Welcome elcome to the A-list bratat pack, Cambridge ambridge #3
With so many of the Duke and Duchess’s circle having young families of their own, the palace’s latest arrival will never want for well-connected company, says Emily Knighton
Though the due date is secret, one thing is certain: with two older siblings already tearing around Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace, when the third Baby Cambridge finally arrives this month, they aren’t ever likely to be bored. Prince George and Princess Charlotte’s antics will provide a rolling spectacle – which is lucky, given that the Duchess of Cambridge will have her hands too full to organise any play dates or parties or forge new friendships at the local toddler group. As any parent of three children will report, the third is left to bring themselves up.
When the time comes to find his/ her own friends, however, Baby Cambridge won’t have to look far. Kate and William’s close-knit posse of school and university friends have been busily procreating to produce a ready-made entourage for the newest arrival. Plus there are all the royal cousins and children of palace officials.
There will be one stumbling block, however – as a family of five, the Cambridges will be black-balled by those who have stayed safe with one or two sprogs. As house guests they’ll be deemed too noisy, too unwieldy and the purveyor of too many sticky fingers. Kate, therefore, will be campaigning hard for besties such as Emilia JardinePaterson, Prince George’s godmother, to welcome another. Not just for the sake of baby #3’s gang, but for her own social life.
Maud, four, and Isabella Windsor, two
Distant cousins Maud and Isabella are already thick as thieves with George and Charlotte, as their mother, Sophie, joins the Duchess of Cambridge at the school gates. Maud and George are in reception together at Thomas’s Battersea, and Kate and Sophie have spent the past few weeks bonding over Easter bonnet parades and whether it’s a tracksuit or a uniform day. By the time the littlest Cambridge starts Thomas’s, Charlotte and Isabella will be there, too – no messing with Baby C, then.
Arlo Goldsmith, seven months
Arlo’s daddy, Ben, was a year above Prince William at Eton and is now an environmental campaigner and farmer, rather like Prince Charles. Baby Cambridge can look forward to house parties at their 200-acre Somerset eco farm: their friends include Hugh Grant, Stephen Fry and Mick Jagger and Arlo’s mummy Jemima Jones, a former lingerie model, is an exceptional cook; her catering company Tart London is the celebrity choice in the capital.
Edie Wilkinson, 18 months
Edie, daughter of Olivia Hunt, who was once romantically linked to Prince William, is another potential London pal for Baby Cambridge. The Hunts – Olivia’s father is a retired GP – have been family friends of the royals for decades. Edie will also be a source of great birthday parties; her mummy, as head honcho at Chiltern Firehouse, knows how to make things go with a bang.
Maggie Chadwyck-Healey, 23 months
Maggie’s mummy Virginia Fraser, daughter of William Robertson Fraser, 3rd Baron Strathalmond, and her daddy, Oliver Chadwyck-Healey, a buyer for Waitrose, are university friends of the Cambridges from St Andrews and still great mates. Maggie’s older sister, Nancy, is a potential match for Prince George.
Lady Acony Lambton, five months
Acony’s parents, Ned, Earl of Durham and his wife Marina, sister of Marchioness Cholmondeley, are hardpartying Kensington neighbours of the Cambridges, and their son, Claud, is the same age as Princess Charlotte. They’re worth keeping in with just for their holiday home: Villa Cetinale is a 17th-century palace near Siena where Prince Charles has spent holidays, as has Tony Blair.
Alexa Galliers-Pratt, two
Alexa’s mother Bella (née Musgrave) is a Gloucestershire friend of Prince William; they dated for a while before he went up to St Andrews. She is godmother to the Hon Claud (above), so it’s all rather incestuous. The G-Ps were guests at Pippa’s wedding last year and are on the Cambridges’ dinner party circuit in London.
Stella Tollemache, 11 months
Stella is the daughter of Edward Tollemache, a banker and longstanding family friend of Prince William (he is Prince Charles’s godson). Her mother Sophie has become great buddies with Kate since George started at Thomas’s; the Tollemaches’ eldest, Ralph, is there too. The couple won’t be in town forever, though: they’ve got a stately to run: Helmingham Hall, in Suffolk.
Sylvie Tollemache, two
Sylvie’s father James, brother of Edward, is an Eton friend of Prince William, known for his wild parties. At his 21st, the Prince famously jumped into the moat at the family’s Suffolk seat wearing only boxer shorts and a feather boa. If Sylvie is at all like her parents, she too will be the life and soul; Tatler described her mother, Princess Florrie von Preussen, the great-great-granddaughter of Kaiser
Max Goldsmith, 15 months
The youngest Goldsmith is another potential buddy for Baby Cambridge. Zac (Tory MP for Richmond Park) and his second wife Alice (née Rothschild) are good pals of the Cambridges, regularly hanging out with them at 5 Hertford Street, the £25 million London club run by Zac’s half brother, Robin Birley. Daughter Dolly, four, is a mucker for Prince George. Alice ( below) is founder of children’s clothing company Dotty Dungarees: Baby C will look divine in mustard overalls.
Scarlett Waley-Cohen, two
If Baby Cambridge is to be a racing pundit like his/her great-granny, the Waley-Cohens (Scarlett has an older brother, Max, the same age as Princess Charlotte) are the kids to know. Scarlett’s father Sam, a school friend of the Duke and old pal of the Duchess, is a gentleman jockey who has been placed several times in the Grand National. It was Sam who reunited Wills and Kate after they split in 2007. Scarlett’s mother, the beautiful Annabel, is a children’s party caterer so Baby C can look forward to some delicious cake pops.
Arthur Sackville, two
Arthur is a fixture on the pirate ship in the playground in Kensington Gardens; his parents Ed and Sophia live a few streets from the palace. Ed and Prince William were at school together and partied as students in Scotland (Ed was at Edinburgh). The Sackvilles are also racing blue blood: Ed, Jilly Cooper’s bestie, is a bloodstock agent who trained under the Queen’s agent, John Warren.
Wilfred Tomlinson, 13 months
Wilfred’s father Luke, an international polo player, is a great mate of Wills. His mummy Laura (née Bechtolsheimer) won dressage Gold at the London Olympics. Baby C will have to kick on to keep up with Wilf.
Willow Pelly, 12 months
The one-year-old daughter of Guy Pelly, Prince William’s naughtiest schoolfriend, and his wife, Holiday Inn heiress Lizzy Wilson ( below) will keep the littlest Cambridge on his or her toes. Her father set up Sloaney nightclubs Mahiki and Whisky Mist, so Willow will make sure Baby Cambridge is on all the right guest lists. Wills and Kate, watch out.