(Very) modern manners

EVEN in this irreverent age, persuading a Royal to open your new business is still a coup, but how does one do it? Well, in the case of Prince Andrew, it appears to help if your kids were at school together.

On Thursday, the Duke of York was happy to preside over the topping-out ceremony of what will be the Royal Windsor Park Hotel in Englefield Green, Surrey.

It’s owned by Surinder Arora, a former Heathrow baggage handler who has built up a hotel and property empire worth an estimated £350 million. Arora and his wife, Sunita, were invited to Princess Eugenie’s wedding at Windsor last year.

‘My daughter Sonia went to the same school as Beatrice, [Eugenie’s elder sister],’ Arora explained. ‘So we’ve known the family for a long time.’