Who is in Kate Middleton’s squad – including Laura Mead, Emilia Jardine-Paterson and Zoe Warren

The Duchess of Cambridge will be celebrating her 38th birthday today, and kicked off the celebrations early by inviting friends to her country home, Amner Hall in Norfolk, over the weekend. 

Kate Middleton counts a close circle of blue-blooded, high society movers among her group, including The Marchioness of Cholmondeley,  Prince Louis‘ godmother Lady Laura Meade – both of whom were spotted attending church service with the royals on Sunday – and Prince Charlotte’s godmother Sophie Carter, all of whom live near Amner Hall.

Elsewhere Jardine-Paterson, an interior designer, who is also thought to be partly responsible for the recent redecoration of Anmer Hall, is  one of Kate’s closest pals, and Lucy Lanigan-O’Keeffe, a teacher at Thomas’s Battersea, the school attended by George and Charlotte, has entered the clan after becoming engaged to Prince William’s lifelong pal Thomas van Straubenzee last summer.

We take a look at the women who make up Kate’s privileged girl gang. 

The Marchioness of Cholmondeley, Rose Hanbury 

The Marchioness of Cholmondeley, Rose Hanbury, 35, was first spotted in the Cambridges’ inner circle when she attended Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding in 2011, alongside her husband, the 7th Marquess of Cholomondeley, 59.

The couple have three children, ten-year-old twins Alexander, Earl of Rocksavage and Oliver, Lord Cholmondeley, and three-year-old daughter Lady Iris.

On Sunday, the couple were pictured alongside the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge for the first time in three years as they attended a church service in Sandringham.

The Marchioness of Cholmondeley is a regular among royal circles and was invited to a state banquet for Donald Trump at Buckingham Palace in June 2019, where she was positioned in close proximity to the US President.

And Rose reportedly joined the Duchess of Cambridge to celebrate her 38th birthday at her country home Anmer Hall in Norfolk over the weekend, and lives just three miles away at the Palladian Houghton Hall.

People magazine reported how the royal couple have traditionally set aside a weekend to entertain their friends for a few days of shooting and other country pursuits. 

William and Kate have previously enjoyed dinner parties with Rose and her husband David after the Cambridges moved to Anmer Hall in 2014, with the Cholmondeleys living just three miles away. 

Rose started off as a model after being spotted by Storm Models, and worked briefly as a researcher for Conservative MP Michael Gove.

And despite being married to David, who reportedly inherited an estimated £112million estate in 1990, Rose has her own connections, with her paternal grandmother Lady Rose Lambert a bridesmaid at the Queen’s wedding to Prince Philip in 1947.

Lady Laura Meade 

Lady Laura Meade is the wife of James Meade, one of Prince William’s closest friends from Eton, who was his best man and gave a speech at the royal wedding. 

She is daughter to Julian Marsham, 8th Earl of Romney, and married James in 2013, a wedding attended by William. 

Laura is said to be godmother to Prince Louis, while James is reportedly godfather to Princess Charlotte.

The couple, who also live near the Cambridges’ country retreat Amner Hall, were spotted with the Cambridges on Sunday, as they attended church alongside the Queen. 

Lucy Lanigan-O’Keeffe 

Prince William’s lifelong pal Thomas van Straubenzee, who is now engaged to marry Lucy Lanigan-O’Keeffe, a teacher at Thomas’s Battersea, the school attended by George and Charlotte.

Lucy Lanigan-O’Keeffe, the assistant head teacher at Thomas’s Clapham, said yes to Thomas van Straubenzee when he proposed last summer.

On Sunday, the couple were pictured alongside the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge  as they attended a church service alongside the Queen in Sandringham. 

Mr van Straubenzee, 36, who is the boss at the private office of property firm Knight Frank, married the Duke of Northumberland’s daughter Lady Melissa Percy in 2013.

Their wedding was held at her family’s ancestral home Alnwick Castle, which doubles as Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films. Princes William and Harry were among the guests.

But within three years they split, with Mr van Straubenzee finding love with 31-year old Ms Lanigan-O’Keeffe. 

Charity-minded Ms Lanigan-O’Keeffe, whose brother is Irish Olympic pentathlete Arthur Lanigan-O’Keeffe, runs the social action projects for Thomas’s schools across London.

The teacher is originally from Co Kilkenny, Ireland, and the barrister Stephen Lanigan-O’Keeffe is her father.

Ms Lanigan-O’Keeffe has had contact with Prince George during her outdoor learning and mindfulness classes at the school’s Battersea site.

