Ian Farquhar, a long-time friend of King Charles, has died at the monarch’s Highgrove estate aged 78.

The famous hunter was also the Queen Mother’s equerry and even served in the Queen’s Own Hussars, a cavalry regiment of the British Army.

Mr Farquhar was also close to Queen Camilla and lived on the king’s estate in a rented farmhouse for many years. It is said he died there on Wednesday morning.

Sergeant Andrew Parker Bowles, Camilla’s first husband and friend, told the Mail’s Richard Eden that the situation was “very sad” and that he had been in poor health in recent months.

He described his friend as “wild as a hawk in his youth, but always a lot of fun.” Parker Bowles added that ‘The Captain’, as Farquhar was known, ‘will be judged by history as one of the great Master of Hounds’.

One source said he often trekked through the fields to meet the monarch for dinner, but left his car “when it got hopelessly stuck” and instead waited for it to be rescued by tractors.

Ian married Pammie-Jane Chafer after leaving the army and the couple had three daughters.

Farquhar and Charles became further intertwined when Prince William briefly dated Rose Farquhar in 2000 after completing his A-levels at Eton.

The couple met at the Beaufort Polo Club in Gloucestershire and she was described at the time as the Prince of Wales’s ‘first love’.

William and Rose went on romantic picnics together in the Gloucestershire countryside before he met Kate at St Andrews University in Scotland.

They are still friends to this day, as the prince attended her wedding to George Gemmell in 2022.

Farquhar and Pammie-Jane separated and as time went on, they managed to rekindle their friendship, but they continued to live separately.

Mr Farquhar was also Master of the Beaufort Yacht for 34 years. It is the oldest and largest fox hunt in the West Country.

Fox hunting was made illegal in 2004, but the Hunting Act allows groups to hunt using animal scent.

In an Instagram post, the page shared a video with multiple images of Ian throughout his life and wrote: ‘It is with broken hearts that we send our love and condolences to the family and friends of our very own Captain Ian Farquhar, who guided us so brilliantly . For 34 years and passed away peacefully this week.

‘Captain’, as he was known to many, was loved and cherished by the entire yachting community, as someone who was supportive, friendly and always present with excellent forward-thinking advice to anyone who asked him for it.

‘He had a wicked sense of humor and anyone who was fortunate enough to be in his company and listen to stories of his extremely varied and adventurous life, both in the military and hunting world, will hold those memories forever.’

The post said Mr Farquhar’s passions were his ‘dogs, his family and dogs’ and that he was a ‘true countryman and gentleman’.

News of his friend’s death comes as King Charles continues treatment for his cancer while fulfilling royal duties.

He met the High Commissioner of Jamaica, Alexander Williams, who was accompanied by his wife Carol Watson-Williams at Buckingham Palace yesterday.

The king has postponed all public engagements as he continues his treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer, but has been conducting audiences and office duties behind the palace walls.

High commissioners and ambassadors in London have a customary audience with the monarch shortly after taking up their roles.

Charles’ meeting came after he held a video call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The king previously met with the Ambassador of Algeria, Nourredine Yazid, and Samba Mamadou, Ambassador of Mauritania.

The king was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer earlier this year after hospital treatment for an enlarged prostate, which was unrelated to him.

He was treated at the same hospital as the Princess of Wales, who underwent abdominal surgery for an unknown condition in January.

When you buy as many gifts for people as the King certainly has to, chances are you can count on similar (or even the same) gifts for more than one person.

So it’s perhaps no surprise that Charles has apparently gifted some of his loved ones with a Highgrove Heritage scarf worth £115, available thanks to a partnership between the King’s Gloucestershire estate, The Prince’s Foundation and Johnstons of Elgin.

In a sweet display, several members of the royal family were pictured wearing the navy blue and beige accessory as they attended the annual Christmas Day church service at Sandringham.

Princess Anne, Lady Louise Windsor, the Earl of Snowdon and Samuel Chatto, Princess Margaret’s grandson, all proudly wore the scarf, made from 100 percent ultra-fine RWS (Responsible Wool Standard) merino wool from Australia.

Ten percent of retail sales of the scarf will be donated to The Princes Foundation by Johnstons of Elgin, according to the Highgrove Gardens website.

The scarf was launched in early October, in time for the 11th anniversary of The Campaign for Wool and to coincide with London Craft Week, where it made its debut.

The design features the Prince of Wales check woven over an enlarged Shepherd check.

Princess Anne made her scarf a statement piece to her ensemble and wore it over a white coat, which she paired with a matching beige hat.

Her husband Timothy Laurence also wore the garment while attending the service at St. Mary Magdalene Church.

Lady Louise, the daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, paired her scarf with a navy blue coat and a matching hat.

Samuel, meanwhile, looked dapper in his navy blue trousers and black jacket, which had the accessory tucked into it.

The royal festivities usually start when everyone arrives on Christmas Eve. The family opens presents, some of which are gag presents – one of the royal family’s traditions.

The family then attends services at St. Mary Magdalene Church on Christmas morning. Once they get home, a Christmas lunch is served, followed by games in the afternoon.

Last Christmas the royals experienced their biggest change in decades as they celebrated their first festive period without Queen Elizabeth II, who had died just a few months earlier.

