Prince William's friend rumbles lap-dancing club sting to make him spill royal secrets

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Guy Pelly is at the centre of a sensational sting in which undercover "businessmen" tried to lure the best friend of Princes William and Harry into making incriminating comments about senior members of the Royal Family.

The Mail on Sunday understands that Pelly, together with his 19-year-old drama student girlfriend Susanna Warren, was lured to Las Vegas by "executives" claiming to work for a venture capital firm.

Pelly, who was once wrongly accused of introducing Prince Harry to cannabis, was then filmed drinking and enjoying lap-dancing sessions in a nightclub.

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State of panic: Guy Pelly and his girlfriend Susanna Warren

The sting, which looked to be the work of a tabloid newspaper, took a dramatic twist when Pelly rumbled the operation after he was asked leading questions about the Royals and for his opinions on them.

He insists he did not say anything that might jeopardise his relationship with the Royals – but he may face problems in another direction.

Miss Warren's parents, the bloodstock agent John Warren and Lady Carolyn Herbert, daughter of the Queen's former racing manager, the late Earl of Carnarvon, are said to take an extremely dim view of the episode.

Pelly, the 25-year-old marketing director of Mahiki nightclub in London's Mayfair, where he is responsible for attracting an A-list clientele who include Princes William and Harry and their girlfriends Kate Middleton and Chelsy Davy, was last night said to be "devastated" over the alleged sting.

The budding entrepreneur, who is involved in developing Mahiki into a global chain, and Miss Warren were flown to America for a potential business meeting this month.

After the meeting, they were invited to join their hosts – one of whom gave the appearance of being a sheikh – at a lap-dancing club, where they were plied with alcohol.

"Guy was invited out to Vegas by some people who claimed they wanted to do business with him," a source told The Mail on Sunday.

"It was something to do with taking Mahiki out to America. Guy and Susanna were both invited to a club and the businessmen were buying them drink after drink.

"Then they started buying them lap dances. Guy enjoyed several and so did Susanna."

According to friends, Pelly became suspicious when one of the group asked him about his relationship with the Princes and tried to get him to comment about senior members of the Royal Family.

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Close friends: Guy Pelly, centre, with Princes William and Harry at a rugby game

His suspicions where confirmed when he saw a wire peeping out of a briefcase.

"Guy is in an absolute state of panic and has no idea what sort of pictures they have but he swears he hasn't said anything awful and that he has done nothing wrong," said the source.

"He knows someone has tried to stitch him up."

Pelly is understood to have taken legal advice after the incident. He is also dealing with the repercussions on his relationship with Miss Warren.

"Word is that Susanna has been told to cool things with Guy at least until this storm has blown over," says a friend.

"It has caused quite a bit of tension, which is a shame because Guy is a great chap and he and Susanna get on so well.

"No one knows how bad the pictures are, but Susanna's parents are horrified by the thought that their daughter has been photographed in a lap-dancing club.

"Apparently there are pictures of both Susanna and Guy having lap dances."

Pelly, an agriculture graduate, has been dating Miss Warren since the start of the summer.

A source said: "Susanna's parents both have close links to the Royal Family, so any unguarded comments made during the Las Vegas meeting could be catastrophic."

Susanna's mother, Lady Carolyn Herbert, was a former girlfriend of Prince Andrew and one of Princess Diana's great friends.

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Turmoil: John Warren with his wife Lady Carolyn Herbert

She left Prince Andrew for her husband John Warren, who runs a bloodstock agency from Highclere Castle in Berkshire, where the Queen is a frequent visitor.

Miss Warren has been seen as a calming influence on Mr Pelly, who is famous for his clowning among Princes William and Harry and their friends.

The party-loving Pelly has been closely linked to the Princes since 2003, when he shouldered the blame for Prince Harry's cannabis exposé.

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Royal link: Susanna's father and bloodstock agent John Warren with the Queen

But despite lucrative offers, he refused to sell his story.

Then last year he was at the Tunnel House Inn, a pub in Gloucestershire, where he took a puff on what he thought was a cigarette when it was in fact a cannabis joint.

"Guy will take this sting on the chin," said a friend last night.

"He wants to focus on his career and he and Susanna are determined to stay together."

Pelly's father John said: "We have decided as a family not to talk about this, just as we didn't talk four years ago.

"I know about The News of the World thing, you know, and the Las Vegas trip. I'm not sure how much they have got."

 

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