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A British reality star and socialite, who was also a classmate of Prince William and Kate Middleton during their college days, died on Thursday after a fall from a rooftop, London police confirmed to Fox News Digital on Tuesday.
“Officers responded to concerns for a man on the roof of a building in Cockspur Street, Westminster at 23:02hrs on Thursday, 30 October,” a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police told Fox News Digital.
The spokesperson continued, “The man sadly fell from height. Despite the best efforts from the London Ambulance Service, he was sadly pronounced dead at the scene. His death is being as unexpected but non-suspicious.”
He reportedly fell from the posh Trafalgar St. James Hotel. The fall is about 100 feet, according to People magazine.
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A British reality star and socialite, who was also friends with Prince William and Kate Middleton during their college days, died on Thursday after a fall from a rooftop, London police confirmed to Fox News Digital on Tuesday. ( Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images; Justin Goff Photos/Getty Images)
Duncan, 45, who appeared on reality shows like Britain’s “Big Brother,” attended St. Andrews University in Scotland at the same time William and Middleton were there and began dating.
He was an acquaintance of the couple while they were at St. Andrews, and was one of the first people to know they were an item, according to the Daily Mail, who was first to report the story.
He was also at the school’s infamous student fashion show during which Middleton reportedly caught William’s eye when she walked the runway in a sheer dress.
Prince William and Kate Middleton knew Duncan from their college days. (Michael Dunlea/AFP via Getty Images)
Kate Middleton at her college graduation in 2005. (Michael Dunlea/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
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“It was the end of their first year,” Duncan previously told the Daily Mail of the fashion show. “I was there, and in person there were a lot of attractive girls. She was in a very daring dress, in a sheer stocking-like dress. He was sitting front row and his eyes were like stalks.”
He added, “She brushed by him on the way to the catwalk and things were never the same again again — the whole history of the monarchy had been altered.”
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Dunan amid his run on the UK’s “Big Brother” in 2010. (Eamonn McCormack/Getty Images)
British TV personality Lizzie Cundy mourned Duncan on social media.
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The Trafalgar St James Hotel in London. (Getty)
“So shocked and heartbroken to hear my friend Ben Duncan has passed away,” she wrote on X on Monday. “A beautiful soul with a large fun character. We laughed so much about the silly things in life. God bless you dear Ben. You are a one off . Thoughts and prayers with all his family.”
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Broadcaster Mike Hollingsworth wrote on Facebook: “My dear, dear friend Benjamin (Ben) Duncan has left us. He lived life as a Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up. He will be sorely missed by his many, many friends who grew to love his charm, his wit, his infectious laugh and his innate sense of style. The world is a poorer place for his passing…RIP Benji.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to a rep for Buckingham Palace for comment.