Forget the vodka snorting and drug-fuelled disorderliness of Prince Harry’s life before Meghan Markle . The Duke of Sussex is set to g…
Forget the vodka snorting and drug-fuelled disorderliness of Prince Harry’s life before Meghan Markle.
The Duke of Sussex is set to go on a lads’ holiday for his 40th birthday but while it will be a world away from his hedonistic past, the rumoured A-list guests gives a slim hope that a game of boozy naked billiards could still be on the cards.
It won’t be in Vegas, Benidorm or Ibiza, the Duke of Sussex is expected to go to a mountain retreat in California with his ‘closest mates’ – some of whom may fly over from the UK.
Harry will reportedly go away to celebrate his landmark birthday after a low-key celebration at his £11million mansion in Montecito with Meghan, Archie and Lilibet on Sunday, September 15 – his actual 40th.
Harry’s twenties and thirties were littered with partying and scandal including a now infamous and hedonistic trip to Sin City in 2012 and the time he dressed as a Nazi at a fancy dress party.
After settling down in California with his wife and children those days are behind him. He prefers riding his bike, walking the dog and wandering in his garden listening the birds. And many of the mates from his past have been left behind too, especially after some sided with his brother in the rift that followed Megxit.
While his pool of friends has undoubtedly shrunk, his best friend Nacho Figueras – a man he considers to be like a brother – will surely be there.
Nacho, dubbed the ‘David Beckham of polo’, is known to love the finer things in life, including Champagne and whisky, and might even bring the cigars.
Harry also has a group of British celebrity friends, including Chris Martin and Orlando Bloom. Orlando is known to party hard – and has a reputation for taking his clothes off like Harry once did famously in Sim City. But Coldplay singer Chris doesn’t drink, smoke, or even sip coffee – preferring to meditate and nap in the day when not touring.
There are also rumours that Harry’s ‘close friends internationally’ might jet in. His British friends have splintered after Harry’s falling out with his brother – but he remains close to karaoke king James Corden, who is back living in the UK. Harry also keeps contacts with a tiny group of school friends, aristocrats and business people who could also jet in to mark his 40th.
Nacho Figueras: The best friend who brings the party (and the whisky)
Harry and Nacho’s bromance goes back almost 20 years – and most recently they went on a trip to Japan together where they enjoyed nights out and joked about going shopping for their wives in a series of tongue-in-cheek Instagram posts.
The impeccably well-dressed polo star, one of the faces of Ralph Lauren, loves the finer things in life. He was an ambassador for the Johnnie Walker whisky brand, so will surely find space in his suitcase for a nice bottle.
Nacho, a Rolex enthusiast with a private jet partnership with NetJets, has been a huge supporter of Prince Harry’s new life, away from the Royal Family. He and his wife Delfina are also close to Meghan, receiving one of her jams when she did a soft launch of her American Riviera Orchard brand.
They have played polo alongside one another in various matches over the years, and Nacho, 46, has become one of Harry and Meghan Markle‘s most vocal supporters, praising them in magazine interviews and during TV appearances.
The father-of-four – dubbed the ‘David Beckham of Polo’ – was also among a handful of the Duke and Duchess’s closest confidantes who appeared in the couple’s Netflix documentary.
And it has been speculated that Nacho and his glamorous wife Delfina Blaquier could be regulars in two Netflix series due to be launched by Harry and Meghan as part of their $100 million (£80 million) deal with the streaming giant.
While Meghan’s series is likely to focus on cooking and lifestyle, Harry will showcase his love of polo in another programme as part of the deal – and as the Duke keeps such glamorous and good looking company on the polo field, viewers may find it difficult to switch off.
Nacho’s closeness to the couple is despite his public openness about his friendship with Harry and Meghan, who has previously insisted her family has a ‘basic right to privacy’, as well as even launching a royal-inspired scent.
In September 2019, Nacho – who witnessed the early days of the couple’s romance and was later a guest at their wedding – appeared on Ellen DeGeneres’ show to announce that he would ‘defend his friends’ with his life.