Zoe Warren 

Zoe Warren is married to Darren Warren, a close friend to Princes William and Harry, who was one of Princess Diana’s godchildren, and whose father is the Queen’s racing manager John Warren.

Their daughter Zalia was a bridesmaid at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding, and is one of Harry’s goddaughters. 

With their mutual interest of racing, the royal family and the Warrens are frequently spotted together at Ascot. 

Emilia Jardine-Paterson

A friend of William’s from his teenage years and a schoolfriend of Kate’s from Marlborough College, glamorous Emilia Jardine-Paterson has been credited with introducing the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Her husband David Jardine-Paterson is the scion of a Scottish landowning family descended from the illustrious Hong Kong banking Jardines and was a contemporary of Prince William’s at Eton.

Like his wife, Mr Jardine-Paterson also has a Middleton connection: his younger brother, JJ, went out with Pippa for four years.

Mrs Jardine-Paterson, who is one of Prince George’s seven godparents, has become a fixture in royal circles.

Mrs Jardine-Paterson, an interior designer, is also thought to be partly responsible for the recent redecoration of Anmer Hall, having provided the Duchess with design tips for fabrics, trimmings and furniture.

Hannah Carter 

Hannah and Kate attended Marlborough College together, where they played on several of the same sports teams.

Kate’s sister Pippa was a couple of years below Kate at the same school and also played sports.

She is married to Robert Carter, whose family are wealthy Norfolk landowners.

Both William and Kate attended their wedding in 2012.

Her sister-in-law, Sophie Carter, is one of Charlotte’s godparents.

Sophie Carter 

Sophie has been a friend to Kate for many years and is often to be found quietly by the Duchess’s side at various parties and events.

While in their younger days the girls used to party the nights away, they now mainly watch tennis (they play together and hang out at Wimbledon), though they were pictured cheering exuberantly at Cirque du Soleil for Kate’s 31st birthday.

The daughter of Norfolk construction tycoon Robert Carter, Sophie is also, helpfully, an expert in early years’ learning, having been a nursery and prep school teacher.

The Durham University graduate has developed a phonics educational app, ‘Hip Hop Hen’, and also lives near the Cambridges’ Amner Hall retreat.

Sophie used to date Prince William’s pal, Thomas van Straubenzee, who is now engaged to marry Lucy Lanigan-O’Keeffe, a teacher at Prince George’s school.

Sophie is one of Charlotte’s godparents, and was seen attending her christening in 2015.

Trini Foyle 

Trini Lough is one of Kate’s more low-key schoolfriends, who was on hand when Kate and William briefly split in 2007, and then attended their wedding and subsequent christenings.

She and Kate have been seen strolling with their buggies through Kensington Gardens. 

After Marlborough, Trini took an MA in politics at Edinburgh University, while working as an assistant in the office of Jeremy Hunt MP. 

She then worked as an account manager. She lives with husband Ted Foyle, a lawyer, and son Alexander (born in 2013) in a £1.4 million house in Wandsworth, South-West London.

Alicia Fox-Pitt 

A 6ft redhead, Alicia Fox-Pitt, the younger sister of Olympic eventing star William, is a loyal friend of Kate’s from her Marlborough College days.

Indeed, it was Ms Fox-Pitt who recruited Kate for the now famous Sisterhood rowing team, which planned to cross the Channel for charity.

‘She’s been training with us,’ said Ms Fox-Pitt at the time. ‘All being well she will be in the boat. She is a very gifted sportswoman and we played a lot of sport together at school.’

The Duchess, who was midway through her temporary separation from Prince William at the time, bowed out when the couple reunited.

Nevertheless, the pair remain close friends and Alicia, who married entrepreneur Sebastian Stoddart in 2013, shares Kate’s love of all things sport.

 Natasha Rufus Isaacs and Lavinia Brennan

Lady Natasha Rufus Isaacs is an old friend of the Duchess – and is married to Kate’s former boyfriend Rupert Finch with whom she recently welcomed baby daughter Georgia.

Her father, the Marquess of Reading, is also close to Prince Charles and as a result, Lady Natasha has known Prince William since she was a little girl.

Lady Natasha also has a fashion connection to the Duchess and runs one of Kate and Pippa’s favourite brands, Beulah London, alongside fashion designer and best friend, Lavinia Brennan.

The design duo are part of an exclusive group of designers to be worn regularly by the Duchess, who memorably opted for a bespoke Beulah London dress for her visit to a Malaysian mosque in 2012.

‘We never know when she is going to wear something, but we do know she has when we see a push on the website,’ said Miss Brennan of the Kate effect.

‘It’s only ever a little one and it’s always from the US. We don’t sell out overnight.’