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Daily Record
Daily Record
Entertainment
Kyle O'Sullivan & Nicola Croal

Prince Harry's diminished inner circle and old close pals who have been cut off

Despite having previously shared a close-knit group of pals with his brother, Prince Harry's inner circle has massively changed in recent years since his very public feud with the royals.

The princes grew up surrounded with the same group of friends, many of whom have gone on to become their children's godparents, the Mirror reports.

A number of factors could be to blame for Harry losing old pals and gaining new ones, such as his move to the States with Meghan Markle and his relationship with Prince William being at an all time low.

Some of their comrades might have been forced to take sides, while some seem to still be wanting to maintain their relationship with both brothers.

It was recently reported that Harry now 'only had six pals in Britain' and his small circle are not willing to challenge the royals whilst he makes 'bad decisions'.

Here is a closer look at some of Harry's closest pals and others who have seemingly been left behind.

Tom 'Skippy' Inskip

Prince Harry and Tom Inskip have been close pals since they were young boys (Getty Images)

Tom Inskip, known as 'Skippy', has been friends with Harry since they were young boys. His father, Owen Inskip is a pal of King Charles and field-master of his favourite fox hunt, The Beaufort.

Skippy is one of Harry's oldest friends whom he met during his time at Eton and was a regular at the 'night club' the princes established in the basement at Highgrove.

Tom has been involved in a number of scandals that the Duke has been at the centre of, including when Harry was spotted inhaling 'hippy crack' at a party in 2010. Another notable mention is when the prince was photographed naked during a game of 'strip billiards' in Las Vegas in 2012.

Harry and then-girlfriend Meghan were invited to Tom's wedding to Hon Laura Hughes-Young in 2017 before their own romance was officially confirmed. However, the childhood chums reportedly had a huge falling out after Skippy questioned the practicalities of Meghan as a future royal.

According to the 2020 book Finding Freedom, Tom expressed his concerns about how fast their relationship was moving and told Harry he should live with Meghan before 'doing anything more serious'.

After their falling out, it was claimed by authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand that Skippy and Laura were 'punished' by not being invited to Harry and Meghan's evening wedding party at Frogmore House.

The pair apparently reconciled and put their differences behind them when Tom's mother-in-law passed away and due to a phone call after Prince Archie was born.

Guy Pelly

Prince Harry and Guy Pelly (right) at the rugby in 2002 (PA)

Guy Pelly, known for being the class clown of Harry and William's group is a bit of a party animal within the royal circle.

His mum Lady Carolyn Herbert was close friends with the late Princess Diana and Pelly is known as a 'London aristocrat'.

The 'court jester' has been close with the princes since childhood and was by Harry's side for his infamous disgraceful Nazi costume party with Pelly dressed as the late Queen.

Having been previously dubbed as the prince's 'third brother', Guy organised William's stag do and both royals also attended his wedding.

Despite high tensions in the family, Guy has remained good friends with the Sussexes and visited the couple in California, alongside his wife Elizabeth Wilson and their daughter.

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

Guy is also still close friends with William as he's one of Prince Louis' godparents.

Charlie van Straubenzee

Guy Pelly, Charlie van Straubenzee and Prince Harry at the Rugby World Cup in 2015 (Getty Images)

Charlie is the youngest of three brothers who grew close with William and Harry during their childhood.

The van Straubenzee boys were classmates of the young princes at Ludgrove School and have remained close pals into their adult years.

Tragically, Henry van Straubenzee was killed in a car crash in December 2002 at the age of just 18. He was a passenger in a car that drove into a tree when leaving a party near Ludgrove.

Harry recalled that when he heard his best mate had died 'just like mummy', the tragedy took him back to the awful night King Charles told him that his Princess Diana had been killed in a similar accident.

Youngest brother Charlie is also close with the princes and shared a reputation with Harry for being a 'perpetual bachelor'.

He reportedly chose Harry to be the best man at his wedding to Daisy Jenks in 2018 with the Duke returning the favour when he married Meghan.

