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Harry's old pals now - 'fall outs, missed wedding and emotional reconciliation'

04 July 2023 , 14:01
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Harry's old pals now - 'fall outs, missed wedding and emotional reconciliation'

He was the polo-playing friend who Prince Harry claimed was his 'real' best man when he married Meghan Markle more than five years ago.

But when Jack Mann came to tie the knot himself this weekend, the Duke of Sussex was reportedly nowhere to be seen.

Jack was photographed as part of Harry's 'band of brothers' when he married Meghan in 2018, was initially believed to have been one of the ushers at the event.

But afterwards, Harry wrote in controversial memoir Spare that Jack was his "real best man" rather than his brother Prince William.

Jack and Harry first met at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and used to play polo together as their friendship grew.

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Harry's old pals now - 'fall outs, missed wedding and emotional reconciliation'Prince Harry with polo pal Jack Mann (Jabpromotions/REX/Shutterstock)
Harry's old pals now - 'fall outs, missed wedding and emotional reconciliation'Harry now lives in California (Getty Images)

But when he married his wife Isabella at St Peter's Church in Stutton, Suffolk, on Saturday, Harry and Meghan were not there and questions have swirled about how close the two men still are.

And what about Harry's other old pals back in the UK? Here we take a look...

Tom 'Skippy' Inskip

Tom Inskip, known by the nickname Skippy, has been friends with Harry since childhood.

His father, Owen Inskip, is a pal of King Charles and field-master of his favourite hunt, The Beaufort.

Skippy is one of Harry's oldest friends as they met while classmates at Eton - and he was a regular at the 'nightclub' Prince William and Harry set up in the basement at Highgrove.

Harry's old pals now - 'fall outs, missed wedding and emotional reconciliation'Harry with Tom Inskip (Getty Images)
Harry's old pals now - 'fall outs, missed wedding and emotional reconciliation'Tom with his wife Lara at Harry and Meghan's wedding in 2018 (PA)

Harry and then-girlfriend Meghan were guests at Tom's wedding to Lara Hughes-Young in 2017 before their romance was officially confirmed.

However, the childhood pals reportedly had a big falling out when Skippy questioned the suitability of Meghan as a future royal.

According to the 2020 book Finding Freedom, Tom expressed doubts about how quickly the relationship was moving and told Harry he should live with Meghan before, "doing anything more serious".

Authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand wrote that although Tom's advice "came from a good place", Harry "didn't totally see it that way."

As a result of the falling out, it was claimed Skippy and wife Lara were 'punished' by being excluded from Harry and Meghan's evening wedding party at Frogmore House.

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But the pair reportedly reconciled, burying the hatchet when Tom's mother-in-law died and Prince Archie was born.

Guy Pelly

Guy Pelly became known as the 'court jester' of Harry and William's friends - and his mum Lady Carolyn Herbert was close friends with the late Princess Diana.

Having been dubbed by some a the 'third brother', Guy organised William's stag do and both royals attended his own wedding.

Despite tensions in the family, Guy has remained close to the Sussexes and visited the couple in California, alongside his wife, Elizabeth Wilson and their daughter.

Harry's old pals now - 'fall outs, missed wedding and emotional reconciliation'Guy in front of Prince Harry at a Six Nations rugby match (PA)

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

Guy is also still close with William as he's one of Prince Louis' godparents and was recently spotted on a night out with the Prince of Wales at Camden's KOKO nightclub.

Charlie van Straubenzee

Charlie is one of three brothers who became friends with William and Harry at an early age.

The van Straubenzee boys were classmates of the young princes at Ludgrove School and have remained close friends into their adult years. Tragically, middle brother Henry died in car accident in December 2002.

Harry says hearing that his best mate had died "just like mummy" took him back to the night King Charles told him that Princess Diana had lost her life.

Harry's old pals now - 'fall outs, missed wedding and emotional reconciliation'Harry with Guy Pelly and Charlie van Straubenzee at a rugby match (Getty Images)

Youngest brother Charlie previously shared a reputation with Harry as being a 'perpetual bachelor'.

He reportedly chose Harry to be best man at his wedding to Daisy Jenks in August 2018, with the Duke of Sussex returning the favour with an invite when he got married to Meghan.

According to reports, Charlie gave an incredible speech at the evening reception at Frogmore House and has since visited Harry in California.

Thomas van Straubenzee

Eldest brother Thomas has been close with both Harry and William since their school days - but is closer to the latter.

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

In 2011, Harry quickly drove to help his pal after hearing him being mugged for his Blackberry while they chatted on the phone, he writes in his memoir Spare.

Harry, just back from US helicopter training, searched for him until intuition took him to the local police station, where he gave a statement.

Thomas is one of Princess Charlotte's five godparents and actually married the assistant headteacher at her former school.

Marko

Mark Dyer, known by the nickname Marko, was a royal aide and trusted protector of Prince.

Harry looked up to Marko as a mentor and respected him for being "an extreme ginger and owning it".

Harry's old pals now - 'fall outs, missed wedding and emotional reconciliation'Prince Harry with mentor Mark Dyer (AFP via Getty Images)

Seen by the young prince as a 'second dad', he regularly pops up in stories during Harry's teenage years in memoir Spare.

King Charles tasked the aide with looking after his youngest son - with Marko taking Harry to Botswana when he was a boy.

His son Jasper is a godson of Harry's while Marko is believed to be one of Archie's godparents.

Kyle O'Sullivan

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