The millionaire appears totally at ease with mentioning his friendship with the royal in interviews, for in that same year, he told Town and Country magazine: ‘What I like the most about [Harry] is how real he is and how serious he is about improving life for kids that have not had the blessings that we’ve had.’
He also described Meghan as ‘incredible’ and praised the former actress for ‘giving up everything for the man she loves’ in the Sussexes’ Netflix documentary.
During the Harry & Meghan docuseries, Nacho also revealed how the prince confided in him after sharing a first date with Meghan.
He described how him and his wife, Delfina Blaquier, went for dinner with Harry shortly after the prince met his future wife in 2017.
Nacho said: ‘He looked at us and said ”guys, I met a girl, we’ve just met but I think this might be the one”. You could tell right away that those eyes were those of someone who’d fallen in love.’
James Corden: Carpool karaoke king who will try to bring the laughs
James became friendly with Harry and Meghan after moving to the States, revealing an interview that their children are also close.
While he has moved back to the UK, when he returns to the US he is known to pop in to see the Sussexes.
He is believed to be particularly close to Harry, who appeared on The Late Late Show where they went on a bus tour and went to Meghan’s house.
James, who is currently filming the finale of Gavin and Stacey,
Speaking to The Sun, James revealed he and his family had had ‘a sort of play date scenario [with the kids],’ at Meghan and Harry’s ‘then we went out for dinner after, it was lovely.’
James and Julia are parents to children Max, 11, Carey, eight, and Charlotte, four, while Prince Harry and Meghan share Archie, five, and Lilibet, three.
Harry previously appeared as a guest on The Late Late Show shortly after he moved to Los Angeles with Meghan.
Adding that he knows Harry better than Meghan, James said he finds it hard to be ‘judgemental’ of the pair, seemingly referring to their decision to step down as senior members of the royal family and move to the US.
He said: ‘I have a huge amount of respect and admiration for Harry, and anyone who has been around him and spent time with him would feel exactly the same way.
‘I think he is a devoted and loving husband and father and I think what they have done [in turning away from royal life] is incredibly brave and I’ll always be in their corner.’
Orlando Bloom: Lord of the Rings party boy with a penchant for getting naked
One is a prince and the other Hollywood royalty, but it seems the Queen‘s grandson Prince Harry and actor Orlando Bloom have a lot more in common than just a title.
The Duke of Sussex has struck up a bond with his neighbours Orlando Bloom and singer Katy Perry who live ‘just down the road’ from the couple’s £11million mansion in Montecito, California.
Prince Harry has described how the Lord of the Rings star tipped him off about a photographer and that the pair ‘keep in touch’ over text.
Orlando is known as a larger than life character who likes to party and have fun. He also went viral in 2016 thanks to pictures of him paddleboarding completely naked.
The star has also been pictured by Ms Perry swimming naked in the great outdoors.
If he goes to Harry’s 40th, is there a chance he could convince the group to do something similar?
The close proximity of Harry and Orlando’s homes, and the fact they are both Brits abroad, is far from the only parallel between the duo, who have both seemingly been moving in the same circle for years – having common connections with US designer Misha Nonoo, popstar Ellie Goulding and also a reported interest in spirituality.
Indeed the pair have even attended the same events, including Nonoo’s 2019 Rome wedding.
While the couples are both used to living a lifestyle of glitz and glamour, they have more in common than meets the eye – including their friendship with American-based fashion designer Misha Nonoo.
In September 2019, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived in Rome, Italy to attend the nuptials of Misha, who is rumoured to have set-up the royals’ first blind date in July 2016.
Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom were among the other A-list stars who watched Misha tie the knot with oil tycoon fiance Mikey Hess during a sunset ceremony at the stunning 17th century Villa Aurelia with views over the city.
Prince Harry’s cousins Princess Beatrice and her sister Eugenie were also believed to have attended the nuptials, suggesting Lord of the Rings star Orlando has long been rubbing shoulders with royalty – including some of the duke’s nearest and dearest.
And Misha isn’t the only person the couples share a joint friendship with – because Prince Harry and Orlando Bloom’s fiancée Katy also have a common connection when it comes to hit singer, Ellie Goulding.
