A Very Toff-y Hire by Prince William
Our fave group of friends is back in the news
While working on my post about the British Royal Family’s finance report for ‘23-’24, I stumbled upon a little bit of news that has largely gone underreported.
Why did this pique my interest? Because it reminded me of another relationship between a future King, his best friend and his business dealings.
Let’s talk about the Turnip Toffs, the Van Cutsem Family, and the alarming way Prince William is repeating history despite calls that he will be a “modern” King.
Turnip Toff Mind Map
I started mapping out the Turnip Toffs—the name for a group of aristocratic friends in Norfolk (the country) that includes the Prince and Princess of Wales—last year. If it sounds familiar, Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley, is also in the group and allegedly had a falling out with Catherine in 2019. I did an extensive dive into the media coverage around this a few months ago. (My research was also cited in royal author, Omid Scobie’s book, Endgame.)
It looks like congealed spaghetti, but here’s what you need to know about the Van Cutsem’s.
BFFS
Not all friendships occur because of happenstance; some are predestined. William van Cutsem’s father—the late Hugh van Cutsem—was best friends with King Charles. The van Cutsem’s earned the stamp of approval besties to the Royal Family because they are extremely good at keeping a low profile and are always act with upmost discretion. According to this Guardian piece from 1999, after the news broke about the affair between Charles, then-Prince of Wales, and Mrs. Camilla Parker Bowles, “it emerged that they had had trysts in a house rented on the Sandringham estate by the van Cutsems.”
o rly.
