Daniel Whitaker, unknown outside a certain social circle, is soon a name you all will be more than familiar with. The ruggedly handsome lawyer, with his laid back demeanour and casual conversation, can charm even the most unsuspecting admirer. On set, Daniel had practically every female- and male- under his spell. An easy confidence, a 'Call me Daniel' and a heart-stopping smile was all it took for everyone to fall in love with this dashing Earl. Not that Daniel is a man who cares for the title he carries, nor the one he will inherit- Duke of Kendal.
"There are certain obligations when it comes to being an Earl, or even a Duke," he says over drinks one particularly sunny March afternoon. Looking off into the distance in the way he does when he's over analysing matters, his thumb circles the rim of his glass as he contemplates whether or not he should say his piece. After a few brooding minutes, he continues. "When you're titled, people have expectations of you and it's not always possible to live up to them. Being an Earl limits what you're able to do, who you're able to be. I hate it."
On the morning of the photoshoot, Daniel arrives looking casual in a pair of dark jeans and a t-shirt, all from Topman, a far cry from the bespoke Huntsman Savile Row suits he wears on a day to day basis around his law offices in Central London. Prior to his arrival, many of the assistants on the shoot are anticipating his arrival, wondering what it will be like to meet a 'real life' Earl.
"I can't believe we're meeting an actual Earl," says our wardrobe assistant, all a flurry with the impending arrival.
"Will he be as handsome as everyone says he is?" One asks, while another says, "Well, I've heard that he's very cold and distant and that he hardly speaks to anyone."
As someone who has known Daniel Whitaker for a few months, I can assure you that, yes, he is as handsome as everyone says he is, and he is neither cold nor distant and he's rather vocal. Too vocal, in some respect. Opinionated to the hilt on matters he's passionate about, he is, on the other hand, very guarded around those he doesn't know. Quick to go on the defensive, you have to delve deeper into his past to understand why Daniel is as he is.
Born to Laurence Courtenay, the present Duke of Kendal, and his wife, Veronica, Daniel- or Henry Daniel Edward James Courtenay, to give him his birth name- is the eldest of two sons. Raised in the Wiltshire countryside, he attended a local preparatory school near Amesbury, a stone's throw from the famous Stonehenge. His time as a day student at Chafyn Grove School meant that he was able to spend more time at home on the family estate, enjoying the company of his grandfather, Geoffrey, the man he adored and looked up to.
Daniel's relationship with his parents was 'distant,' he admits, and he was never particularly close to either. Instead, he found a substitute father figure in Geoffrey. The grandfather-grandson duo were practically inseparable, I was told, and if they were to leave the house together early in the morning, you wouldn't see them again until late in the afternoon, if not sometime in the evening. Fishing in the family lake was a favourite pastime and it was here that Daniel learnt of his privileged position.
"I never knew that anyone in my family had a title until I was about eight," he confesses with a slight laughter in his words. "Yes, I knew we were well off, otherwise, we wouldn't be living in a great big house and we wouldn't be hosting these grand summertime parties for the people that lived in the village, but it never occurred to me that my grandfather was a Duke. I remember the day he told me that I would inherit the entire estate like it was yesterday because, after that, nothing was ever the same again."
The once carefree child was soon replaced by a boy that was more than aware of his duties. He curbed his way- "I was, to your surprise I'm sure, a bit of a wild child." -and he soon started to emulate his beloved grandfather- "That's where the Huntsman suits come into play." From his grandfather, Daniel learnt what it meant to be a Duke and from his grandmother, he learnt what it took to be a Duchess.
"Any woman that ever marries into this life will have to have a very strong backbone," Daniel says wryly. "It isn't a lifestyle that most women would comfortably fit into and I would imagine that very many wouldn't want the title because of all the scrutiny that would come with it. My future wife would have to be a hell of a woman to take on the challenge."
As dashing as Daniel is, and the ladies on set at our photo shoot do tell me that he is extremely debonair, finding the future Duchess of Kendal is something that has eluded him thus far. Guarded to the point that very few people truly know the man behind the facade, Daniel has only dated a handful of women. The first was a teenage sweetheart that he dated while at Eton, the second a woman from university, while his most recent girlfriend was the model-actress, Arabella Foster-Banning. All of his relationships, however, have ended without an engagement, although he came close to proposing to Arabella, his girlfriend of seven years. With a 2.5 carat Harry Winston oval engagement ring already in his possession, a New Year proposal was set. That was until a heartbreaking betrayal put paid to their romance.
"I don't want to discuss it any more than I already have," was the reply, when I asked about the end of the break-up. The real reason has never been discussed publically, partly due to Daniel's title, but also out of respect for all those involved. "It would seem rather crass to talk about it, but it wasn't exactly the highlight of my life. Still, something good did come out of the break-up."
