14 DAY TRIAL // It was the wedding of the century, confirmation that fairy tales do happen. When Prince Williams said “I Do” to Kate (now Katherine) Middleton, he did so after he vigorously refused to sign a prenuptial agreement that would protect his vast fortune in the eventuality of a divorce.
Long before the wedding, speculation on whether the two would have a prenup drew in case of a divorce ran rampant, but, until the big day, not much was heard of it on the official channels.
Several media outlets suggested that the couple was seeing attorneys for a prenup, which would protect them both later on – a new report suggests that Prince William flat out refused to sign it.
AceShowbiz claims to have it on good authority (via The Telegraph) that Prince William was strongly advised to sign a prenup before getting married, just in case things between him and Katherine did not work out and they wanted a divorce.
He refused to do so, saying he trusted and loved Kate unconditionally – and a prenup would only come to put a damper on their fabulous day.
“William was advised that some sort of legal agreement might be a good idea. But he loves Kate and trusts her implicitly, and was adamant that no agreement was necessary,” a friend of William’s is quoted as saying.
Admittedly, Patrick Jephson, who was Princess Diana’s former private secretary, also urged Prince William to get this legal aspect settled before tying the knot – also to no avail.
“There will be a tidal wave of sentimental slush, but you’ve got to be practical,” he reportedly said of the need for a prenuptial agreement before the wedding.
“If she we were my sister I’d tell her to get a good prenup. It’s such a public thing. If they don’t get this one right, what’s going to happen to the institution in the long run?” Jephson pointed out.
According to reports, Prince William inherited $10 million from his mother, Princess Diana, while his father’s estate pulls in about $27 million a year – so, some might say, it would have been in his best interest to sign a prenup.
As it happens, he chose not to. “There is no prenuptial agreement in place for this wedding,” a spokesperson for St. James’ Palace says for the aforementioned e-zine.