The decision sent shock waves among royal watchers. In early April, Prince William dropped his father’s lawyers, Harbottle & Lewis — who have worked for the royal family for decades — and hired Mishcon de Reya, the firm that represented his late mother, Princess Diana, in her 1996 divorce, the Daily Mail reported.
“The decision has nothing to do with his marriage,” an insider exclusively clarifies to In Touch. “And everything to do with William forging his own path.”
The future king is just getting started, the insider notes. “He’s already made incremental changes at the palace for when he’s officially in charge,” says the insider, noting that William has reportedly been tightening the palace purse strings, revamping the protocol for royal tours and, of course, prioritizing family time.
But none of his adjustments have made quite as much of an impact as this latest move, adds the insider. “William has not only made a huge break with royal tradition, but it’s also rather embarrassing for Charles.”
Prince William’s Tangled History
Harbottle & Lewis partner Gerrard Tyrrell has been described as one of the 76-year-old king’s most trusted advisers. He represented the royal family in their 2006 phone hacking lawsuit and helped Prince Harry win in another lawsuit against the media in 2019.
But Harry reportedly parted ways with the firm in 2020. And as part of his recent lawsuit against News Group Newspapers, Harry, 40, alleged that he and William, 42, had initially been told by “Tyrrell…or someone else from the institution” that they couldn’t bring a suit against NGN because of a “secret agreement” with the palace, according to court papers.
The documents also contain allegations that in 2020, William quietly received “a very large sum of money” in a settlement with NGN. Harry finally won his own big settlement earlier this year. Now his brother has a new team as well.
Mishcon de Reya was founded by the late Victor Mishcon, who famously took a note during a 1995 meeting with Diana in which she revealed that “reliable sources” had warned her that “a car accident might be staged” and she would “either end up dead or be seriously injured.”
Following her tragic death in a Paris car crash in 1997, Mishcon gave his note to police but reportedly told them he thought Di was just being paranoid at the time. Mishcon attorney Anthony Julius, who personally handled Di’s divorce from Charles, later worked with William on a memorial fund in her name until 2012.
Now the firm is in charge of the future king’s legal business.
“William knows he can trust them,” says the insider. “And he’s also flexing his independence by showing he’s willing to reject the status quo.”
