Kate Middleton and Prince William’s college classmate has died at the age of 45.
Ben Duncan, a socialite and reality star who attended the University of St. Andrews alongside the Prince and Princess of Wales, passed away after falling 100 feet from a London bar rooftop last week.
“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 Metropolitan Police told Daily Mail in a statement Tuesday.
“Despite the best efforts from the London Ambulance service, he was sadly pronounced dead at the scene,” the MPD spokesperson added regarding Duncan’s “unexpected but non-suspicious” death at the seven-story Trafalgar St. James Hotel.
The Post has reached out to Kensington Palace for comment.
Duncan reportedly attended the famous Scottish university at the same time as Prince William and Middleton, both 43, from 2001 to 2005.
The future Prince and Princess of Wales first met at the University of St. Andrews as freshmen, and Duncan later opened up about the royal couple’s early relationship in a 2010 interview.
“Because we’d had Will and Kate in our midst, we had royal protection officers swarming the place,” he said five years after graduation, according to Daily Mail. “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.”
The late reality star, meanwhile, was also there when Middleton first captured William’s attention at the university’s storied campus fashion show.
“It was the end of their first year. I was there, and in person, there were a lot of attractive girls,” Duncan recalled. “She was in a very daring dress, in a sheer stocking-like dress. He was sitting front row and his eyes were like stalks.”
“She brushed by him on the way to the catwalk and things were never the same again,” he added, “the whole history of the monarchy had been altered.”
After graduating from the University of St. Andrews, Duncan went on to star in Season 11 of the UK’s iteration of reality show “Big Brother” in 2010. He was evicted from the house on day 52.
The Prince and Princess of Wales’ late college classmate appeared on other UK shows like “Come Dine With Me,” “Ladette to Lady” and “Celebrity Coach Tri,” per People.
Following the news of Duncan’s shocking death, several of his former colleagues and co-stars took to social media to remember the socialite-turned-reality TV star.
“My dear, dear friend Benjamin (Ben) Duncan has left us,” broadcaster Mike Hollingsworth wrote on Facebook Monday. “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,” Hollingsworth added. “The world is a poorer place for his passing. RIP Benji.”
Josie Gibson, who ultimately won Season 11 of “Big Brother” after Duncan was the sixth person eliminated, took to her Instagram Stories to pay tribute to her late reality show co-star.
“My heart goes out to Ben and his Family,” she wrote on Tuesday alongside a photo of Duncan. “I love you Ben…one [of] the most unique, hilariously funny, dry-witted guys I know.”
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