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Friend of Prince William left £90,000 in his estate after plunging 100ft to his death from hotel rooftop bar

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Cite

Brady, J. (2026, October 6). Friend of Prince William left £90,000 in his estate after plunging 100ft to his death from hotel rooftop bar. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16187517/ben-duncan-friend-prince-william-will.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Daily Mail · collected 2026-10-06 · by Jon Brady

Quick Summary

Ben Duncan, a friend of Prince William from university days and former Big Brother contestant, died after falling 100 feet from the rooftop bar of a London hotel in October 2025. Without a will, his estate valued at £90,000 was left to his mother Monica Duncan by court order. The article focuses on the details of Duncan's financial and personal legacy, including tributes from friends like broadcaster Mike Hollingsworth who described him as having "infectious laugh" and "innate sense of style."
Written by AI on 2026-10-06, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Big Brother star Ben Duncan, aged 45 and a friend of Prince William from university days, died after falling nearly 100 feet from the rooftop bar of the Hilton-operated Trafalgar St James hotel in central London on October 30, 2025. The incident was initially reported as a 'man on the roof' call to police, who pronounced him dead at the scene despite emergency services' efforts. Duncan's estate was valued at £91,683 after covering debts and expenses, leaving it to his mother Monica Duncan of Frome in Somerset following a High Court ruling granting her letters of administration in July 2025.

Written for “Prince Williams Friend Death Mystery” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Prince Williams Friend Death Mystery
Entertainment · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
22
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
1 of 22 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
69/100
Daily Mail's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-06 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Daily Mail · 8973 article(s) · 22 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 22 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Jon Brady
26 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Bicycles, cars, buses and taxis were banned from half a mile of Britain's most famous shopping street on October 26, with plans to install benches and trees as part of a revitalisation project that will cost £150million.
🔮 Football fan Stephen Crean bravely offered assurance to fellow travellers on a train as Anthony Williams, 33, allegedly launched what prosecutors called a 'rampage' onboard the LNER service from Doncaster to London on November 1 last year.
🔮 Discount chain Poundland is reportedly set to enter administration after its owners, who bought the firm for £1, rejected a rescue deal.
🔮 From April, vape shops will no longer be eligible for the 5p discounted rate offered to retail, hospitality or leisure businesses, nor can they claim SBRR.
🔮 But suppliers are concerned that the Be Ready campaign could encourage the kind of hoarding seen during Covid as shelves run bare and online retailers run out of stock.
🔮 Criminologists have warned that the show – which has produced three spin-offs – could be providing a 'how-to script' for copycat killers and would-be murderers.
🔮 The website for the poppy also features a video carrying the slogan 'from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free', which has been interpreted by Jewish organisations as a call for the destruction of Israel.
🔮 The 45-year-old, who had been a friend of Prince William at university, died without making a will, according to documents reviewed by the Daily Mail. The High Court granted letters of administration to his mother Monica Duncan, of Frome in Somerset, in July this year.
🔮 Lord Archer had been entertaining fans at the Leicester Square Theatre in central London on Sunday as he promoted what he had said would be his final book, Adam and Eve, alongside friend Gyles Brandreth.
Also by Jon Brady
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 26 articles by Jon Brady →

Topics

Frome Hilton London The High Court the Daily Mail

Subjects

Duncan PERSON · 6× Ben Duncan PERSON · 2× Hilton PERSON · 2× London GPE · 2× Mike Hollingsworth PERSON · 2× Prince William PERSON · 2× the Daily Mail ORG · 2× Frome GPE · 1× Monica Duncan PERSON · 1× The High Court ORG · 1×

Narrative

Police had been called to reports of a 'man on the roof' of the Hilton, where rooms can cost up to £1,000 a night, shortly before he was found. The Metropolitan Police said at the time: 'Despite the best efforts from the London Ambulance service, he was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.' Ben Duncan pictured with Davina McCall after being evicted from the Big Brother house in 2010 Duncan died after falling from the roof of the six-storey Hilton-operated Trafalgar St James hotel in central London His close friend, the broadcaster Mike Hollingsworth, said he would be 'sorely missed' (pictured together in 2015) His death was treated as 'unexpected, but not suspicious'.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-06
🔮 The 45-year-old, who had been a friend of Prince William at university, died without making a will, according to documents reviewed by the Daily Mail. The High Court granted letters of administration to his mother Monica Duncan, of Frome in Somerset, in July this year.

