Prince William holds stag night in rural retreat

Prince William has given the media the slip and has held his stag night in private, palace officials have confirmed.

The 28-year-old, who marries long-term girlfriend Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey on April 29, reportedly marked the end of his life as a single man with a low-key party at a rural retreat at the weekend.

“It has taken place. We are not saying when or where,” a spokeswoman for the prince said.

When Prince William announced that his younger brother Prince Harry would be his best man and would therefore organise the stag, commentators suggested he gear himself up for a big night at some of Prince Harry’s favourite London hotspots.

Wary of a potential media frenzy, Prince William held a low-key party with about 20 of his closest friends at a country estate outside London, according to the Daily Telegraph newspaper. But the newspaper could give no details of where the stag night took place.

Prince William and Ms Middleton’s wedding is the biggest royal event in Britain since the marriage of his parents, Prince Charles and Diana, in 1981 and has sparked a frenzy of excitement around the world.