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Prince William's friend and Big Brother star left £91,000 after falling 100ft from a London rooftop bar

From the Newshound archive · first published 6 October 2026.

Ben Duncan died intestate after falling nearly 100ft from a London rooftop bar in October 2025, leaving a net estate of £91,683 administered by his mother.
Ben Duncan died intestate after falling nearly 100ft from a London rooftop bar in October 2025, leaving a net estate of £91,683 administered by his mother.
Ben Duncan pictured with Kate Middleton. He was a university friend of Prince William who died after plunging nearly 100ft from a London rooftop bar in October 2025.
Ben Duncan pictured with Kate Middleton. He was a university friend of Prince William who died after plunging nearly 100ft from a London rooftop bar in October 2025.

Ben Duncan, a university friend of Prince William who appeared on Big Brother, died intestate after plunging nearly 100ft from the rooftop bar at the five-star Trafalgar St James hotel on October 30 2025. His gross estate was valued at £218,450, though debts and expenses left a net figure of £91,683. The High Court granted letters of administration to his mother, Monica Duncan, of Frome in Somerset, in July this year.

Duncan, 45, fell from the six-storey Hilton-operated hotel on the edge of Trafalgar Square; his death was treated as unexpected but not suspicious.

Officers had responded to a report of a man on the roof before Duncan was found; paramedics were unable to save him.

Broadcaster Mike Hollingsworth, whom Duncan regarded as a 'second father', said he 'lived life like Peter Pan — the boy who never grew up'.

MoreThe SunPrince William’s Big Brother star pal left five-figure sum ‘after falling 100ft from rooftop bar to his death’Daily Mail NewsFriend of Prince William left £90,000 in his estate after plunging 100ft to his death from hotel rooftop bar
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