Royal watchers are all in a tizzy over a change that Prince William is making. No, he’s no shaving that scraggly beard he’s been rocking of late, but he’s hired his own lawyers.
In a move that is being unironically described as shocking, and “the talk of legal circles,” the Prince of Whales is hiring a different law firm than his father! I know you’re wowed. King Charles has used the law firm Harbottle & Lewis and its partner, Gerrard Tyrrell for years, but Prince William has decided to hire Mishcon de Reya. And the gossipy part of the shake-up is Mishcon de Reya is the firm that Princess Diana used when she divorced Charles in the 1990s.
According to reports, William’s break with tradition had everything to do with trying to differentiate himself from the King, with a source saying, “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.” The “friend” added, “William wants to do things differently from his father and wants to be seen to do them differently.”
There’s not been an official comment on the lawyer move, but William has previously expressed his desire to do things in his own way, “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 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.”
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].