Gilkes.

Next to Bidwell, is Lord Vivian, 58, who celebrated his wedding last Saturday to Saweda Kamara, a US-born compliance director. Their reception was held at the fashionable Nomad Hotel in Covent Garden, once the site of Bow Street magistrates’ court and police station.

His friendship with Harry bloomed over their love for Africa and they were introduced by another figure from the photograph, Harry’s longstanding mentor Mark Dyer. One of London’s best-known marketing operators – he co-founded City PR firm Pelham – Vivian, full name Charles Crespigny Hussey Vivian, succeeded his father, a soldier and hereditary peer, in 2004.

In 2011, Harry was a guest at his first marriage to American jewellery designer Elizabeth Wimpress and both Vivian and his fiancee were among the 1,900 invited to Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding.

Now a partner with communications company Tavistock, he spends several months a year in Africa and is thought to have helped behind the scenes with several of Harry’s charity trips to the continent.

Read More

 RICHARD KAY: What an outrage that Harry's scene stealing should come at the expense of his father 



At Vivian’s side is Henry Warhurst, 40, who runs a bespoke car storage business and is married to a niece of Harry’s former nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke. Nicknamed Wago, his company, Henry’s Car Barn, provides storage for classic and high value cars.

He married Tamara Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax, whose mother is Tiggy’s sister, in Wales in 2016. Tamara is said to be one of only a few of the prince’s friends with whom Meghan was reported to get on well with.

The two women were said to have bonded at another society wedding, because they eschewed the drinking and high jinks taking place and kept to themselves.

On the other side of the beaming groom is Charlie Gilkes, nightclub mogul and one-time escort of the Princess of Wales’s sister Pippa Middleton. Smoothie Gilkes, whose brother Alexander has a son with former tennis star Maria Sharapova, is one of those rare figures who is friends with both Harry and William.

The 40-year-old entrepreneur was a friend of Harry from his days at Ludgrove prep, the royal boarding school. He runs the Inception Group, which owns society haunts such as Bunga Bunga and the Mayfair cocktail bars Mr Fogg’s.

His wedding in Puglia, Italy, in 2014 to Anneke von Trotha Taylor attracted a raft of royals, including Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie and of course Harry. Pippa and her parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, were also guests.

For years his royal connections were good for business, but after the recent imposition of the Government’s higher minimum wage and National Insurance costs, Gilkes was gloomy. ‘I am increasingly hearing the business model is broken for hospitality businesses in the UK and operators are looking to open in other territories like the United Arab Emirates with a less hostile environment for business,’ he said. ‘For many bars, pubs and restaurants, this is the final nail, and they won’t survive.’

Next to Gilkes is Jack Mann, 42, whose father Simon was an SAS officer and former British mercenary who was jailed for leading a failed coup to overthrow the government in Equatorial Guinea.

Jack followed his father into the Army and met Harry as they underwent officer training. He undertook tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan and later worked in Libya for a private security company. Then, in 2015, he set up his own security business Alma Risk.

It was Harry’s absence from Mann’s wedding to osteopath Isabella Clark in July 2023 that first raised questions about his friendship with the former soldier.

Rumours circulated that long before this there had been ‘issues’ over a dinner party and reports that Meghan wanted to see the guest list and other details. Matters were not helped amid claims that the duchess was not happy that the seating arrangement had her and Harry sitting separately.

Another of Harry’s friends, Thomas van Straubenzee, godfather of Princess Charlotte, was at Mann’s nuptials.

Completing the band is the oldest member – Mark Dyer, 59, known to Harry as ‘Marko’. Dyer, a former equerry to the then Prince Charles, has been a fixture in Harry’s life since boyhood. And when the crisis at Sentebale blew up amid claims of racism and misogyny last month, Dyer was one of the trustees who loyally resigned after Harry stepped back from the charity.

A surrogate and trusted father figure, he played a key role in Harry’s life after the death of Princess Diana. A former Welsh Guards officer turned pub owner and businessman, Dyer also managed to navigate the pitfall of being friends with both royal brothers. He arranged both princes’ gap years and his son Jasper, who is Harry’s godson, was a pageboy at the prince’s wedding.

