Disappointment as Prince Harry misses 'best man's' big day
Disappointment as Prince Harry misses ‘best man’s’ big day: Sussexes do not attend wedding of duke’s polo chum Jack Mann who featured in ‘band of brothers’ Royal wedding photograph… as couple seen holding hands more than 5,000 miles away in California
- Prince Harry did not attend the wedding of ‘best man’ and polo chum Jack Mann
The Duke of Sussex stood shoulder to shoulder with Jack Mann and his other closest confederates in the ‘band of brothers’ photograph at Windsor Castle on the night of the royal wedding.
And, after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s nuptials, it was suggested that Mann was not just one of the ushers but was, in fact, his ‘real’ best man, rather than Prince William.
So there was disappointment at the weekend among royal fans that Harry and Meghan were not present at Mann’s own big day.
Mann, 40, exchanged vows with osteopath Isabella Clark at St Peter’s church in Stutton where guests included Harry’s friend Thomas van Straubenzee, godfather of Princess Charlotte.
Van Straubenzee was accompanied by his wife, Lucy, an assistant head at Charlotte and Prince George’s former school, Thomas’s.
Mann, 40, exchanged vows with osteopath Isabella Clark at St Peter’s church in Stutton
Guests included Harry’s friend Thomas van Straubenzee, godfather of Princess Charlotte
Harry and Meghan were spotted holding hands, smiling and laughing as they left an office building in Santa Barbara, California on Friday
The Duke of Sussex stood shoulder to shoulder with Jack Mann and his other closest confederates in the ‘band of brothers’ photograph at Windsor Castle on the night of the royal wedding
Who is Jack Mann?
Prince Harry befriended Jack Mann at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
He is the son of Simon Mann, a SAS officer turned mercenary, who was jailed for five years for allegedly tried to overthrow the government in Equatorial Guinea in 2004.
Harry’s friend served with the British Arm for tours of Iraq and Afghanistan.
After leaving the army he worked in Libya as a country manager for a UK security company called Aegis Defence Services.
He went to create his own private security company in 2015 called Alma Risk.
It’s not clear how close Harry remains to Mann, whom he met at Sandhurst where both were commissioned into the Blues and Royals.
The Duke admits in his memoirs, Spare, that he fell out with some of his old pals after he attacked the Royal Family on television.
Mann has been in the headlines himself recently. He is co-founder of private security company Alma Risk and had a business trip to Libya interrupted last year.
‘We did not continue the journey from Malta on the advice of Maltese immigration to rectify our paperwork,’ Mann subsequently explained to the Daily Mail.
‘The issue was resolved within five days,’ he added, explaining that Alma Risk was providing medical training for Libyan clients.
The exploits of his father — Old Etonian adventurer and former SAS officer Simon Mann — mean that the family name can sometimes generate unfortunate attention. Mann senior was a participant in the ‘Wonga coup’ of 2004.
Intended to remove Teodoro Obiang, president of Equatorial Guinea, from power, it ended in Simon’s imprisonment and Obiang threatening to eat his testicles.
The exploits of his father — Old Etonian adventurer and former SAS officer Simon Mann(pictured) — mean that the family name can sometimes generate unfortunate attention. Mann senior was a participant in the ‘Wonga coup’ of 2004.
Prince Harry played polo with Jack Mann when the pair were younger
The couple were accompanied by an unidentified man presumed to be a member of their security detail
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were all smiles during their first public outing since their eviction from Frogmore Cottage. The couple are pictured on Friday in Santa Barbara, California
Mann Snr survived a total of five years’ captivity and returned home intact.
He was on hand to toast the happy couple but declines to discuss the celebrations, telling me: ‘I’m in ‘no comment’ mode.’
The wedding was held near the bride’s family seat.
The daughter of property hot shot Stephen Clark, her home is a magnificent, crenelated, 17th-century pile, with sweeping lawns down to a river.
Source: Read Full Article