How Prince William enjoyed nights out at Boujis with party pals Guy Pelly and James Meade

He’s become a king-in-waiting taking over the serious job as heir to the throne and a father-of-three.

But recent photos of Prince William dancing at Koko nightclub in Camden will remind many people of his somewhat less dignified party days.

While recent memory shows him as the epitome of prim and proper, it’s certainly not always been the way.

After graduating university in his early twenties, the young royal was often seen stumbling out of west London nightclubs including Boujis, Mahiki and Bunga Bunga.

By his side was often the ‘royal jester’ Guy Pelly (known as ‘GP’) – who then owned a string of nightclubs in London – and James ‘Badger’ Meade, a friend from William’s Eton days.

Both have known the Prince since childhood, and to them he is ‘Willy’. 

The pair were both by his side on Friday night as they partied at the north London nightclub, although footage of them in a private balcony reveals they are now decidedly less debauched than 20 years ago, swapping 3am cab rides for somewhat reserved dad dancing and holding a beer. 

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Footage exclusively obtained by MailOnline shows the Prince of Wales, 41, dressed in a light blue shirt dancing from side to side while at the concert venue.

Both Guy, who is Prince Louis’ godfather,  and James, who is Princess Charlotte’s godfather,  are also close pals of Prince Harry, maintaining the relationship despite the feud between the brothers. Guy and his wife have even visited Harry and Meghan in California.

In fact Guy and James, alongside William’s best 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. 

It’s perhaps telling of her real opinion of them that Kate didn’t accompany William to the weddings of all three.

She is said to particularly distrust Guy. With three convictions for driving offences and several business failures, one of which cost the taxman almost £400,000, and an unfailing hesitation to capitalise on his links with William and brother Harry to publicise his many ventures, you can see why he’s not quite Kate’s cup of tea.

Last time the future King was spotted busting some old-school moves was in 2018,  inside the Farinet nightclub in Verbier during a lads skiing trip to Switzerland, he was once again alongside Guy, James and Thomas.

The trip was said to be organised by Guy – a final weekend of freedom before he welcomed his first child. 

Footage taken at the time by a member of the public shows William ‘raising the roof’ to the hit song ‘I Got 5 On It’ by American hip hop duo Luniz.

Jokingly known as the ‘court jester’ Guy is the son of Lady Carolyn Herbert, who was a close friend of Princess Diana.

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

In many of the pictures of the Prince of Wales in nightclubs over the years, Guy is by his side.

The Newcastle graduate, 41,  also organised the William’s stag do in 2011 – fittingly as he has previously owned many night clubs including Mahiki in Kensington as well as Public, Whisky Mist and Tonteria, all in west London.

His own wedding, to Holiday Inn heiress Elizabeth Wilson, was attended by both William and Harry, and said to be a ‘wild’ three-day affair in Memphis, Tennessee.

Kate didn’t attend, and the nuptials were also seen as the reason behind Harry’s split with Cressida Bonas, with the pair not seeing eye-to-eye over arrangements including plane fare and Harry’s ‘boys nights’. 

In 2014, Guy was banned from driving for a third time after being guilty of drink-driving in his £90,000 sports car.

His other antics include shimmying 40 feet up a marquee during a Prince’s Trust concert, stripped to his boxer shorts.

In 2006, he was questioned by police for trying to break into Westonbirt girls school where, he reportedly said, he was ‘looking for totty’. 

He was erroneously blamed by Palace officials for introducing the teenage Harry to drugs, and ostensibly cast out of the royal circle, he didn’t complain and stayed silent.

When it later emerged that he’d had nothing to do with Harry’s adolescent experimenting with cannabis, Pelly was welcomed back into the royal fold almost as a third brother.

Originally, Guy was William’s friend. In age, they are just six months apart and met in 2001 when both were junior members of the Beaufort Hunt.

Then, when William was on his gap year travels, for a time Guy became close to Harry — who at 16 was plunging into the most reckless period of his life.

Stowe-educated Pelly, whose sculptor mother Vanda is a member of the Tate & Lyle sugar dynasty, was at that time a student at the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester, with a reputation for liking a good time.

Stories began to circulate about Harry being involved with under-age drinking, lock-ins at local pubs where cannabis was sometimes smoked and cocaine being sold in £30 wraps.

In fact Harry’s entry into this seedy world was stopped before he could get in too deep. An anxious Prince Charles arranged for his younger son to visit a detox clinic in South London to see for himself the consequences of drug dependency.

Meanwhile James Meade, who Harry claimed was the other ‘real’ best man at Prince William’s wedding, went to Eton with the older royal.

He 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.

Harry’s infamous Nazi uniform gaffe happened at a ‘Colonials and Natives’ themed bash which was held in a marquee at the Meade house in honour of James’s birthday.

Guy was by Harry’s side in many of the pictures – and bizarrely – dressed as the Queen. 

James is also close with the Princess of Wales, whom he even accompanied to the Badminton Horse Trials after her brief split from William in May 2007.

Known to his friends as ‘Meadey’ or ‘Badger’  he once took part in a charity boxing match at Boodles Boxing Ball in 2008 – watched by William and Kate, under the nickname ‘the Badger’.

At the Prince’s request, James accompanied Kate to the Badminton Horse Trials in 2007 during her split from William, a sign of the great trust he places in his friend. He also gave a speech at their wedding. 

He 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.

Meade reportedly used to take the Prince drinking at the Cuckoo Club in Piccadilly in their youth, where he reportedly always encouraged the royal heir to hit the dance floor.