When I press for an elaboration, Daniel smiles that polite grin of his but says nothing more. Instead, he turns to the camera and poses for yet another photo.
Rumours of a potential new romance has been circulating for some time, but it isn't something that Daniel is likely to discuss openly. His quiet, brooding personality was honed in the dormitories of Eton College. Friends that have known him since his time there tell me that Daniel had always been the shy one in the group, but after the tragic passing of his grandfather when Daniel was a teenager and the knowledge that, at just fifteen years old he was about to become Earl of Castleton, he became even more introverted.
"After his grandfather died," Daniel's closest friend, Elias Marshall, tells me when we meet for coffee, "Daniel changed completely. He went into his shell and unless you knew him or he felt like he could trust you, there was no chance of you breaking down those barriers. It's the same, even now. I suppose it all comes back to this sense of duty that weighs heavily on his shoulders."
The inner circle that comprises of Daniel's closest friends is a select few. Elias, along with Fletcher Morgan and Michael Taylor, are childhood friend from either Chafyn Grove or Eton. Jenna Braddock is an old university friend who honoured Daniel by asking him to be Godfather to her daughter, a little girl named Nola, that Daniel absolutely dotes on. There are others on the periphery but they are simply associates rather than firm friends.
Of course, there's Evelyn Harrow, the woman who has known Daniel for twenty years and who, for all her graces and sins, raised Daniel to be the man he has become. Hired to be the family nanny when Daniel was eleven, Evelyn has been the mother figure that Daniel and Samuel clearly craved, and throughout their formative years, she has been the one to champion them. Fiercely protective of the brothers, Evelyn frowns when I ask questions that verge on being too personal.
"Daniel wouldn't want me discussing that," she says, when I ask about the state of his relationship with his parents. After a short pause, she sighs. "There are some things in life that children are too young to understand. Veronica was never cut out to be a mother and has never hidden that fact. Laurence, meanwhile, in his own way was a loving father but there was always something that stopped him from being too involved. He paid for their education, made sure that the boys were well taken care of and would always lavish them with gifts, but materialistic possessions can never substitute the love of a parent. I hope, in some way, that is what I have been able to provide for them, an unconditional love that has carried through to when I was long past being their nanny."
It shouldn't, then, come as a surprise to learn that Evelyn Harrow is now the personal assistant to Daniel Whitaker. Some describe her as a 'guard dog,' while others are quick to call her difficult, but it's impossible to ignore her part in raising a man that has gone on to become one of the best divorce lawyers in London, and who has won cases where millions, if not billions, is at stake.
"I think going into this branch of the law was a fluke," Daniel maintains, although I get the feeling that it might not have been a fluke entirely. "Everyone should have the right to be happy and if being married makes them unhappy, then surely it's best to call it a day?"
Does seeing so many marriages end in divorce make Daniel wary of marrying one day?
"I'm an eternal romantic," he confesses with a lopsided grin that makes him look younger than his years. "I believe that love is possible despite what I see on a day to day basis. Being a divorce lawyer may put others off, but not me. I am a huge believer in being in love and I hope to experience that one day. You know the kind," Daniel whispers, once again looking off into the distance. "It's the kind of love that isn't perfect, but it's the imperfections that make it all worthwhile. You and your partner are just that, partners. The Yin to her Yang. The Da-"
He abruptly stops, collecting his thoughts. "When you find that person, you hold on to them. No matter what."
As one of Britains most eligible bachelors, already there is a long line of women wanting to date Daniel, although from the face he pulls when I mention this to him, he doesn't seem all that interested. In fact, he says it's rather absurd that so many women are willing to date him without getting to know him. I counter by telling him that, due to his persona, it might be impossible for women to break down his barriers.
"Not impossible," he replies. Brushing a hand through his dark hair and settling his piercing green eyes on me, he says, "The right woman will do it without even needing to try. There's a scar on my stomach-" he lifts his shirt to show the long white line that stretches down the right side of his torso. I try to ignore the dreamy sighs of the women around me. "-Only those who have broken through those barriers will ever know how I got the scar. Otherwise, I shall forever maintain that I received the scar by wrestling a shark during my year in Australia."
Just to clarify, while Daniel did spend a year in Australia after graduating from King's College London, the scar has been with him for much longer than that.
"Is there a woman that may be able to break down those walls of yours?" I ask as the interview comes to an end.
The shutter of the camera clicks, capturing the last photograph, and with a dismissal from the photographer, Daniel gets to his feet and starts to make his way back to the wardrobe department. As he passes, he stops and finally answers my question. "Maybe one already has."
Here is the long-awaited Vogue article on Daniel. I lost my original copy so I had to re-write it! *sobs*
Oh, well... now, I think it's about time we met someone very important to the whole story. A person, without whom, we may not have a story at all.
Want to guess who that may be?
Come back in a few hours to find out!