Prince William makes surprise legal move

Prince William has broken with royal tradition by making a “bold” statement, which follows in the footsteps of his late mother, Princess Diana.

Prince William has broken with royal tradition and hired his own legal representation, the same firm who represented his mother, Princess Diana, in her acrimonious divorce from King Charles.

The heir to the throne has hired powerhouse firm, Mishcon de Reya to represent him and his family. The move marks a clear departure from the established practice of using King Charles’s longstanding legal team, Harbottle & Lewis.

Prince William has broken with royal tradition and hired his own legal representation. Picture: Getty Images

The 42-year-old prince wants to “be his own man” by making the bold move, a royal source told The Sun.

“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.”

“Prince William wants to do things differently from his father,” another source added, “and wants to be seen to do them differently”.

The alleged move has reportedly not gone down well with Harbottle & Lewis who have represented the Royal Family for decades.

TPrincess Diana hired the firm Mishcon de Reya to represent her in her divorce from King Charles. Picture: Getty Images

The royals in particular had formed a close bond with Media law specialist, and firm partner, Gerrard Tyrrell.

Princess Diana was reportedly close to her lawyer, Lord Mischon, who owns the Mishcon de Reya firm.

Deputy chairman Anthony Julius represented the late Princess of Wales throughout her very public divorce from King Charles – the couple separated in December, 1992 but their divorce was not finalised until August, 1996.

Mr Julius has continued to support Prince William through the years.

Princess Diana leaves the office of her lawyers, Mishcon de Reya. Prince William has engaged the same firm to cat on behalf of his family. Picture: Supplied

He is one of the founding trustees of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund and was Vice President until it shut down in 2012.

In 1995, Princess Diana reportedly told Lord Mischon of her strong fears that she would be murdered in a fake car accident.

He recorded her concerns and handed them in to London’s Metropolitan Police – who locked the note away. In the letter, Princess Diana said she was terrified “efforts would be made if not to get rid of her by some accident in her car, such as a pre-prepared brake failure, at least to see that she was so injured or damaged as to be declared unbalanced [in her mind]”.

King Charles and Princess Diana on their wedding day in 1981. Fifteen years later, the fairytale had turned to a nightmare. Picture: AFP

Two years later – in August 1997 – she died alongside her then-boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, and driver Henri Paul in a car crash in Paris. Her bodyguard, Trevor Rees-Jones, was the sole survivor.

However, the note describing her concerns was not given to French authorities until six years later.

This comes as Prince William continues to show royal fans he is breaking away from tradition – and wants to do things differently from his father.

Prince William has hired a law firm to represent him and the rest of his family. Picture: GC Images

In January, the usually reserved Prince William shared an unprecedented public declaration of love for Princess Catherine.

Many experts said the display of affect was putting an end to the Royal Family’s “stuffy” stereotype.

And last year, the dad-of-three revealed his plans for the monarchy — and said it will be “royal with a small r”.

King Charles and the Royal Family have used the same law firm for decades. Picture: Getty Images

The future King shared how he wanted to continue helping people while carrying out his duties “differently for my generation”.

In one of his most open and candid interviews, he claimed there was a shortage of “empathetic leaders” around the world.

He outlined his plans for his Earthshot Prize rewarding environmental innovators as well as his Homewards program to end homelessness.

Wills said: “I can only describe what I’m trying to do, and that’s I’m trying to do it differently and I’m trying to do it for my generation.

“And to give you more of an understanding around it, I’m doing it with maybe a smaller ‘r’ in the royal, if you like. That’s maybe a better way of saying it.

“So it’s more about impact philanthropy, collaboration, convening and helping people.

“And I’m also going to throw empathy in there as well, because I really care about what I do. It helps impact people’s lives. And I think we could do with some more empathetic leadership around the world.

“So that’s what I’m trying to bring. That’s what Catherine is trying to bring as well.”

Originally published as Prince William makes surprise legal move