According to reports, Charlie delivered an unforgettable speech at the evening reception at Frogmore House. He spoke of Harry's role as a dormitory monitor during their school days recalling how the young prince stole his teddy bear and chucked it on the roof.

Thomas van Straubenzee

Thomas van Straubenzee is friends with both brothers but has been closer with William all his life (PA Photos)

Eldest brother Thomas has also been close with Harry and William since their school days but is now better friends with the Prince of Wales.

Thomas, who was the same age as William while they attended Ludgrove school, accompanied the future king on his royal tour to New Zealand in 2005.

Thomas is one of Princess Charlotte's five godparents and actually married the assistant headteacher at her school. One of the biggest bombshells in Harry's controversial memoir is the claim he wasn't actually William's best man at his wedding.

The Duke was officially given the title of best man at William's wedding to Kate in 2011 and even travelled with his brother to Westminster Abbey in a Bentley.

But in Spare, he claimed it was a 'bare-faced lie' for the media and it was actually two of his brother's close friends James Meade and Thomas Van Straubenzee who were the 'real' best men.

Harry says he was demoted to act a compere that introduced the pair who delivered the traditional speech at the reception. If sides have been taken, you could imagine that Thomas would choose William over Harry.

Nacho Figueras

Nacho Figueras and Prince Harry are close friends in California and play on the same polo team (2013 Getty Images)

Nacho Figueras is one of Harry's closest friends in California and are both members of the Los Padres Polo team.

Nacho who is originally from Argentina models for Ralph Lauren and earned the title of the second most handsome man in the world in 2009 in a poll by Vanity Fair.

Nacho, who has been dubbed the David Beckham of polo, struck up his long-standing friendship with Harry due to the sport.

It came after the Prince established his charity Sentebale, which helps those affected by HIV and Nacho became an ambassador for the cause.

Nacho and his wife Delfina attended the Sussexes wedding and met Archie just weeks after he was born.

In a 2019 interview with Ellen DeGeneres, he was asked about his friendship with Harry and the scrutiny that the Duke and Meghan came under during their time as royals.

He replied: "He is a wonderful man, someone who really cares. He's really committed. He really cares about children, and he cares about making the world a better place."

James Corden

Corden filmed with Harry for The Late Late show and are now close pals (YouTube/CBS)

One of Harry's more recent pals in California is James Corden.

The Gavin and Stacey star secured Harry's first sit-down interview since he moved to California back in 2021 with the British lads spending the afternoon together on an open top bus ride on The Late Late Show.

Last year, James said he is a "huge fan" of both the Sussexes, that he will "always be in their corner" and he has "nothing but admiration and respect" for the couple.

James' kids have previously been at the couple's home for a play date with the TV presenter revealing that the families went out for dinner afterwards.

Corden described Harry as a "devoted" husband and father and praised him for his brave decision to step down as a senior royal.

In a recent interview with The Sun, James refused to give much away on the current debate surrounding the Sussexes as he said: "It's not fair."

During their chat, he received a text message from Harry and playfully told the interviewer: "Oh God, wouldn’t you just love to see these."

Marko

Mark Dyer was Prince Harry's trusted protector growing up (AFP via Getty Images)

Mark Dyer known as Marko was a royal aide and trusted protector of Prince. Harry always looked up to Marko and respected him for being "an extreme ginger and owning it".

Described by the young prince as 'second dad', he regularly appears in stories during Harry's teenage years in Spare. King Charles tasked Marko with looking after his youngest son with the aide taking Harry to Botswana when he was a boy.

The royal household sent Marko to give the Prince a telling off when he was caught drug taking at Eton and the Duke revealed the hilarious story of how he lost his virginity to an older woman in a field when he was 17-years-old.

According to Penny Junor, author of the 2014 biography Prince Harry : Brother, Soldier, Son, Mark is "one of the few people who talks some sense into [Prince Harry] at times".

