Prince Charles

Prince Charles

Britain's Prince Charles will bid farewell to his life-long friend Hugh van Cutsem on Friday (13.09.13).

The 64-year-old royal and his sons Princes William and Harry will be among the mourners to attend the late conservationist's funeral at St Nicholas Church in Brockenhurst, Hampshire, south England.

But Charles' wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, and William's wife Duchess Catherine - known as Kate Middleton prior to their nuptials - are not expected to attend.

Charles and Hugh, a former officer in the Household Cavalry, both attended Cambridge University in the 1960s and they shared interests in rural life, field sports and shooting.

When the royal married Princess Diana in 1981, Hugh's eight-year-old son Edward, Charles' godson, was one of their two page boys, and the late Norfolk landowner's five-year-old granddaughter Grace was the flower girl pictured covering her ears on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

Hugh's four sons, Edward, 40, Hugh, 39, Nicholas, 36, and William, 33, are close friends of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and one of them may be asked to be a godfather to the latest addition to the royal family, Prince George.