Ben Duncan was a friend of Prince William and Kate Middleton and appeared on Big Brother, Ladette to Lady and Celebrity Coach Trip
A friend of Prince William and former Big Brother star has tragically died after falling 100 feet from the roof of a hotel in West London. Ben Duncan, who met the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at St Andrews University and was considered part of their ‘inner circle’, sadly passed away on 30 October.
On October 30, at the age of 45, Duncan fell from the rooftop of a seven-storey building in the West End. The Metropolitan Police were called to the Trafalgar St James hotel following reports of a ‘man on the roof’.
However, it is believed that Duncan had fallen from the rooftop bar, which is surrounded by high plastic screens as a safety measure, before they arrived.
A spokesperson for the police told the press: “Officers responded to concerns for a man on the roof of a building in Cockspur Street, Westminster at 23:02 hours on Thursday, 30 October. The man sadly fell from height.
“Despite the best efforts from the London Ambulance service, he was sadly pronounced dead at the scene. His death is unexpected but non-suspicious.”, reports the Mirror.
A representative from the London Ambulance service also confirmed to the press that they were called to the scene but were unable to save Duncan. “We were called at 10:59pm on Thursday 30 October to reports of an incident on Spring Gardens, City of Westminster.
“We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an incident response officer, paramedics in fast response cars and paramedics from our hazardous area response team. We also dispatched a trauma team in a car from London’s Air Ambulance. Very sadly, despite the best efforts of our crews, a man was pronounced dead at the scene.”
Duncan rose to prominence as a housemate during Big Brother series 11. He departed the show on day 52, with the competition eventually won by Josie Gibson.
His television appearances also included Come Dine With Me, Ladette to Lady and Celebrity Coach Trip.
Beyond his Royal links, Duncan maintained friendships with Lord Peter Mandelson, Michael Portillo and designer Nicky Haslam. Broadcaster Mike Hollingsworth, a close friend, paid tribute to the reality star on social media.
In a Facebook post, he wrote: “My dear, dear friend Benjamin (Ben) Duncan has left us.
“He lived life as Peter Pan – the boy who never grew up. He will be sorely missed by his many, many friends, who grew to love his charm, his wit, his infectious laugh and his innate sense of style. The world is a poorer place for his passing. RIP Benji.”
Another friend, speaking to the Daily Mail on condition of anonymity, said: “Ben was always the life and soul of the party. Although he appeared on reality TV shows, Ben’s true passions were politics and music. In recent years, he had become more reclusive – and had struggled with insomnia. It’s truly devastating that he’s gone so soon.”
Back in 2010, before Prince William and Kate tied the knot, Duncan revealed what it was like to be their friend. He claimed that he was one of the first people to notice a spark between the two.
“Because we’d had Will and Kate in our midst we had royal protection officers swarming the place. We knew that they had hit it off and we knew that something was happening, but they were just left alone to get on with it.”
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