King Charles was seen waving to the crowds gathered outside Norfolk Church to wish him and his family well this Christmas as he walked alongside Queen Camilla.

The Princess of Wales smiled broadly as she walked to the church wearing an elegant blue coat and matching hat, holding her daughter Princess Charlotte’s hand.

Charlotte’s younger brother, Prince Louis, joined the rest of his family and held Mia Tindall’s hand as they prepared to attend the service.

On his other side, Prince William also held his son’s hand, while Prince George, dressed in a navy blue suit, walked next to his sister.

The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh joined the rest of the royal family on their way to church.

It could all have been so different. Maybe!

Just a few months after her marriage to Charles, Princess Diana put her foot down. She would NOT continue to live at Highgrove House – she wanted their family home to be a place the couple had chosen together.

And certainly NOT in Royal Gloucestershire. The further away, the better actually.

Why? Her reasons were almost too many to count: Highgrove, the home of former minister Maurice Macmillan, had been suggested to Charles by Camilla as the perfect country house to get away from it all.

Camilla had helped him, while he was romancing Diana, to decorate the place.

And conveniently enough, it was a discreet 30-minute drive from her home Bolehyde Manor in Wiltshire. It was her house, not Diana’s.

According to her family, the princess wanted to take Charles away from his one true love – and she tried to distance him from the temptation.

Through her sister Lady Sarah McCorquodale, who lived nearby, she heard that Belton House in Lincolnshire – the palatial former home of the 6th Lord Brownlow – was vacant and would be put up for sale.

Brownlow had close royal ties: he was a Lord-in-Waiting for King Edward VIII and was the man who led the Duchess of Windsor out of Britain when Edward abdicated.

His house, Belton, had been in the family since the 17th century. King William III had slept there.

Just the right place for Diana to raise her children – as she had become accustomed to the 15,000 acres surrounding her family home Althorp, rather than the meager 348 acres that Charles had around Highgrove.

Belton covered almost 5,000 acres and the house was filled with Old Masters, exquisite silverware, fine antique furniture and countless rooms.

The library, with 6,000 books, overlooked extensive formal gardens. Ideal!

Highgrove was no problem – and Diana wanted to get away anyway.

She encouraged Charles to view the site, and in early 1982 the couple drove there to view the mansion.

Along the way she argued that Belton was a comfortable drive from the royal estate at Sandringham, very close to her sister Sarah, and far more imposing than the frumpy little Highgrove with just nine bedrooms.

So determined was she that her children would grow up in Belton that, according to Lord Brownlow’s cousin Peter Hoos, the couple visited the house three times.

But Charles could not be convinced and eventually put his foot down to stay in Highgrove.

There Camilla’s shadow hung over the house – as far as Diana was concerned – and Highgrove proved an unhappy home indeed for the royal couple.

Who knows, if Diana could have put just a few hundred miles between her husband and his mistress, she might (but only maybe) have been able to hold him.

King Charles III started his 75th birthday with a tea party in Highgrove Gardens.

His Majesty, 74, was greeted at an early gathering ahead of his milestone tomorrow, with applause from guests and a rendition of ‘Hallelujah’ playing in the background as he attended the event at his home in Gloucestershire.

The early birthday party, hosted by The Prince’s Foundation, was attended by a host of guests including Jay Blades from The Repair Shop – who entered the room behind Charles – and celebrity chef Raymond Blanc.

Charles rolled his eyes playfully as guests sang Happy Birthday to him before cutting his white and gold cake.

Monday’s early birthday party comes before the King’s main event tomorrow, which will take place at Clarence House.

Guests at today’s event also included community stalwarts nominated by friends and family who are also turning 75 this year, as well as representatives from organizations marking the same milestone, from the NHS to members of the Windrush generation.

A local choir sang Happy Birthday to the head of state at the end of the cream tea party, and after debating which of the three layers of the Victoria sponge to cut, Charles chose the bottom one.

He was cheered and cheered after cutting off a slice and holding the knife up in celebration as he looked at the sweet treat.

Blades, an ambassador for the King’s Foundation, paid tribute to Charles, saying: ‘He’s the new King but he’s also about community, he’s always talked about community, always thought ahead about what we do about the environment , but also about the community. members.

“So to have this group of people here, it’s just incredible; that’s part of him, that’s what he does.’

The king greeted his guests and even took selfies at the event, which featured a variety of afternoon teas.

Among the guests in attendance was Jessie Stephens, sitter of the Windrush: Portraits of a Pioneering Generation.

The afternoon birthday gathering also included a performance by the Rock Choir and a cake designed by Jan Blackmore of Buttercup Pantry.

The main celebration to mark this important milestone will take place on Tuesday at Clarence House in London.

Charles’ meeting tomorrow coincides with the announcement of an anti-waste initiative that reflects his growing concern about food poverty in Britain.

Charles will unveil the Coronation Food Project to mark his big day on November 14, after making an undisclosed substantial private donation to start the venture.

Eight food hubs will be launched across the country, with the first four opening in London, Liverpool, Glasgow and Northern Ireland.

Others will follow in Cardiff, Leeds, Birmingham and Milton Keynes. Dame Martina Milburn will oversee the project after ending her term as CEO of The Prince’s Trust, the charity Charles set up to help young people.

The king is focusing on this issue as Britain throws away more food than any other European country.