The 'Cambridge Set' and Friends


If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
Status
Not open for further replies.
Turnip Toffs

William and Kate - taking root among the Turnip Toffs - Telegraph
9 August 2014

William and Kate - taking root among the Turnip Toffs
​
Extracts from the article relating to the Cambridge's social circle

Anmer Hall is a short commute from Cambridge and Norwich airports, where the air ambulance service is based, and its location has another advantage. It places the Duke and Duchess at the centre of a developing set of friends, dubbed the Turnip Toffs, who are moving back to run family estates in the county.

“A lot of their age group are returning to Norfolk,” says Sir Jeremy Bagge, a former high sheriff of Norfolk whose ancestors first encouraged a former Prince of Wales to buy Sandringham, and who remains close to the Royal family. “Most of them are married and some of them have young children, so it will be a very happy atmosphere. They have got friends in Norfolk already and they will be introduced to others. It is all very relaxed.”

Sir Jeremy, whose family arrived in Norfolk “with the Vikings” and own Stradsett Hall near Downham Market, says the families swim and play tennis at each other’s houses, and shoot together. “It won’t take long before Prince George is given his first gun,” he says. “There are an awful lot of private estates and they have their little walkabout shoots for the young – nothing smart.” The royal couple, he says, will relish the locals’ respect for privacy. “People are not pushy in Norfolk,” he explains. “They never have been. In the main, these are old, old families.”

One such family is the van Cutsems. Hugh van Cutsem was one of the Prince of Wales’s closest friends at university. He used to rent Anmer Hall, so the Duke is already familiar from visits to play with van Cutsem’s four children. He later moved to his own 4,000-acre estate near Swaffham, but the families remained close and his son, William, was chosen as one of Prince George’s godparents last year.

Hugh van Cutsem died last September, aged 72, but, Sir Jeremy explains, William has now moved back to Norfolk, as has Davina Duckworth-Chad, the daughter of another of the Prince of Wales’s friends.

Other members of the circle who live close by include the Duke’s cousin (on his mother’s side) Laura Fellowes, with her husband Nick Pettman, and Viscount Thomas Coke, who owns Holkham Hall, a Palladian pile near the coast.
 
I don't even know what to think about this question, their friends, who. From what I have read, they are less affiliated with either one of them and more like business related paper pushing benefactor types with charity interest with possibly some scientific contributions and or diplomatic relations. Just business for them, like a work crowd. I don't know and don't feel like looking them up. As far as what kind of contributions they make, really, I do not have a personal need to know.
 
Last edited:
Why have I never heard of Kate's friends? Who are her friends that she brought into the relationship? All I ever hear about is she is close with her mother and sister.
 
XeniaCasaraghi said:
Why have I never heard of Kate's friends? Who are her friends that she brought into the relationship? All I ever hear about is she is close with her mother and sister.
Click to expand...

Well, since William and Kate have been together pretty much their entire adult lives, I would assume that most friends are mutual friends. As for Kate's closeness with her mother and her sister, it seems like they're a close family to begin with, but I think that her desire for privacy during the time she was dating William probably reinforced that closeness.
 
Isabella said:
Well, since William and Kate have been together pretty much their entire adult lives, I would assume that most friends are mutual friends. As for Kate's closeness with her mother and her sister, it seems like they're a close family to begin with, but I think that her desire for privacy during the time she was dating William probably reinforced that closeness.
Click to expand...
She has a few close friends as well, but they aren't as well known as Williams crowd we don't hear about them. One woman who's Georges godparent was seen visiting charlotte the same day as the families so I'd say they're really close. And we've seen her out and about with another woman since university. Just because we don't hear about the people doesn't mean they don't exist :p

That plus she had to be careful when choosing friends because of the trust-issues, it seems normal that they have alot of mutual friends. That's normal after a long time in a relationship.
 
XeniaCasaraghi said:
Why have I never heard of Kate's friends? Who are her friends that she brought into the relationship? All I ever hear about is she is close with her mother and sister.
Click to expand...

