Ayesha Vardag on the possibility of William and Kate signing a prenup

Ahead of the Royal Wedding, Ayesha Vardag mused on the possibility of a Royal Prenup in the Huffington Post. Having won the case which made prenups binding in English law, Ayesha was well placed to advance the merits of such agreements.

Looking ahead to the couple’s marriage, she said “William and Kate’s long-term, kitchen sink romance is in stark contrast to those of an era where royal marriages were arranged; things were not much further on by the time William’s parents got engaged: royalty mixed in limited and somewhat incestuous circles with other titled aristocrats, indeed Prince Charles had already dated Princess Diana’s elder sister before making her his blushing 20-year-old bride. Kate is not the young, blue-blooded filly prized for her virginity like Diana, but a well-educated, grown-up 29-year-old woman from an upper middle class family whose parents have not ancestral money, but are successful entrepreneurs.”

Despite the positive signs, she suggested that a prenuptial agreement would make things easier should the couple ever separate.  She explained to the Huffington Post “A prenup could have many merits for Wills and Kate, setting up confidentiality, arrangements for titles and and predictability of payouts. Despite all that, I would be astonished if William and Kate had signed up. It’s not the British royal way, and I think it would be considered highly infra dig. If there were a divorce, the royal family would broker a generous financial deal, traded off against privileges like titles, but would, I believe, refuse to horse-trade in advance. There has been considerable hyperbole about the potential financial impact of a royal split. In Kate’s case, if she and Prince William did divorce, her claim would not be to share his assets - she’s not going to be banking Buckingham Palace, or, as some have suggested, ‘half the country’: her claim would be predominantly calculated on an assessment of her needs.”

She concluded on a happy note, however, saying “They have both been through a degree of thick and thin, if not for richer and for poorer. I have a good feeling about the marriage prospects of our very modern future King and Queen.”

Ayesha’s comments were also reported in The Times of India.

Read more about our top lawyers for prenuptial agreements and how they cater for HNW and UHNW individuals. Alternatively, read more about the legal history behind prenuptial agreements.