William Celebrates 30th

Palace sources promised his birthday would be low-key, and William celebrated the milestone last week by being dragged through the freezing sea in a tube near his Welsh home.

The experience was booked by his 30 year-old wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, several weeks ago in the expectation that the weather would be “summery”, it was claimed. Instead, the Duke was pulled behind the boat in freezing conditions, pouring rain and bitter winds, leaving him, “soaked to the skin”.

The Duchess, Prince Harry and a small group of his closest friends including Thomas van Straubenzee, Harry Aubrey-Fletcher and David Jardine Patersonwere said to have “roared with laughter” as he bounced through the waves.At one point the Duke lost his grip of the “doughnut” and was flung out to the sea, The Sun reported.

A source told the newspaper: "For most 30-year-olds who have just inherited £10 million, the last thing they would want to do is freeze themselves on a wet weekend in Wales. But this is typical of William."

After drying himself off, the party retired to their tiny rented cottage on the island for a home-cooked supper and drinks.