Who is Sophie Taylor? Meet the blonde Australian model spending time with Prince William on ski trip

She's the beautiful blonde who high-fived Prince William as he drank and chatted with friends in Swiss ski resort Verbier – without his wife Kate Middleton and two children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

The 34-year-old prince decided to take a break from family life and royal duties by skipping the Queen's baton relay marking the beginning of the 2018 Commonwealth Games in favour of taking to the slopes with friends including nightclub owner Guy Pelly and glamorous Australian model Sophie Taylor.

The 24-year-old beauty was pictured in hysterics while chatting to the prince in a black bobble hat and oversized sunglasses. At one point, the pair high-fived as they shared a joke.

The model – full name Sophie Jean Taylor – works at the popular après-ski hangout the Fairnet nightclub, and was seen drinking beers and enjoying the royal's company along with her boyfriend Aaron Goodfellow. She appeared to have so much fun with the group of friends that she lost her phone during the night, posting about the missing device on the Verbier Lost and Found Facebook page the next day.

The Aussie model grew up in Terrigal, New South Wales – approximately 55 miles north of Sydney. She attended Terrigal High School, on the Central Coast of New South Wales, before beginning numerous degrees she claims she has "not followed through with" on her personal Facebook profile in the likes of psychology and nutrition.

Turning her hand to modelling, Taylor signed to Australian modelling agency Chadwick Models, but they confirmed to News Corp that they "dropped" her in 2016. Now working at the Verbier nightspot, Taylor has been photographed topless and in revealing swimsuits in Bali for photoshoots. One photographer, Glen Krohn, described her as "down to earth".

He said: "Sophie is a great girl, a real down to earth straight-talking girl from Oz. She would be very comfortable in the company of the royals even though I don't think she had met any of them before."

"Sophie would give as good as she gets and would be very confident in Prince William's company," he added.

Her Facebook page showcases her lavish lifestyle and love for travelling, and she has spent time in Indonesia and the US. The Farinet hotel and club in which she works at now sees rooms costing upwards of £340 a night. The job perhaps came about due to Taylor's love of skiing as she regularly spends time in the Verbier resort over the ski season – the favourite slopes of the Royal Family.

William was enjoying a boys ski weekend with three of his friends when they were joined for drinks after lunch by Taylor and her friend. The girls made the trip up the mountain on foot while William and his friends arrived on skis. Following the fun time on the slopes, the groups met him again at the Mouton Noir restaurant before moving onto a gig at the Fairnet.

The skiing trip marks a short break for William as he is due to visit Paris with the Duchess this weekend, and it will be particularly poignant for the prince as it takes place five months before the 20th anniversary of his mother Diana, Princess of Wales' death.