Her true friends haven't sought publicity that's why they fly under the radar. Emilia D'elanger, Trini Lough, Alicia Fox-Pitt, Willem Marx and Emily Bevan all pre-exist William in her life.

At University William and Catherine befriended Oliver Baker and Mel Nicholson, they all became roommates. During the 2007 break-up both Oliver and Mel took her side and were pictured with her, it's generally acknowledged that they're closer to Catherine than William. After Oliver was made George's godfather he returned the favor and made Catherine godmother to his baby son.

She has befriended some of the spouses of William's friends most notably Sophie Carter, Rose Van Custem, and Louise Stourton . She kept her close friendship with Sophie Carter even after Sophie's split from Tom Van Straubenzee. This might explain why she never seems close to Tom's wife Missy Percy, the girl-code, never befriend the woman who took your friend's man.

It's true that she only has 9 or 10 friends that she can trust, but 10 dimes are better than 100 pennies in my opinion.
 
miss whirley said:
Her true friends haven't sought publicity that's why they fly under the radar. Emilia D'elanger, Trini Lough, Alicia Fox-Pitt, Willem Marx and Emily Bevan all pre-exist William in her life.

At University William and Catherine befriended Oliver Baker and Mel Nicholson, they all became roommates. During the 2007 break-up both Oliver and Mel took her side and were pictured with her, it's generally acknowledged that they're closer to Catherine than William. After Oliver was made George's godfather he returned the favor and made Catherine godmother to his baby son.

She has befriended some of the spouses of William's friends most notably Sophie Carter, Rose Van Custem, and Louise Stourton . She kept her close friendship with Sophie Carter even after Sophie's split from Tom Van Straubenzee. This might explain why she never seems close to Tom's wife Missy Percy, the girl-code, never befriend the woman who took your friend's man.

It's true that she only has 9 or 10 friends that she can trust, but 10 dimes are better than 100 pennies in my opinion.
Click to expand...
I don't think that's few. That's rather normal/many as an adult mother.
 
miss whirley said:
Her true friends haven't sought publicity that's why they fly under the radar. Emilia D'elanger, Trini Lough, Alicia Fox-Pitt, Willem Marx and Emily Bevan all pre-exist William in her life.

At University William and Catherine befriended Oliver Baker and Mel Nicholson, they all became roommates. During the 2007 break-up both Oliver and Mel took her side and were pictured with her, it's generally acknowledged that they're closer to Catherine than William. After Oliver was made George's godfather he returned the favor and made Catherine godmother to his baby son.

She has befriended some of the spouses of William's friends most notably Sophie Carter, Rose Van Custem, and Louise Stourton . She kept her close friendship with Sophie Carter even after Sophie's split from Tom Van Straubenzee. This might explain why she never seems close to Tom's wife Missy Percy, the girl-code, never befriend the woman who took your friend's man.

It's true that she only has 9 or 10 friends that she can trust, but 10 dimes are better than 100 pennies in my opinion.
Click to expand...

Thank you for this summary, miss whirley. :flowers: I had always wondered about who her girlfriends were since we never see anyone, though it makes sense that we haven't. I am guessing that as the babies come, there will be play-dates and the friendships will be more obvious.

P.S. I think 10 good friends is a lot for anyone. Good friends, not just casual friends and acquaintances. JMO. :)
 
hernameispekka said:
She has a few close friends as well, but they aren't as well known as Williams crowd we don't hear about them. One woman who's Georges godparent was seen visiting charlotte the same day as the families so I'd say they're really close. And we've seen her out and about with another woman since university. Just because we don't hear about the people doesn't mean they don't exist :p

That plus she had to be careful when choosing friends because of the trust-issues, it seems normal that they have alot of mutual friends. That's normal after a long time in a relationship.
Click to expand...