In Spare, he is the finger-waving figure sent to confront the teenage Harry over his drug use. When Harry admitted to smoking cannabis, it was Marko who escorted him to spend a day at a residential centre for drug users in Peckham, south London, at the insistence of his father.

And when his school years ended, Harry’s closeness to Dyer grew as the pair travelled together to Australia, Argentina and Lesotho during the prince’s gap year. Later still, when Dyer was diagnosed with stomach cancer, Harry was in constant touch with his confidant.

In interviews Harry has admitted his decision to quit royal life cost him a number of close friendships. What an added tragedy it would be if those he has lost includes some of the Band of Brothers.

[harry-sussex]

Since we’re not getting godparents (yes I know, their kid, their choice, but I was excited so I’m allowed to be low key upset), my Harmless Royal Conspiracy Theory of the day is that these are going to be Archie’s godparents:

Jake Warren Charlie van Straubenzee Celia McCorquodale Benita Litt Lindsay Roth

[meghanmarklewindsor]

Fabulous Duo! 💕 4th August 2018 - The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attending Charlie Van Straubenzee and Daisy Jenks wedding in Surrey, on Meghan’s 37th Birthday.

[markstewartphotographyltd]

A double celebration for the Duchess of Sussex today as she turns 37 and attends the wedding of close friends Charlie Van Straubenzee and Daisy Jenks along with Princess Eugenie and fiance Jack Brooksbank.

@ Copyright 2018 Mark Stewart Photography Ltd. All rights reserved.

[duchessofostergotlands]

Did you see the picture of Daisy and Charlie on the bike? Like the song, "Daisy Daisy, give me your answer true.. on a bicycle built for two"! I wonder if it's like, a cute joke between them from when he proposed (like did he sing it?!), or something she'd thought about as a child, or just a coincidence (I doubt that!), I'd love to know the story behind them deciding to do it. So sweet, either way.

I saw you asked @avidroyalfan about this as well. I’ve seen it a few times of late so I think it’s a bit of a trend but it’s particularly sweet that they did it given her name. It seemed like a lovely, relaxed, joyful wedding. 

[harryandmeghansussex]

A rare joint letter from the Princes, for a joint patronage they've held from day 1 of its existence, in honour of their beloved friend. Congratulations to Henry's parents for all that they've achieved in his memory.

[heavyarethecrowns]

Mini Kate Spam

[mysteriouslytransparentwitch]

When I told Tumblr anons that Harry and Meghan were going to use the guy's house to do their own advertising ... they still did not understand we're not playing with the media .... the Karma bubble just got bigger a bit more

[the-empress-7]

One of the van Straubenzee bros, Charlie is a godfather to Archie and H is a godfather to Clover, but they are no longer close or even friends, neither Charlie or Daisy want anything to do with M, and what I’ve heard going around in the London film circles and aristocratic sets that mix with television and film, is that H mocked Clover’s name his comments weirding and creeping them out big time (Clover Kitty) and being inappropriate, and M hates Daisy like really hates her, and didn’t let her go to Archie’s christening (made up the excuse that no couples, just godparents themselves were allowed, some said it was a dig because Daisy had her wedding on M’s birthday and M hated H’s friends.) Charlie & Daisy welcomed a baby boy in October, Henry Alexander, and they don’t want anything to do with H at all. Everyone hates him now, wants nothing to do with him, especially the van Straubenzees and van Cutsems who are really close with the Cambridges, and don’t get me started on how hated M is. It’s true anything you’ve heard about M and children, babies, toddlers etc. she is awful and mean. Eugenie is apparently being frozen out of those circles now as well too.

Good gracious.

[sassyfrassboss]

Harry’s best friend came out to ca and it was the first time they’d been photographed since their wedding. It was right before the coronation. So going based off the article Harry leaked about almost pulling the project when in was in the Uk last year. I’d venture to guess that his best friend coming out was maybe a kick off to those discussions or continuation from his conversations with his grandmother

Ahhh okay...sorry!

Charlie van Straubenzee (sp) went out and visited:

Seeing as how Charlie's older brother is William's BFF, yeah I would say they sent Charlie as a mediator.

[meghanmarklewindsor]

Daisy looked Beautiful! 💕☀️ 4th August 2018 - Charlie Van Straubenzee and Daisy Jenks wedding in Surrey, on Meghan’s 37th Birthday.