There might be yet another Royal Rumble around the corner.
The times in the British Royal Family aren’t a-changing. From taking the blow of Megxit to grappling with cancer diagnoses of the Senior Royals in the family, the house of Windsor is dealing with issues one after the other.

And it only seems to intensify with time.
Prince William has reportedly hired his late mother Princess Diana’s divorce lawyers in an unexpected move that has “shocked” the palace.

What’s happening?

After months of speculations about divorce rumours of Prince William and Kate Middleton, this ‘unexpected’ move of Prince William has sent shockwaves around the world.
According to media reports, Prince William ditched King Charles’s lawyers, Harbottle & Lewis, and is now working with Mishcon de Reya. He has instructed the London-based firm, which famously represented Princess Diana during her 1996 divorce from then-Prince Charles to act on his and his family’s behalf.

Harbottle & Lewis represented the British royal family during the 2006 News of the World phone-hacking scandal, which found that the newspaper took part in illegal phone-hacking, targeting voicemails of high-profile individuals including Prince William and Prince Harry. The case led to the outlet’s closure.

What’s the real reason?

Prince William made the move away from King Charles’s longtime legal team — Harbottle & Lewis and its partner, Gerrard Tyrrell — for Mishcon de Reya, which represented Princess Diana in her divorce from then-Prince Charles. The Prince has hired Anthony Julius, the deputy chairman of the firm and Diana’s attorney during her 1996 divorce from Charles, one year before Diana died in a Paris car crash when she was 36. Additionally, Julius has a close professional contact with the future king because he was the vice president and one of the original trustees of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund until its dissolution in 2012.
A source told Richard Eden of the Daily Mail, “William wanted to strike out on his own. He did not want to continue using his father’s lawyers. It’s as simple as that. He wants to be his own man.”

Royal expert Richard Eden, writing for the Mail, said: “William’s decision to branch out from his father’s legal advisers shows that he is more than willing to shake up the status quo behind palace doors as well.”
A source described as a “friend” added, “William wants to do things differently from his father and wants to be seen to do them differently,” according to the outlet.
Prince William’s unexpected move is apparently “the talk of legal circles”.
Buckingham Palace thinks it’s “the latest example of his desire to follow a different path from that of his father.”
According to insiders, William’s decision is viewed within Buckingham Palace as the latest example of his intent to forge his own path as a modern royal.

The divorce rumors:

Prince William and Kate Middleton divorce rumors aren’t new to the ton of the internet. While there have been persistent rumors and online speculation about a potential divorce between Prince William and Kate Middleton, it gained a considerable amount of attention in 2024.
However, there hasn’t been any credible evidence or official confirmation to support these claims, and the couple continues to make public appearances together.
After Princess Catherine made her cancer diagnosis public, the reason for stepping back from public appearances was justified. However, as the Princess of Wales made a return to the public after a steady recovery, the couple has made joint appearances, squashing the possibility of divorce once again.