Brothers who could bridge the gap between Harry and William: Inside the Princes' close bond with the van Straubenzee family - as Prince of Wales gets set to award an MBE to their mother

As Prince William conducts investitures at Windsor Castle today, one ceremony will be particularly poignant.

He will confer an MBE on Claire van Straubenzee, a close family confidante, whose son Henry - Prince Harry's childhood best friend - died in a car crash at the age of 18.

His death in 2002 inspired her to launch the Henry van Straubenzee Memorial Fund to raise money for education in Uganda in 2007, in honour of his plans to teach at a school in the African country during his gap year before heading to Newcastle University.

As she collects her gong, Claire will be accompanied by her husband Alexander, 73, and sons, Thomas, 41, and Charlie, 35, who are still close to Harry and William. 

But although the Duke of Sussex landed in London yesterday to attend a service marking the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games at St Paul's Cathedral later today, he isn't expected to join the gathering.

Henry, nicknamed 'Henners' by Prince Harry, who wrote about him in his autobiography, Spare, became the royal's best friend after they met at their prep school, Ludgrove Prep in Berkshire. 

'Skinny, with no muscles, and hair that stood up in permanent surrender, Henners was all heart,' he wrote. 'Whenever he smiled, people melted.' 

The Duke said in his memoir that Henry was the only boy who asked him about his mother Princess Diana after she died in a car crash in 1997.

Prince Harry with Prince William receiving a kiss from Claire van Straubenzee at the launch of the charity named in honour of her son Henry, who was killed in a car crash in 2002. Henry and Harry were childhood best friends

Henry was 18 when his car hit a tree near his and Harry's former school Ludgrove Prep, where he was working during a gap year

Prince Harry was best friends with Henry 'Henners' van Straubenzee. Above: Harry at the launch of the Henry van Straubenzee Memorial Fund

His family's celebration today will be bittersweet, as it comes just weeks after Claire and Alex's announcement that they are closing their charity by the end of the year.

It will also mark the end of another shared enterprise between Prince William and Prince Harry, who have both been patrons of the charity since 2009 - the only one to have their joint patronage.

'This decision has not been taken lightly and in no way is the result of any financial difficulties,' announcement on the charity's website said.

'The key trustees of the charity will be over 70 years of age by the end of 2024 and feel that the time is right to close.'

The charity launched with an initial £3,000 private donation to Bupadhengo school in Kamuli where Henry was due to teach, and since then it has raised more than £3.3 million and helped over 35,000 children.

The statement finishes: 'Most of all, we feel that the charity has left a long-lasting memorial to our son, Henry, and has helped our family overcome the grief of his loss.'

The brothers received bottles of champagne at a reception to mark the launch of the Henry Van Straubenzee Memorial fund in January 2008

Alex and Claire Van Straubenzee at their home near Grantham. Claire is receiving an MBE from Prince William later today

Henry died when the car he was in hit a tree near Ludgrove Prep, where he was working in his gap year. 

In Spare, Harry described how the news of Henry's death had terrible echoes of the moment that his father, then Prince Charles, told him that his mother had died.

He noted how, 'just like Mummy', Henry was not wearing a seatbelt.  

'The news must have come in the form of a phone call, though I only dimly recall holding the phone, hearing the words,' he wrote.

Claire recalled the 3am phone call where she was told about the accident.  

'Charlie was with us when we heard. He said, "Who am I going to play with now?", she told The Sunday Times. 

Both princes attended the funeral, and Harry recalled how he queued up to hug Henry's parents and his friend's two brothers.

Harry and William have been active patrons of The Henry van Straubenzee Memorial Fund, playing polo to help fundraise and attending its annual Christmas carol concert in Chelsea.

In December 2014, standing side by side, they gave a joint tribute to Henry.

They said he was 'a very special friend to us, who we share so many happy childhood memories with'.

At a private carol service in 2018, Harry delivered an address and Meghan, who he'd married that spring, gave a reading.

In December 2022, despite being estranged, the princes signed a joint letter to mark the 20th anniversary of Henry's death.

Charlie and Thomas (above) attending the wedding of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank in October 2018

Prince Harry with Henry's brother,  Charlie Van Straubenzee  and Guy Pelly at the England v Australia match in 2015

Prince William with his best friend Thomas van Straubenzee at the polo in 2014. He served as an usher alongside James Meade Prince William's wedding in 2011, and shared the toast at the reception

Prince William with Thomas van Straubenzee at Cheltenham Festival in 2013

Daisy Jenks and Charlie van Straubenzee leave the church of St Mary the Virgin after their wedding, which the Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended in 2018

The brothers wrote of 'the van family who we all love and adore', describing what Claire and Alex have achieved with the foundation as 'nothing short of extraordinary'.

They added: 'Henry's legacy will live on through the incredible achievements of what his mum and dad have accomplished over the years.

'For those of us who knew Henners, we will always miss his mischievous charm and hilarious sense of humour.'

The van Straubenzees' final visit to Uganda in February was 'tinged with sadness', Alex told the Sunday Times.

'There is no doubt at all that it has been the most rewarding way of getting over our grief,' he added. 

'Henry was a livewire. He was the linchpin of the family. As the middle son, he got on brilliantly with Thomas and Charlie. To lose him, it crushed them.'

The van Straubenzees have often been described as being like a second family to William and Harry and Claire and Alex provided a retreat for the royal brothers during the 'war of the Waleses' - Charles and Diana's very public, and painful divorce.

The links between the two families go back decades - Princess Diana was briefly nanny to Thomas van Straubenzee's cousin and was also close friends with his uncle, Willie.

The van Straubenzee sons and Harry and William were all born within six years of each other and the princes would join the 'vans' on holiday in Cornwall each summer.

Thomas and Charlie are still close to both princes, and were ushers at the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's wedding in 2018, where Charlie gave a speech at the reception.

Lucy Lanigan-O'Keeffe and Thomas van Straubenzee attend Sunday service at the Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham Estate in 2020.  Thomas is Princess Charlotte's Godfather

Harry is godfather to Charlie's four-year-old daughter Clover and, in turn, Charlie is godfather to Prince Archie, who recently turned five.

And the old pals' bond hasn't been affected by Harry's move to Montecito, where they were seen cycling around the Californian neighbourhood in May, 2022.

Meanwhile, Thomas is often described as the Prince of Wales's best friend.

In Spare, Prince Harry detailed how Thomas acted as William's real best man at his 2011 wedding to Kate, delivering the traditional speech with James Meade.

Thomas is also godfather to Princess Charlotte, and William is godfather to his daughter Mary, who he has with his second wife Lucy Lanigan-O'Keeffe.

Lucy is one of Princess Charlotte's former teachers at Thomas's in Battersea. 

'Henry would have been amazed,' Claire said of the news that William is likely to conduct the investiture.