Neither Prince Harry nor any other of the young royals will attend a memorial service on Thursday for tragic Charles Harbord, the aristocratic father of Harry's former girlfriend Astrid, who took his own life shortly before the Jubilee celebrations.

Mr Harbord was found dead of gunshot wounds at a rented apartment he had moved into after selling his ancestral family home following money troubles. Friends of the immensely popular Mr Harbord, 68, who ran a classic car magazine, are to gather at St Mary’s Church, in East Knoyle, Wiltshire, on Thursday to celebrate his life.

“It will be a chance to celebrate the joy that Charles brought to people’s lives,” a friend of the family tells today's Daily Telegraph.

Mr Harbord was an old Harrovian famed for his joviality, and his suicide shocked his friends and family.

“He was an amazing father,” said Astrid, 30, at the time of his death, “To everyone who knew him, he was a legend.”

Astrid who runs her own PR company,  dated Harry in 2009 after he split up with his girlfriend, Chelsy Davy, and is a key member of the young Royals inner circle of trust, having attended Kate's hen night. She and 26-year-old sister Davina were nicknamed ‘The Hardcore Sisters’ by UK society mag Tatler for their love of partying with the Royal set.

The Harbords, who are listed in society bible Burke’s Peerage, boast an impeccable lineage. They are descended from landowner and Norwich MP, Harbord Harbord, who was made Baron Suffield by Prime Minister William Pitt in 1786.

A spokesman for the young Royals said they were sadly unable to attend. Harry is currently on pre-deployment training, and William, who recently qualified as an operational captain, is believed to be on duty in Anglesea.