The Prince of Wales is often surrounded by other devoted members of his family - be it his wife Kate, father Charles, or one of the other trusted royals within The Firm.

But this week, fans got to see a more relaxed, laid-back side to William, as he gleefully sang Sweet Caroline and celebrated his beloved Aston Villa's Europa League victory alongside a cohort of lifelong friends.

This band of brothers - many of whom he has known since childhood - form the heir's less public, but possibly equally as important, 'inner circle'.

While we're less likely to see William's old pals - including Ben 'Dawesey' Dawes, Thomas van Straubenzee, 43, and Edward van Cutsem, 53, all of whom celebrated at Tupras Stadium in Istanbul - join him at public engagements, they are very much there behind the scenes.

The Prince himself has spoken of the importance of having friendships.

In 2022, while chatting to footballers Harry Kane and Declan Rice about mental health, William admitted how much those connections have helped him during tough times.

'Some of the greatest friendships are born from playing games and being pushed together through adversities,' he shared.

'And I definitely got loads of friends whose relationship started off in a team, fighting for each other and wanting to do the best for each other and the team, so it's really important that we have those moments, those people in life, that give us that support.

'Because there is going to be plenty of times when it's not okay and in those moments you can say listen, let's have a beer, let's sit down and chat or let's have a cup of tea and have a natter about it because I've got something on my chest, or I am bothered by this or maybe things didn't quite go as you hoped, and having those people in life is really important.'

Read on to see who the future King's trusted squad - much of which has been with him since boyhood - is... 

THOMAS VAN STRAUBENZEE

Thomas van Straubenzee, 43, is often known as William's 'best friend', and has known the Prince as well as his brother, Harry, since they were little and attended Ludgrove School together.

The van Straubenzees have often been described as being like a second family to Charles's sons, and Claire and Alex - the boys' parents - provided a retreat for the royal brothers during the 'war of the Waleses' (the King and Diana's very public, and painful divorce). 

Their families have remained closely entwined since, from high society events to charity partnerships, to godparent duties and being ushers at each others' weddings.

Thomas, whose parents are Captain Alexander van Straubenzee and Claire Fenwick, even accompanied William to New Zealand on his gap year. 

But after Harry made his move to California six years ago, and laid bare his grievances with the family in a tell-all memoir, Spare; his connections with old friends have suffered alongside the well-documented rift with his family.

In the wake of Megxit, sources said William was leaning on his old pal Thomas for support while Harry turned to another van Straubenzee brother, Charlie.

Currently the global head of the private office of estate agency Knight Frank, Thomas is also godfather to the Wales's daughter, Princess Charlotte.

Before his 2020 marriage to second wife Lucy Lanigan-O'Keeffe, who was Princess Charlotte's former teacher from St Thomas's Battersea, he had a reputation for enjoying a night out.

Thomas and his wife, who were introduced by the Prince and Princess of Wales, share two young children, Mary and Albert.

Meanwhile, Harry was particularly close to Thomas's late brother Henry who became the royal's best friend after they met at their prep school, Ludgrove Prep in Berkshire.

'Skinny, with no muscles, and hair that stood up in permanent surrender, Henners was all heart,' he wrote affectionately of 'Henners'. 'Whenever he smiled, people melted.' 

The Duke said in his book that Henry was the only boy who asked him about his mother Princess Diana after she died in 1997. Tragically, he himself passed away in a car crash at the age of 18. 

In Spare, Harry described how the news of Henry's death had terrible echoes of the moment that his father, then Prince Charles, told him that his mother had died. He noted how, 'just like Mummy', Henry was not wearing a seatbelt. 

In December 2022, despite being estranged, the princes signed a joint letter to mark the 20th anniversary of Henry's death.

Thomas's brother Charlie appears to still be close to Harry, and both himself and Thomas were ushers at the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's wedding in 2018, where Charlie gave a speech at the reception.

Harry also is godfather to Charlie's four-year-old daughter Clover and, in turn, Charlie is godfather to Prince Archie, five. The pair were also seen cycling around the Californian neighbourhood in May 2022.

However, William's best friend Thomas and the Duke were close to one another in the 2010s, and when Thomas was mugged in Stockwell, south London in 2012 - it was Harry he was on the phone to when his Nokia phone was snatched.

In 2015, he accompanied Harry and his brother Charlie to a rugby match. 

However, there seem to be no public joint appearances of the duo since - while Thomas has been seen by William's side aplenty.

