Why Prince William has hired Diana’s divorce lawyers: a surprising move that’s the talk of the palace

A source told Richard Eden of the 'Daily Mail,' "William wanted to go it alone." According to a new report, Prince William is breaking away from the legal team that has represented the royal family for decades. The Prince of Wales, aged 42, hired the same lawyers that represented his mother, Princess Diana, when she divorced King Charles. A source told Richard Eden of the Daily Mail, "William wanted to work with a different team of lawyers. He didn't want to keep using his father's lawyers. It's that simple. He wants to be independent." According to the outlet, 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. " A Kensington Palace spokesman declined to comment when approached by the outlet. Prince William chose a new legal team, Mishcon de Reya, to represent him. This was the legal team representing Princess Diana when she divorced Prince Charles. The divorce was finalized in 1996, one year before Diana died in a car crash in Paris when she was 36. Harbottle & Lewis also represented the British royal family during the 2006 News of the World phone-hacking scandal. The scandal found that the newspaper had illegally accessed the voicemails of high-profile individuals, including Prince William and Prince Harry. The case led to the newspaper's closing. Prince William has previously spoken about how he wanted to make changes to the monarchy. In November 2024, the Prince of Wales told the BBC, "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. To explain more, I'm trying to make the monarchy more modern. Last year, Charles Spencer, Diana's brother, and William's uncle, hired Fiona Shackleton to represent him in his divorce from Karen Spencer. Shackleton is the lawyer the then-Prince Charles used when he and Diana divorced. She also represented Prince Andrew in his 1996 divorce from Sarah Ferguson, Paul McCartney in his 2008 divorce from Heather Mills, and Princess Haya bint al-Hussein of Jordan in her split from Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum of Dubai.