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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Steven White

Prince William's pal loses top role and will not play part in King Charles' coronation

A close friend of Prince William will no longer carry out his royal-related job in the wake of King Charles III's ascension to the throne.

The Marquess of Cholmondeley, whose real name is David Rocksavage, acted as the Lord Great Chamberlain and was required to walk backwards facing the monarch at the State Opening of Parliament this year.

But since Queen Elizabeth II died at the age of 96 on September 8, the duty has instead been handed to Rupert Carrington - known as the 7th Lord Carrington.

Tradition has dictated since 1912 that the ceremonial role changes to a different aristocratic family upon the death of the monarch and a new reign begins.

The important royal role includes having the right to dress the monarch on coronation day (Geoff Pugh/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Rupert, whose late father Peter Carington served as foreign secretary in Margaret Thatcher's cabinet, began his first duties on Monday as he greeted the King and Queen Consort Camilla at Westminster Hall.

King Charles made a historic yet emotional speech to both Houses of Parliament - the Lords and Commons - as he paid tribute to his "darling late mother".

The new Lord Great Chamberlain will also play a major part of the monarch's Coronation, an event that will probably happen next year.

Duties include having the right to dress the monarch on Coronation day as well as serving them water before and after the Coronation banquet.

The Lord Great Chamberlain (far right) must walk backwards while facing the monarch during the State Opening of Parliament (Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

The incumbent also wears a scarlet court uniform and bears a gold key and white stave as part of their insignia.

Friends of the ousted filmmaker and occasional actor, however, told the MailOnline : "David always knew he would not have the job for life.

"It was an honour to carry it out for as long as he did."

David. 62, lives close to Anmer Hall, the Prince and Princess of Wales' ten-bedroom country home in Sandringham, Norfolk, with his wife and former model Rose Hanbury.

The Marquess and Marchioness of Cholmondeley have been married since 2009 and have three children (David M. Benett/Getty Images)

Despite his friends reportedly believing he might never marry, the pair tied the knot in 2009 after a short engagement.

In the same year Rose, known as the Marchioness of Cholmondeley, gave birth to twin sons Alexander and Oliver and followed in 2016 with a daughter called Iris.

The mother-of-three once worked in parliament for Michael Gove when he was shadow education minister and at one point was signed to the same modelling agency as Kate Moss, Storm Models.

The couple were guests at Prince William's and Kate's wedding in 2011 and have a 24-year age gap between them, with Rose being 38.

The four have also been pictured publicly at events over the years, including summer parties and galas.

David and Rose are good friends with William and Kate and were guests at the latter's royal wedding in 2011 (PA Archive/PA Images)

Living only around two miles down the road from their friends' Anmer Hall property, which was once rented out to a kitchen timber boss, David and Rose enjoy their Grade I listed property called Houghton Hall.

The huge home, a prime example of neo-Palladium architecture, is surrounded by 1,000 acres of parkland and was commissioned in 1722 by Robert Walpole - generally regarded as Great Britain's first prime minister.

David inherited his aristocratic title in 1990 following the death of his father and is estimated to be worth around £122m, which also includes ownership of Cholmondeley Castle in Cheshire.

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