It's understood that Marko is one of Archie's three godparents.

Tiggy

Tiggy Legge Bourke worked as Prince Charles assistant and was a nanny to Prince Harry and William growing up (Getty)

Harry and William's childhood nanny, Alexandra Pettifer, better known as Tiggy Legge-Bourke, has remained a close relationship with the princes.

'Tiggy' was the boy's favourite nanny and Charles' personal assistant from 1993 to 1999. However, Harry admitted in memoir Spare that his mother, Princess Diana was not a fan of hers.

Harry claimed that Diana saw Tiggy as a rival and suspected she was being groomed to be her replacement. The nanny had a close relationship with the boys and once referred to them as 'my babies'.

Harry also revealed that Tiggy was one of his loved ones who scolded him for doing the bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview with Meghan in 2021.

While it's never been officially confirmed, it's been widely reported that Tiggy was chosen to be one of Achie's godparents.

David Foster

David Foster and wife Katharine McPhee are close friends with the Sussexes (Getty Images)

Music producer David Foster has often been dubbed as Harry's 'other father'.

According to reports, David who is a year younger then Charles played an important role in Harry's life and helped the Sussexes find a home in Canada before they eventually settled in California.

His wife, musical star Katharine McPhee, also used to perform in school productions with Meghan, so there are a lot of connections.

The pair were never close friends but after performing in Waitress the musical in London, she and husband David have struck up a friendship with Harry and Meghan and remained close ever since.

Speaking of the Duke and David's special bond in 2020, Katharine told Access Hollywood: "My husband has a really, really beautiful relationship with Harry. They're so cute. They're like father and son."

Elton John

Elton John has been close friends with the princes since Diana's death in 1997 (Getty Images)

One famous face who has supported Prince Harry for decades is Sir Elton John with the pair even enjoying a holiday together.

Elton was close pals with Princess Diana and sang a special rendition of Candle in the Wind at her funeral in 1997.

The Rocket Man singer has maintained close relations with both of Diana's sons since her death, with the singer defending Harry and Meghan against "relentless and untrue assassinations on their characters" in 2019.

Elton and husband David Furnish reportedly have a 'paternal and protective' friendship with the Duke of Sussex. It was previously reported that the superstar "speaks to Harry and Meghan every day" and has "been a listening ear and support throughout".

In their Netflix docuseries, Meghan spoke of Archie's favourite song being Bennie And The Jets and Elton performed at their wedding reception in 2018

Elton is mentioned a number of times in Harry's memoir Spare with the duke revealing how he asked the singer to perform Candle in the Wind for the anniversary of his mother's death.

The Grammy Award winner refused as he claimed it would be too 'macabre' to celebrate Diana's life and achievements.

The most intriguing mention of the Tiny Dancer singer came when Harry revealed details of an argument they had during a visit to Elton's holiday home in France.

Harry said he was congratulating Elton on finishing his memoir, Me but things took a turn when he revealed it was going to be published in the Daily Mail.

The Duke asked Elton why he had chosen the newspaper which had "made your life miserable" to which he replied that he wanted people to read it.

Despite their close bond and multiple mentions of the star within the book, there is no word of thanks to Elton at the end of Spare.

James Blunt

James Blunt and wife Sofia attended the Sussexes wedding in 2018 (Dave Benett/Getty Images)

Harry has had a friendship with the 'You're Beautiful' singer for many years after the pair served in the Army together.

James performed at the 2016 Invictus Games after he was personally invited to come along by Harry. He was also a guest at Harry's wedding to Meghan in 2018 along with his wife, Sofia.

Back in 2019, the British musician defended the couple during an appearance on Good Morning Britain. Speaking of Harry, he said: "He's a very nice man, a really phenomenal soldier who does a lot of work for other people, for charities, for veterans, the Sentebale charity for children in Africa.

"I think under great scrutiny they seem to try a lot for other people. So the vitriol seems a bit like leaning on bullying to me."

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