Princess Charlotte's godfather Thomas van Straubenzee and his wife Lucy have had a baby

Happy news for the Cambridges' family friends
Max Mumby / Indigo / Getty Images

Prince Louis is set to have a new playmate as his elder sister Princess Charlotte's godfather, family friend Thomas van Straubenzee, has become a father himself for the first time.

Van Straubenzee and his wife Lucy, who is a teacher at Thomas's Clapham (sister school to the one in Battersea attended by Prince George and Princess Charlotte), announced the birth of their first child this weekend, a daughter named Mary.

The news comes a few months after the couple's lockdown wedding at Chelsea Old Church in July, which saw just a handful of friends and family in attendance. Their original wedding date was supposed to be April, which sadly was the height of the pandemic in Europe, meaning that Princess Charlotte's starring role as a flower girl was not meant to be.

The couple have been together for two years, after being introduced by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who know them both. It is the second marriage for Van Straubenzee, who was first wed to Lady Melissa 'Missy' Percy in 2013 at St Michael's Church in Alnwick, in a ceremony dubbed 'the Royal Wedding of the North'. They were divorced just three years later in 2016.

Thomas has already had some baby practice courtesy of his niece Clover, the daughter of his brother Charlie and his wife Daisy, who was born in February of this year.

The Van Straubenzees have known the Duke of Cambridge and his younger brother, Prince Harry, since their school days at Ludgrove School. Both brothers acted as ushers at Harry's wedding to Meghan Markle in 2018, while Charlie gave a speech at William's wedding to Kate Middleton in 2011. Harry was also Charlie's best man at his wedding to Daisy Jenks in August 2018.