There’s also Emilia Jardine-Paterson, one of the Princess of Wales’s closest friends. The pair met while studying at Marlborough College, and Emilia was by the future Queen’s side for a trip to Ibiza during Kate and Will’s separation in 2007. The mother-of-three – who reportedly helped the Princess of Wales renovate Kensington Palace and Anmer Hall – is said to have known Prince William since her childhood days. Emilia’s husband, David, was at Eton with the heir to the throne, and rumours spread that the royal couple might be about to tie the knot when they attended Emilia and David’s Devon wedding in 2010.
William van Cutsem and Prince William at the wedding of Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster, and Olivia Henson at Chester Cathedral in June 2024
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Oliver Baker, a friend of Will and Kate’s from St Andrews, also made the list of royal godparents, as did William van Cutsem, a close family friend of the royals. The son of King Charles’ late friend, Hugh van Cutsem, William van Cutsem invited Prince William to act as an usher at his wedding to Rosie Ruck Keene in 2013, two years after his niece Grace was a bridesmaid at the Prince and Princess of Wales’ own wedding. Edward van Cutsem, another of Hugh’s sons, counts King Charles among his godparents.