THE VAN CUTSEM BROTHERS: EDWARD, WILLIAM AND HUGH 

On Wednesday night, Edward van Cutsem, 53, was among the friends accompanying the Prince as he laughed, cried and cheered on at Aston Villa's victory.

And in one particularly playful moment, Edward, alongside his son, Jake, was seen chatting and joking around with the future king before patting him on the head. 

The sense of familiarity is no surprise: Durham university graduate and former banker Edward is a godson of King Charles III and was a page boy at his wedding to Lady Diana.

And while he is a longtime friend of the Waleses, the whole van Cutsem clan is known to be close to the royals.  

William van Cutsem, known as 'VC' to friends, is Prince George's godfather. 

As a chartered surveyor, he specialises in logistics, renewable businesses and building storage facilities across Britain.

William inherited the 130,000-acre Duchy Estate when his father, King Charles, acceded the throne in September 2022. In 2024, in the Duchy's annual report, van Cutsem was said to have a 'keen interest in regenerative farming practices within the family's home and farming businesses'. 

The two men also own country homes 20 miles apart in Norfolk.

Van Cutsem's father Hugh, a friend of King Charles, was a banker and a passionate conservationist. He died in 2013.

Prince William is a regular visitor to van Cutsem's Hilborough House estate in Norfolk.

It has won awards for its conservation work and is regarded as one of the leading wild-bird shoots.

In 2013, van Cutsem married Rosie Ruck Keene, and William served as an usher.

Van Cutsem's niece, Grace, was affectionately dubbed the 'grumpy bridesmaid' after she covered her ears on the Buckingham Palace balcony at the 2011 wedding of the Prince William and Kate.

Another niece, Florence, was a bridesmaid at Prince Harry's wedding.

Meanwhile, Harry himself confirmed in his memoir Spare that he'd experienced a rift with some members of the van Cutsem family who didn't approve of his tell-all Oprah interview.

'Several close mates and beloved figures in my life, including one of Hugh and Emilie's sons, Emilie herself, and even Tiggy, had chastised me for Oprah,' the Duke had penned. 'How could you reveal such things? About your family?' 

The rift appears to have started in 2020, when one of the van Cutsem brothers Hugh Ralph's wife Rose Astor - who he married in 2005 - offended Harry and Meghan by seemingly mocking their announcement that they intend to 'step back' as senior members of the Royal Family in 2020. 

'I am standing back as a senior member of my tax return,' Rose wrote on social media, 'because I'd rather drink coffee, see my friends, love my family and do yoga.' 

She later declined to discuss her comments, explaining: 'I'm so sorry, I can't say anything. I'm sure you understand. I'm going to be in so much trouble.' 

Hugh, 52, is particularly close to Prince William, with the royal being a senior usher at Hugh and Rose's wedding in 2005. 

BEN 'DAWESEY' DAWES

Sitting to his right, on the end of the row during the Aston Villa match this week, was Ben Dawes - better known as 'Dawesey'.

An old friend of William's, Dawes co-founded a wine businesses with his wife, Pip, and recently said he is trying to master padel 'to give myself something to think about'.

It is not known exactly when the pair first connected, but they are understood to have been pals for a long time. 

HUGH GROSVENOR, THE DUKE OF WESTMINSTER 

The Duke, one of the UK's biggest landowners, is a close friend of both the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex, and godfather to Prince George and also to Prince Archie.

But Harry's transatlantic dash has seen him miss multiple friendship milestones, ranging from a low-key football match to his perhaps more painful absence from Hugh's 2024 wedding to Olivia Henson.

The billionaire aristocrat was reportedly keen to invite the Sussexes but mutually agreed with Harry that it would be better if they didn't attend so the occasion wouldn't be overshadowed by royal tensions.

It's a far cry from Hugh's once-close relationship with the Montecito-based father-of-two, who was reportedly earmarked as Hugh's best man at one point prior to his exclusion from the society wedding.

Harry agreed to stay away from Hugh's wedding for fear of his feud with his brother overshadowing the event, it was claimed.

A phone call from Hugh Grosvenor, the 7th Duke of Westminster, saw the Duke of Sussex invited to his nuptials with Olivia at Chester Cathedral in June 2024.

However, it was later claimed that Harry reached a 'civilised understanding' with Hugh to bow out of attending, The Times reported.

