The viral filmmaker who has become the Waleses’ trusted cinematographer

Behind the Princess of Wales’s intimate new video is a TikTok sensation better known for finding out where chefs like to eat

The video released by the Princess of Wales to announce she has completed chemotherapy treatment might only be three minutes long, but it is packed with meaning. Shot in Norfolk, the film offers a rare up close and personal view of Kate and William’s life with their young family. It shows the couple, usually so careful with public displays of affection, giggling on a picnic blanket on the beach, cuddling and kissing.
Compared to the usual content put out by the Royal family, the clip is informal and unexpectedly intimate. Honest, moving and with the feel of a personal home video, it marks a new chapter for the Prince and Princess of Wales, and is some indication of what they want to communicate to the world. But the video also says a lot about the man behind the camera. 
Will Warr, 34, is a London-based filmmaker who has, for the last few years, been trusted with documenting the Prince and Princess behind-the-scenes. He has previously worked on footage of the Coronation and the couple’s 10 year wedding anniversary in 2021.
Warr was recommended to the Wales’ via a friend, Matt Porteous, the photographer who has shot Kate and William’s Christmas card pictures. He has also collaborated with them on projects including the Earthshot Prize and the Princess’ visit to a baby bank in north London. “It’s always an honour to produce films for the Prince and Princess of Wales, but this one was particularly poignant,” he wrote on Instagram after Monday’s film was released. “Thank you to the Princess of Wales for trusting me to create this.”
But despite his brush with the Royals, Warr is perhaps best known as one half of the runaway social media sensation Topjaw. Filmed by Warr and presented by his friend Jesse Burgess, a 33-year-old former model, Topjaw is a food channel that posts videos on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. It has found remarkable success with its series of snappy Q&A interviews where foodie guests – usually chefs – share their top recommendations for bars and restaurants.
Initially a hobby, it has now become a full-time enterprise with a team of at least five employees. Each video follows the same quickfire format, where guests are asked for their “best bar or pub”, “best burger”, “best breakfast” and – this one can be controversial – “most overrated spot in London.” Michel Roux Jr., Jamie Oliver, Stanley Tucci and Ed Sheeran have all featured. 
Rishi Sunak allegedly appeared in a Topjaw interview late last year, but it was mysteriously – and swiftly – deleted, never to be seen again. Warr and Burgess made national headlines when celebrity chef Marcus Wareing unexpectedly revealed a penchant for Pizza Express on Topjaw.
Topjaw’s clout is such that they can fill up a restaurant’s reservation book for months with one recommendation. There are now countless copycat accounts attempting to rip off this format, but Warr and Burgess’s offering stands out from the crowd by featuring not only big names but true industry insiders. “If they’re in chef’s whites, the film does significantly better,” Warr said in 2023. 
Explaining their success, PR expert Gemma Bell said, “As a duo they have charisma, they’re likeable, and ultimately the public want to hear where chefs like to go, and don’t.
“They’ve managed to tap into something that others weren’t doing – or not successfully.”
Burgess is the charming, mischievous frontman, but Warr, who has also produced content for Tesco, Puma and Uber Eats, is described as an equally charming presence behind the camera. Both have a polished, public school confidence. Warr studied industrial design at Loughborough University and attended Bloxham School, a co-ed boarding school near Banbury in Oxfordshire. They met in a co-working space in London, when Burgess was a marketing manager and Warr was an “aspiring filmmaker.” 
“They are such nice people,” says Farokh Talati, head chef at St John Bread and Wine in Spitalfields, who was interviewed by the pair in 2023. “They made me feel really comfortable. I bumped into them a year or two later and they remembered me just like that – that’s professionalism.” 
It is short, viral videos that have won Warr internet fame, but he prefers longer projects. “I love long-form, shooting landscape, cinematic and epic,” the filmmaker said in an interview earlier this year. “The dream is one day to have our own Netflix show.” 
For couples looking for Prince and Princess of Wales’ treatment, Warr also runs a wedding videography company and a production company, Detail Films. On his website, he describes himself as a “freelance filmmaker with a unique perspective that sets me apart from the conventional, allowing me to see beyond the normal and create the extraordinary”. 
When previously asked if the Prince and Princess were “foodies,” Warr was coy. “Unfortunately I don’t know,” he replied. Warr would, however, love them to appear on Topjaw: “Coming on the show would be a dream – when two universes collide.”