Kate Middleton with Prince William.

A Channel4 poll to find a wife for Prince William came up with a surprisingly close result.

Kate Middleton, current girlfriend of the Prince came top with 31.6 percent.

However, William’s first girlfriend, Davina Duckworth Chad, polled a close second with 27.6 percent, ahead of the Prince’s last squeeze, Zimbabwean, Jecca Craig, on 22 percent.

Next in line was Arabella Musgrave on 14 percent. Bringing up the rear, as they say in horse racing, was Emilia d’Erlanger with 4.8 percent.

The surprise is that Davina Duckworth Chad seems to have received a surge of support. She must have a lot of friends … or wants the job very badly.

It’s an old story, but Prince William’s relationship with Jecca Craig, the daughter of a Zimbabwean businessman, still makes international news.

It is now being reported that William has decided to become Royal Patron of the African conservation programme, Tusk Trust. According to the Daily Mail, the charity donates £25,000 (GBP) to the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, a project run by Jecca’s family.

William stayed at the family’s Kenyan estate last July with girlfriend Kate Middleton. Chief Executive of the Trust, Charlie Mayhew, said: “We have supported Lewa for ten years, and even donated a couple of rhino to the sanctuary.”

William’s connection with Jecca won’t go away until she herself moves on to pastures new.