Claims (22 extracted, 1 hedged)

Big Brother star Ben Duncan left £90,000 in his estate after he died falling 100ft over the balcony of a rooftop bar. asserted
he → leave → bar
The 45-year-old, who had been a friend of Prince William at university, died without making a will, according to documents reviewed by the Daily Mail. The High Court granted letters of administration to his mother Monica Duncan, of Frome in Somerset, in July this year. uncertain
Court → die → July
It means she takes control of his estate. asserted
she → mean → estate
Papers show the gross value of Mr Duncan's assets was £218,450 – reduced to £91,683 following deductions to repay debts and cover expenses. asserted
value → show → expenses
Mr Duncan fell almost 100ft from the rooftop bar of the five-star, six-storey Trafalgar St James hotel, which sits on the edge of Trafalgar Square, on October 30 2025. asserted
which → fall → October
At the time of his death, he had been living in a ground floor flat in Pimlico, central London, just a few minutes' walk from the Houses of Parliament. asserted
he → live → Parliament
Police had been called to reports of a 'man on the roof' of the Hilton, where rooms can cost up to £1,000 a night, shortly before he was found. The Metropolitan Police said at the time: 'Despite the best efforts from the London Ambulance service, he was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.' Ben Duncan pictured with Davina McCall after being evicted from the Big Brother house in 2010 Duncan died after falling from the roof of the six-storey Hilton-operated Trafalgar St James hotel in central London His close friend, the broadcaster Mike Hollingsworth, said he would be 'sorely missed' (pictured together in 2015) His death was treated as 'unexpected, but not suspicious'. asserted
death → call → 2015
An outpouring of tributes followed: broadcaster Mike Hollingsworth, whom Mr Duncan had regarded as a 'second father', said he 'lived life like Peter Pan - the boy who never grew up'. asserted
who → follow → Pan
He wrote on Facebook at the time: '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. asserted
who → write → style
TV presenter Josie Gibson, who appeared alongside him on Big Brother and ultimately won the series, said he was 'one of the most unique, hilariously funny, dry-witted guys I know'. asserted
I → appear → guys
Mr Duncan rose to fame after he entered the 11th series of the reality show in 2010 – the last on Channel 4 before the rights were purchased by Channel 5. asserted
rights → rise → Channel
His posh personality and sarcasm led to clashes with housemates and nominations for eviction every week. asserted
personality → lead → eviction
He told Digital Spy of his time in the house: 'I did make comments in there, but I don't think I was that b****y. asserted
I → tell → comments
We are under pressure in there and you do become snappy. asserted
you → become → pressure
'My dad has a very pithy wit. asserted
dad → have → wit
I've been brought up to be quite sarcastic and that can come across as b****y. asserted
that → bring → ?
If they hurt people's feelings then I regret that.' asserted
I → hurt → that
The publicity of Big Brother led to appearances on Celebrity Coach Trip and Come Dine With Me. asserted
publicity → lead → Me
However, he was also well known for his royal connections, having attended the University of St Andrews alongside Prince William and Kate Middleton, now Catherine, Princess of Wales. asserted
he → know → Wales
Speaking to American outlet E! News in 2011, he recalled the prince as 'social' but 'very low key', while he thought of the future princess as a 'jolly-holly hockey sticks girl... always organising, she's a natural leader'. asserted
she → speak → girl
And in an earlier interview with the Daily Mail, he recalled how the prince's eyes 'were like stalks' when he saw Kate in the daring sheer dress she wore during a 2002 student fashion show. asserted
she → recall → show
The reality star quipped at the time: 'She brushed by him on the way to the catwalk, and things were never the same again - the whole history of the monarchy had been altered.' An inquest into Mr Duncan's death is due to be opened later this year. - asserted
inquest → quip → death
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