The smart set’s talking about . . . Prince William’s new ally Lady Tatiana

EVER since Prince William spent six weeks working as a volunteer at Lewa Downs wildlife conservancy in Kenya during his gap year before university, he’s been passionate about saving endangered species. Now, his glamorous relation Lady Tatiana Mountbatten has taken up the cause. This week, the 28year-old daughter of the Marquess of Milford Haven, the Queen’s cousin, was one of the leading lights at a fundraising ball which raised £588,000 for Lewa at The Dorchester in Mayfair. ‘These funds will be used to help create 130,000 acres of uninterrupted rhino playgrounds,’ she says. Lady Tatiana, whose mother Sarah is now married to former Tory treasurer Michael Spencer, has always been crazy about animals, taking her pony to boarding school with her at £38,610-peryear Millfield in Somerset.

Now a professional dressage rider, she also competed in the Magnolia Cup charity race at Glorious Goodwood over the summer.

Her polo-playing stepmother, Clare, Marchioness of Milford Haven, had previously taken part.

‘Tats’, as she’s known to pals, could lean on her father, George, for a donation or two, as he amassed a fortune after selling his internet company uSwitch to an American media firm in 2006.

No doubt Prince William will be delighted to have Tats in his corner, as fighting spirit runs in the family: her maternal grandfather was East End boxer-turned-businessman George Walker.