William's Army friend 'hit trooper so hard whip broke'

An Army friend of Prince William is under investigation after allegedly attacking a trooper with a horse whip during a mock riot.

Major Nicholas van Cutsem, who was chosen by William to lead the escort accompanying his and his new bride's carriage at their wedding, is said to have hit the soldier so hard that the whip snapped.

The major, 34, an officer in the Household Cavalry who has twice served in Afghanistan, was defending a carriage representing the Queen's state coach when it came under attack from troopers posing as rioters at a training camp in Norfolk.

However the exercise got out of hand, with some troopers understood to have ignored three orders to stop after breaking through the guard and shaking the coach from side to side.

It was then that Major van Cutsem allegedly lashed out, causing severe bruising to the "protester".

A source quoted by The Sun said: "The idea of the exercise was to run through what would happen in the event of protesters attacking Her Majesty's carriage during a formal state procession."

An MoD spokesman said: "The Royal Military Police are investigating allegations of assault on a soldier serving in the Household Cavalry regiment. The alleged incident occurred during a military exercise which involved mounted troops dealing with a public order situation. It would be inappropriate to comment further while the investigation is ongoing."

Major van Cutsem is a childhood friend of Prince William and rode his charger, Darcy, as he commanded the Captain's Escort accompanying the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to Buckingham Palace after the wedding. He is uncle to bridesmaid, Grace van Cutsem, who held her hands over her ears against the noise caused by the couple's balcony appearance.

Prince William was one of his ushers when he married Alice Hadon-Patton in 2009.

His father is Hugh van Cutsem, one of Charles's oldest friends.