The Duke of Sussex was linked to Ellie back in 2016, but the blushing popstar skirted any issue of romance in October that year when she was asked outright about the rumours on TV, by The Project host Carrie Bickmore.
Chris Martin: Coldplay star swears by meditation, mindfulness, forty winks and just one meal per day
The Coldplay singer may come on the lads’ break – but he won’t be bringing the booze.
Chris eats one meal a day to stay fit, doesn’t drink alcohol or caffeinated drinks like coffee.
Martin, who was thanked by Harry in Spare, also suffers from insomnia and swears by meditation and napping in order supplement his lack of sleep at night.
It does mean, at least, that Harry might have someone with him if he stays up all night.
The Duke of Sussex, 39, and the Coldplay frontman have reportedly been friends for over a decade with the musician even being name dropped in the royal’s infamous 2023 memoir, Spare.
The prince and the performer were pictured on stage in 2014 after Coldplay produced a song for the inaugural of the Invictus Games which was based on William Ernest Henley’s 19th-century poem, Invictus.
The two were pictured on social media in the recording studio ahead of the musical release, seemingly very pally.
Harry also turned to the help of his musician friend in June 2016 when he enlisted him and the band to play the Sentebale concert in Kensington Palace to help raise money and awareness of the challenges faced by young people affected by HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.
During the concert, Harry stood behind the choir and swayed as he sung the lyrics to the hit song Up&Up, shaking hands with Chris when the performance came to an end.
Now Harry and wife, Meghan Markle like in Montecito, California, its likely that their relationship to the Coldplay has only strengthened, with Chris living just 62 miles away in Malibu.
Tom ‘Skippy’ Inskip: Harry’s Eton wingman who loves a nightclub and was involved in a number of scrapes from prince’s youth
Tom, also known as ‘Skippy’, is one of Prince Harry’s oldest friends, having met the Duke of Sussex when they were classmates at Eton College.
‘Skippy’ and sister Victoria — ‘Tor’ to her friends — have known Princes William and Harry since childhood.
Tom, who works as the president for Afiniti, is based in London too, but didn’t put Harry up for the night.
Tom Inskip’s father is Owen Inskip, a field-master of Prince Charles’s favourite hunt, The Beaufort, who has made a fortune over the years from a number of businesses, including ‘managing’ thousands of council homes for local authorities and upmarket estates.
The Inskips were regulars at Club H, the ‘nightclub’ Harry set up in the basement of Highgrove.
Mr Inskip was with Harry on his ill-fated trip to Croatia in August 2011, when they got drunk on vodka, whisky, beer and tequila, and were photographed jumping into a pool fully-clothed at a nightclub on the party island of Hvar.
He was also with him on a skiing trip to Verbier in November 2012 when they amused themselves by childishly hurling snowballs at unsuspecting passers-by from a balcony.
He was with him at a party in 2010 when Harry was allegedly seen inhaling ‘hippy crack’ — also known as nitrous oxide or laughing gas — a recreational drug which, although perfectly legal, has been associated with a number of fatalities.
And he was with Harry during his infamous trip to Las Vegas in 2012, when the prince was photographed naked during a game of ‘strip billiards’.
But he’s been leading a more settled life since marrying flame-haired literary agent the Hon Lara Hughes-Young in Jamaica in 2017.
The groom and his bride, the daughter of Lord St Helens, hired out the super exclusive Round Hill Hotel and Villas, a private 110-acre plantation style resort first built as a colony of cottages for the rich, famous and glamorous of the 1950s.
It was one of the first events to which Harry took Meghan, and he was one of the ushers.
However the two apparently fell out after Tom warning Harry against marrying Meghan.
According to the 2020 book Finding Freedom, Tom expressed doubts about how quickly the relationship was moving and decided to warn his friend Harry.
He is believed to have advised Harry and Meghan to live together before ‘doing anything more serious.’
A source close to Duke and Duchess of Sussex told the book’s authors that although his advice ‘came from a good place,’ Prince Harry ‘didn’t totally see it that way’.
As a result, Mr Inskip and his wife Lara were reportedly ‘punished’ by being excluded from Prince Harry and Meghan’s wedding party at Frogmore House.
However they have since made up.
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