The change made the Prince of Wales free to be an usher for Hugh, who has been friends with the pair since childhood, avoiding the potentially awkward situation of having to show Harry to his seat during the ceremony.

'Apparently he [Harry] was put out by the request when he thought it should have been him.'

JAMES MEADE

As Prince William partied in Camden's Koko nightclub in 2023, by his side was James 'Badger' Meade, a friend from Eton.

James is the son of Olympic gold medallist equestrian Richard Meade, who dated Princess Anne before she transferred her attentions to his teammate, Captain Mark Phillips.

Prince Harry's infamous Nazi uniform gaffe happened at a 'Colonials and Natives' themed bash, held in a marquee at the Meade house in honour of James's birthday.

He has known William since childhood, and to him, he is 'Willy'.

James is also friends with Prince Harry. He has maintained the relationship despite the feud between the brothers. 

In fact, Guy and James, alongside William's other good friend, Thomas Van Straubenzee, have been described as a 'trio of tearaway toffs' who have lead the elder royal astray.

While they are prized by the prince for their loyalty, that doesn't mean they don't also indulge in raucous behaviour, which has previously been said to irk the Princess of Wales.

William and Kate watched James take part in a charity boxing match at Boodles Boxing Ball in London in 2008. He fought under the nickname 'the Badger'.

At the Prince's request, James accompanied Kate to the Badminton Horse Trials in 2007, during her brief split from William.

James and his wife Lady Laura Marsham, daughter of the 8th Earl of Romney, are both godparents to Princess Charlotte.

The couple have been married since 2013, when William was an usher at their wedding.

In 2011, James delivered a joint best man's speech with Thomas van Straubenzee at William and Kate's nuptials. 

OLIVER BAKER

Oliver Baker and his wife Mel (nee Nicholson) were a St Andrews couple, just like William and Kate.

After university and before marriage, Oliver's wife shared the Middleton family flat in Chelsea with Kate.

Described as 'a real rugger bugger' who played the sport with William at University, his discretion earned him the soubriquet 'Zipper Lips Baker'.

Educated at King's Canterbury in Kent, Baker is now a grand-sounding strategic sourcing manager for Barclays Capital.

A colleague once said he had 'never, ever mentioned his friendship with William and Kate'.

Baker is one of Prince George's godparents. 

GUY PELLY 

'Court jester' Guy Pelly shares an unshakeable bond with Prince William and his brother, Prince Harry.

When Harry was photographed wearing a Nazi uniform to a private fancy dress party, Pelly was at his side dressed as Queen Elizabeth, whom he apparently mimicked to great effect.

He was thrown out of the royal fold after being erroneously blamed by Palace officials for introducing Harry to drugs.

However, when it later emerged that he had nothing to do with Harry's adolescent experimenting with cannabis, Pelly was welcomed back.

He organised William's stag night and is known for such antics as shimmying 40 feet up a marquee during a Prince's Trust concert while stripped to his boxer shorts. 

William and Guy's friendship dates back to 2001, when they met during a fox hunt. 

Such is the closeness of the family that Prince William skipped the late Queen's Christmas lunch to support Pelly at his father's memorial service, following his sudden death in 2015.

Nightclub owner Pelly is famously tight-lipped about his friendship with the royals, despite being a godfather to Prince Louis.

William and Harry attended his wedding to Elizabeth Wilson in 2014. 

He has remained close to both princes, and even visited Harry and Meghan in California with his wife and their daughter, Willow, in 2020.

HARRY AUBREY-FLETCHER 

Harry Aubrey-Fletcher is one of William's closest friends, having attended Ludgrove School and Eton with him.

The Prince and Princess of Wales attended Harry Aubrey-Fletcher's wedding to Louise Stourton in January 2011, just four months before the couple's own nuptials. 

William served as an usher at the ceremony, held at Aldborough Parish Church in Boroughbridge, West Yorkshire.

Harry Aubrey-Fletcher is the youngest son of Sir Henry, 8th Baronet and Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire.

His similarly blue-blooded wife, Louise, is the eldest daughter of Edward Stourton, the 24th Baron Stourton, 28th Baron Segrave, 27th Baron Mowbray.

The couple attended Prince Louis' christening in 2018, shortly after Prince Harry's wedding to Meghan.

Aubrey-Fletcher made headlines in 2013 for playfully tugging on Prince William's ear during that year's Cheltenham Festival.

The prank was noticeably enjoyed by Kate, who was seen smiling in the background.