The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are supporting one of Princess Charlotte’s godparents whose marriage to the younger daughter of the Duke of Northumberland has ended after less than three years.
The former Lady Melissa Percy obtained an undefended “quickie” divorce from Thomas van Straubenzee at the Central family court in London.
Mr van Straubenzee, 33, a property consultant, is an old prep school friend of the Duke of Cambridge. He was one of five godparents at Princess Charlotte’s christening in St Mary Magdalene church, Sandringham, Norfolk, in July last year.
The duke and Prince Harry were guests at his Northumberland wedding in June 2013, when the reception was held in Alnwick Castle, the ancestral home of his bride, a tennis coach. The castle, the seat of the Percy family for 700 years, featured as Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films.
The couple were not present when they were granted a decree nisi by District Judge Anne Aitken. Among the court papers made public was a sworn statement signed by Mrs van Straubenzee, 28, in December that said they had separated two months earlier. A judge found that Mrs van Straubenzee was “entitled to a decree of divorce, the marriage having irretrievably broken down, the facts found proved being the respondent’s unreasonable behaviour”. No details of this were given in the papers made public.
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Friends have said that “he is extremely upset by the whole experience”. His friends were said to have rallied round to give him support, including the duke, duchess and Prince Harry.
Mr van Straubenzee declined to speak about the end of his marriage when contacted.