Prince William's stag do included hilarious costume and drinking games planned by Harry

Their bitter rift means Princes William and Harry are barely on speaking terms - but it wasn't always the case.

And in fact, Harry played an important role in organising a milestone celebration for his brother, his stag party before his 2011 fairytale wedding to the then Kate Middleton . After announcing their engagement in November 2010, William and Kate, immersed themselves in organising their fairytale royal wedding.

Within just four months, they had arranged the majority of the celebrations and with just four weeks remaining to their big day, took a step back to allow their hard-working team of aides to pull together all the finishing touches.

This let the couple to savour the countdown to their big day. And, naturally, gave them the opportunity to mark their stag and hen dos in style.

In his biography, William and Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story, the Mirror's royal editor Russell Myers explored the lives of the future king and queen away from the public eye, and revealed some unexpected details about their private festivities in the run-up to the royal wedding on 29 April 2011.

The responsibility of organising his brother's stag fell to Prince Harry - and he threw himself into it wholeheartedly. The weekend-long bash took place at Hartland Abbey, the north Devon residence of his mate George Stucley and, according to Myers, 20 of William's closest mates were in attendance.

These lifelong friends including Eton school chum James Meade, Thomas van Straubenzee, the prince's friend from Ludgrove Prep School, and Hugh van Cutsem, one of King Charles ' godsons.

According to Myers, the group "spent the weekend learning to surf near a secluded cove called Speke's Mill, while Harry later organised shooting on the estate and a range of drinking games." There was even a costume for the stag, as "William was even forced to dress up in a wig and apron with fake chest hair."

Kate, meanwhile, enlisted her sister Pippa to plan her hen do. Pippa hosted a gathering at her Chelsea flat, welcoming a select few of Kate's closest school friends for "cocktails and karaoke".

One particularly surprising detail from the party later came to light in Cheryl Cole's memoir, Cheryl: My Story. The Girls Aloud star recalled crossing paths with the royal couple at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012, saying: "William looked at Kate and they both started laughing before Kate confessed that she dressed up as me on her hen night , in a body suit and split trousers and sang Fight for This Love. She even learnt the dance routine and was considered step-perfect by all."

Elsewhere in his book, Myers uncovered the nugget of advice the late Queen offered Kate ahead of her wedding. In December 2010, one month after the couple's engagement announcement, the monarch extended an invitation to Kate to visit Buckingham Palace to talk through plans for the forthcoming nuptials.

"Her Majesty had requested to be kept up to date with the preparations of the wedding committee.