Yes, that all sounds about right to me. I do think Kate is probably closer to her mother and sister than anyone else, in large part because of trust issues (and I think that's the main reason she worked for the family business while dating William, too. It kept her among people who were trustworthy, but in doing so, also limited the amount of "new" people in her life). I'm sure she certainly has plenty of people she socializes with: obviously she was out and about with friends quite a bit before she and William were married. I would assume that many of those people are probably still friends, but these days they get together in private, rather than going out. However, my guess would be that if she had one particular friend with whom she was extremely close, the press would probably develop an interest in that person, as they have with Pippa (or, for example, Crown Princess Mary's well-known friendship with Amber Petty.) However, you mentioned that one woman did go visit shortly after Charlotte was born, so maybe I'm wrong.

I definitely think the long-term relationship accounts for the many mutual friends (and, even before they were dating, William and Kate were in the same group of friends at St. Andrew's), but I also think it might come with the territory of dating and then marrying into the royal family. It seems that it's generally been the case that royal in-laws are just expected to move in already-established royal circles (though, of course, we know that's changed a bit with William and Kate, as they've broken traditions by spending quite a lot of time with the Middletons.)
 
Kate's friends (the ones she knew before William) don't really seem to get much publicity. Once in a while you'll hear something about them, but for the most part the media seems to leave them alone.

Her closest friends seem to be Emilia and Trini. Emilia is George's godmother and was one of the first to visit Charlotte. Trini and Kate have been photographed taking walks in Hyde park. And both of them were photographed at Kate's 31st birthday celebration.
 
soapstar said:
Kate's friends (the ones she knew before William) don't really seem to get much publicity. Once in a while you'll hear something about them, but for the most part the media seems to leave them alone.

Her closest friends seem to be Emilia and Trini. Emilia is George's godmother and was one of the first to visit Charlotte. Trini and Kate have been photographed taking walks in Hyde park. And both of them were photographed at Kate's 31st birthday celebration.
Click to expand...

It helps they aren't involved in the nightclub/entertainment industry like quite a few of William's and Harry friends. They also don't throw massive society parties like some of the Wales and York pals. The squeaky wheel usually gets the grease.

Thankfully, Catherine and the Phillips duo like the more low-key types.
 
That's is just a rehash of the article they did last year about the Norfolk set. When did William ever date anyone especially William Van Custem's future wife during the couple weeks of breakup of Kate in 2007? I don't remember seeing anything during the time and I think it would have made it very hard for Kate to take William back if he was hooking up with other women during their short time apart.


Sent from my iPhone using The Royals Community
 
Cressida's sister Isabella came out and said they have never dated and she hasn't even met William when those rumors started and the press still talk about how they were ex-flame and she's William true love, the one that got away.
 
Skippyboo said:
That's is just a rehash of the article they did last year about the Norfolk set. When did William ever date anyone especially William Van Custem's future wife during the couple weeks of breakup of Kate in 2007? I don't remember seeing anything during the time and I think it would have made it very hard for Kate to take William back if he was hooking up with other women during their short time apart.


Sent from my iPhone using The Royals Community
Click to expand...

I don't remember that, either. I do remember The Daily Mail trying to set him up with Holly Branson and Joss Stone during that brief break-up.

Edit: Now that I think about it, I believe The Daily Mail just got confused on their "fact-checking". For a long time William van Custem dated Olivia Hunt, she was rumored to have dated Prince William for a few weeks during his freshman year at St. Andrews. The Daily Mail is mixing-up Ms. Hunt with the woman William van Custem married. Just a prime example of their 'gold standard' reporting.
 
Last edited:
Same old group like always, talk to me when they make some new friends. Same article from before.
 
miche said:
Cressida's sister Isabella came out and said they have never dated and she hasn't even met William when those rumors started and the press still talk about how they were ex-flame and she's William true love, the one that got away.
Click to expand...


I remember that; she said when she finally met William, they laughed about the way the press had paired them up.
 
Mirabel said:
I remember that; she said when she finally met William, they laughed about the way the press had paired them up.
Click to expand...
Must be a wierd situation. "Oh, hi stranger! Appearantly we're soulmates according to the papers" :p
 
It's very sad to hear that Isobel Kennerley passed away, but was she really a friend of Catherine's? I did Brownies with a bunch of girls when I was a kid, too, and couldn't tell you today what any of their names were, except for one that I stayed in touch with for many years.
 
