A former university friend of Prince William has sadly died after falling from the roof of a West End hotel in London. Ben Duncan, 45, died late on Thursday evening after falling seven floors from the rooftop bar of London’s Trafalgar St. James hotel.
Ben was tragically found dead soon after officers from the Metropolitan Police were dispatched to investigate reports of a “man on the roof”. A spokesperson told the Daily Mail: “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 spokesperson added: “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.”
A London Ambulance service spokesperson also said: “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 (HART). 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.”
Broadcaster Mike Hollingsworth wrote on Facebook: “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.”
Ben was at St Andrews University with Prince William and Princess Kate when they first started dating and was said to be part of their inner circle.
He was one of the first friends to know about Kate and William’s budding relationship. Speaking in 2010, he said: “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.”
After graduating, Ben became known to the wider public by appearing in a number of TV shows, including Channel 4’s Big Brother in 2010.
Other shows he appeared in included Come Dine With Me, Ladette to Lady and Celebrity Coach Trip.
Whatever you’re going through, you can call the Samaritans free at any time from any phone on 116 123. Lines are open 24 hours a day. You can also email **jo@samaritans.org
