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A friend of Prince William and star of Big Brother has tragically died, after falling 100 feet from the roof of a hotel in West London. Ben Duncan met the prince and his wife, Kate, at St Andrews University and was said to be part of their 'inner circle'. Duncan died on 30 October, aged 45, after falling from a rooftop of a seven-story building in the West End. The Metropolitan police were dispatched to the Trafalgar St James hotel after they were alerted to reports of a 'man on the roof'. But Duncan is thought to have fallen before they arrived. A spokesperson told the press: "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 man sadly fell from height. "Despite the best efforts from the London Ambulance service, he was sadly pronounced dead at the scene. His death is unexpected but non-suspicious." Duncan was known for being a housemate on Big Brother in series 11. He was evicted on day 52, and the series was ultimately won by Josie Gibson. He has also been on Come Dine With Me, Ladette to Lady and Celebrity Coach Trip. Alongside his royal connection, Duncan was friends with Lord Peter Mandelson, Michael Portillo and designer Nicky Haslam. One friend, broadcaster Mike Hollingsworth, paid tribute to the Big Brother star. Writing on Facebook, he said: "My dear, dear friend Benjamin (Ben) Duncan has left us. "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. The world is a poorer place for his passing. RIP Benji." Speaking anonymously to the Daily Mail, another friend said: "Ben was always the life and soul of the party. Although he appeared on reality TV shows, Ben's true passions were politics and music. In recent years, he had become more reclusive - and had struggled with insomnia. It's truly devastating that he's gone so soon." Back in 2010, before Prince William and Kate got married, Duncan shared what it was like to be their friend. He said that he was one of the first people to realise something was going on between the two. "Because we'd had Will and Kate in our midst we had royal protection officers swarming the place. 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." This is a breaking showbiz news story. Join The Mirror’s **WhatsApp Community ** or follow us on **Google News ** , **Flipboard ** , Apple News, **TikTok ** _ , ** ** **Snapchat ** , ** ** Instagram **, ** **Twitter ** , ** ** **Facebook ** , ** ** **YouTube ** and _** ** Threads - or visit The Mirror homepage.