I agree, it's the DM making a story out of nothing. I doubt Catherine has seen this girl in 20+ years, which is through no fault of her own, it's a shame that the DM has dragged this up about this woman for no reason other than a headline.
 
Scarebaby said:
It's very sad to hear that Isobel Kennerley passed away, but was she really a friend of Catherine's? I did Brownies with a bunch of girls when I was a kid, too, and couldn't tell you today what any of their names were, except for one that I stayed in touch with for many years.
Click to expand...


Me too.
It was all so long ago; does Kate even remember this girl?
 
Lumutqueen said:
I agree, it's the DM making a story out of nothing. I doubt Catherine has seen this girl in 20+ years, which is through no fault of her own, it's a shame that the DM has dragged this up about this woman for no reason other than a headline.
Click to expand...

It's sad news to hear; but I agree. The Daily Fail seem to like making mountains out of molehills. I stopped reading their articles a while ago, because the spelling mistakes and nasty headlines irritated me. I only look at the photos now - it's a shame they're so good.
 
I believe Isobel's mum gave the interview on Isobel's life (which included being a childhood friend of the Middleton girls as a result of shared interests) but it was aimed specifically about her death and what she had to deal with and how much better these situations could be handled.
 
Hi

Does anyone know anything interesting about Charlie Gilkes and his wife Anneke? Charlie is a friend of Harry and Will. I know he owns the Inception Group network in London

Sorry for my bad english =))
 
Last edited:
Spring_kiss said:
Hi

Does anyone know anything interesting about Charlie Gilkes and his wife Anneke? Charlie is a friend of Harry and Will. I know he owns the Inception Group network in London

Sorry for my bad english =))
Click to expand...

Said he once dated Pippa, though that is not true. Were friends at University. Went to Eton with Harry and William.

One of his bars is definitely interesting (for anyone who doesn't know, Inception group is a group of drinking clubs). It has a statue of David where the alcohol comes out of....well let you use your imagination. And their is a fresco of a nude orgy (with the owners faces painted in the fresco)

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/11/...leton-jennifer-lawrence-london-nightlife.html

Royals including Prince Harry, and Princess Beatrice join Pippa Middleton for the Italian wedding of her former flame | Daily Mail Online

His brother Alex owns Paddle 8, the company Eugenie worked for in NY. Alex was married to Misha Noonoo who is a friend of Meghan Markle, and is rumored to have been the one to introduce her to Harry.

Anneke works in marketing for de Gournay which makes custom wallpaper.

https://degournay.com/


According to his twitter, he will be opening three new locations of his chain called 'Mr Fog's' which is of course named for Phinease Fogg (around the world in 80 days)

https://twitter.com/x/status/960830862219710464

So been stalking his twitter out of boredom. Mainly business posts but boy do they have an adorable dog.

https://twitter.com/x/status/897027326915031040

https://twitter.com/charliegilkes

https://twitter.com/charliegilkes

Oh The David statue in action

https://twitter.com/x/status/830825842175533057

https://twitter.com/x/status/829472705296621568
 
Thank you! Unfortunately, their profiles in the Instagram are closed. I would like to watch. I know that in January they had a son. Interesting to know, how many years Anneke?

And I know about Alexander Gilkes. Very nice man :wub:
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

M
Laws of the House of Grimaldi
Replies
3
Views
440
Tatiana Maria
T
Queen Claude
Duke and Duchess of Cambridge: Platinum Jubilee Tour of The Caribbean 19-26 Mar 2022
6 7 8
Replies
227
Views
31K
shaggydog
S
Iluvbertie
British Royal Family Engagements - 2021
2 3 4
Replies
110
Views
13K
Iluvbertie
Iluvbertie
Iluvbertie
British Royal Family Engagements 2020
2 3
Replies
85
Views
15K
Iluvbertie
Iluvbertie
E
Duke of Cambridge: Official Visit to Israel, Jordan and the OPT - Summer 2018
3 4 5
Replies
136
Views
20K
Rudolph
R

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom