UK’s The Telegraph is reporting that Prince William has “refused” to sign a prenup with his new bride, Catherine HRH the duchess of DIY Maybelline. The thing is, prenuptial agreements are not common in England and were not even recognized by British courts until a ruling just six months ago. So not only is it unprecedented for a member of the royal family to get a prenup, it’s also of questionable effectiveness. Here’s a report on it.
Prince William refused to sign a prenuptial agreement before he and Kate Middleton said “I will” last Friday, April 29. The Telegraph has come out with the report that the British royal, who now goes with the title of Duke of Cambridge, did not make any sort of legal agreement with Kate before their wedding.
“William was advised that some sort of legal agreement might be a good idea,” shared one of William’s friends, before explaining the reason why he decided otherwise. “But he loves Kate and trusts her implicitly, and was adamant that no agreement was necessary,” so claimed the pal.
After William and Kate’s engagement, Princess Diana’s former private secretary Patrick Jephson urged the couple to sign a prenuptial agreement. “There will be a tidal wave of sentimental slush, but you’ve got to be practical,” he said. “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?”
In weeks leading to the couple’s wedding, words have also been running wild that a London law firm was negotiating a deal between the couple in the event of a divorce. A St James’s Palace spokesman, however, has confirmed, “There is no prenuptial agreement in place for this wedding.”
[From Ace Showbiz]
E! had some speculation before the wedding as to whether these two would get a prenup. It included the details of William’s net worth. He inherited $10 million from his late mother, Diana, and his father’s “duchy,” or estate, pulls in $27 million a year.
Kate’s parents are somehow very wealthy in their own right from that mail order party business they started, Party Pieces. I was assuming that their prices must be jacked up in order to support their lifestyle, but I compared some of their prices to a party delivery service I’ve used in the US and they’re pretty competitive. It seems sketchy to me that they’re making so much profit off a mail delivery business. I may have found the answer in this article in The Australian about how the Middletons got so rich – they sell off the names of their customers to direct marketing companies. It’s legal, but that doesn’t make it any less annoying. At least they chipped in about $500k toward the wedding costs.
Do you see Catherine and William lasting long enough so that a prenup doesn’t matter? I guess that question isn’t relevant, since a prenup doesn’t count for much in the UK at this point anyway.
I am optimistic about them and their future together, I don’t think it’s about the money. I really hope they will have a long and happy marriage.
I would be terribly upset if they split up. After being together for 9 years, shouldn’t they know? Plus they do really seem to like each other (yes, we all base this of looks they give each other and how they act around each other in public, but you can’t always fake that).
and god damn she’s just so pretty. I just feel bad about myself every time I look at her!
Whats with the “DIY Maybelline” thing?
I think their future is very bright. This is a union based on real love and careful planning. I think they have a real shot at true happiness. Good for them!
I hope they last and have a happy marriage. I really do.
I don’t think it would make much difference. Charles and Diana divorced, as did Andrew and Sarah. The ladies did not get everything, as Ivana Trump would say.
Ahahahaha “Catherine HRH the duchess of DIY Maybelline” Nice one, CB! :’D
they look phoney to me & just about as in love as woody & soon yi.
🙁
@ #2. – catherine did her own makeup for her wedding, supposedly. she looked great, although in the past when she’s done her makeup she’s looked a bit sketch, she stepped it up this time.
I love the difference in the body language of them, compared to Diana and Charles. In their impromptu kiss Diana is leaning into kiss Charles and he looks so disinterested and is almost leaning away from her. With this recent wedding, William is leaning into Catherine and looks like he genuinely wants to kiss her. I hope that they have a real and lasting union, unlike his parents. Hoping he remembers how much his mother suffered because of Charles’ indifference to her, and treats Catherine better. They look to be so in love, hope for their sakes it does last.
All catalogs sell or trade their customers names. It is a well established business practice that has existed for generations. There is ntohing sinister or nefarious about, nor is it likely to the profitable end of party pieces.
Are you kidding me? The Queen would much rather write a huge check than have it come out that they were so concerned with the marriage failing that they felt the need to have a prenup. Diana’s brother may have thought it was a good idea but no way was QE2 letting that go down. The monarchy needs this to work out as the fairy tale it appears to be!
I like the way their chins, necks and shoulders form a heart in the kiss picture.
I don’t how accurate this is but apparently the cost of the wedding including security to the British tax payer was £140m, which makes me feel ill, if this is true than calling $500k a paltry sum would be the understatement of the year, considering how local services are being cut and being told that we are in austerity and must act accordingly by the Govt. I’m seriously pissed off that we paid that disgusting amount of money, when home care for the elderly and special needs schools are being cut and closed down, and university fees are being hiked up etc.
Geez, it is nice to see that the nasty British press is already trying to screw with their marriage.
And I seriously doubt that Kate is going anywhere. She worked hard for this marriage and she isn’t about to be ran off.
Their union seems genuine. They have been together a long time, and I think they will have children and be happy.
@fancesca
AWWWW… Thanks for pointing that out. It made me smile. 🙂
I think they have a good chance to make it. Kate is older, better educated and more emotionally mature than Diana was, and William, as far as anyone knows, isn’t in love with another woman.
I’m still trying to fathom how his grandmother has put up with Prince Philip for 64 years.
I’ve never liked Kate. There’s just something about her…
Maybe its the “Oh, I accidentally turned up in Chile the exact same time Wills was having a gap year there”
Or “Oh, I accidentally went to the same university in Scotland and studied the same subjects as Wills”
Hmmm, it yells choreographed to me. Her mum would have been totally in on it.
That being said, they do look good as a couple. But after all the waiting she did to get into this family, they’ll probably last because she wont let it end…
I read somewhere that divorce is not an option for them because of the rest of them not having successful marriages (Diana, Fergie the most spectacular, and that the monarchy will be irrevocably destroyed if they decided to divorce. And that Kate was advised if Will is unfaithful she’ll just have to deal with it, and I hope that means she has a little fun as well.
Whether that’s true or not, who knows.
I think they will last. They’ve been together for 8 yrs and know what they are getting into with one another. I think they are a genuine partnership based on love and respect and I truly believe they look out for each other. I’m kind of tired of the Kate hate you’ve got going to be honest.
I don’t think that a prenup is an issue for them. And having been together for so long, I think that they already worked THAT out a long time ago. *sarcasm*
They make a very beautiful couple and I wish them all the BEST!
Catherine needs to be tough though cause the sharks (paps, the press) are circling her as we speak.
GOOD LUCK GIRL and JUST remember THAT they are all just seething with jealous and they ARE LOSERS THAT ONLY FEEL GOOD about THEMSELVES WHEN THEY KNOCK SOMEBODY ELSE DOWN!
i just realized at certain angles he looks JUST like an x of mine…and now its really weirding me out…except younger with darker fuller hair (lol)
lmfao @ “DIY Maybelline”! Hahahahahh, so true!
I am hopeful that they are in love and will remian in love and have a big happy family.
But if that doesn’t happen, I still don’t see them getting divorced. The lifestyle seems very attractive to Kate and I think she’d probably put up with a lot to maintain it (status to go along with the money).
William is actually worth a lot more than that, CB! His half of his mother’s estate has grown, plus the Queen “matched assets” with the trust. His trust is worth more than $30 million, easy.
who cares if she just “happened” to be in chile and the same university as william. so what if she chased after what she wanted. HE has to like her, too. stop being an asshole.
I’m going to believe this fairytale. I love these two together and I think they waited this long on purpose to make sure it would work out. They are going to have babies now and be a sweet happy family 🙂
@kwoww plus she wasn’t the only person to go after him like that, whatever her intentions were I do think they love each other and I hope they have successful marriage
just cause a couple has been together years before they get married, doesn’t mean they will last. there are many, many couples who were together for ten or more years before they get married, and get divorced. that being said, who knows what will happen to the couple. although he has said in the past that divorce isn’t an option for him. so perhaps even if he wanted to get one, he won’t. and she held on for nine years, i doubt she will want one either. as for the divorce being irrevocably damaging the the monarchy, it won’t. they always say that the latest scandal will do irrevocable damage to the monarchy, but it never does. do you even realize all the scandals that the house of hanover, i mean windsor, has endured? and believe me, there are plenty more scandals to come.
@Girafe99, the taxpayers are paying upwards of 20 mil pounds (that’s about 33+ mil US), that’s why there are so many people in the UK pissed about the ostentatiousness of the wedding when there are so many government programs being cut
They were not in Chile at the same time.
William arrived at a different time and they never worked together there.
I don’t think Duchess Waity is crazy in love with him. And I think he’s just grateful that she’s willing to play by the rules. I don’t see her ever giving up this gig- it takes a lot of steel to hang in there for 10 years just to get him to the altar. She will also look the other way if he strays. I say the issue of a prenup is moot.
p.s. – that dress is so remarkably boring…it looks like it came of the rack at David’s Bridal. 🙁
@kwoww: I agree.
I do think they should have signed a pre-nuptial or some sort of agreement. At least there would be a legal contract of something that indicates should either of them be unfaithful this is the consequences. I think William is too much of a “is the grass greener over there” bloke for Catherine to be assured he won’t wave his royal stick at other people. They did break up two times, and thanks to the telly show “Friends” we all know “taking a break” doesn’t mean “no sex with other people.”
I knew this marriage wouldn’t last when information came out about all seven of William’s ex-lovers attending the wedding which tells me he’s kept them on as back-ups all the while he was with Catherine. Plus all of them are better looking than Catherine (even Jecca, her “twin”). Catherine invited two of hers, and one of them is way better looking than William.
I have never met someone that didn’t continue having sex with an ex-lover at some point even when they are with someone else. Also all my co-workers said they would never invite an ex-lover to their wedding unless that person was the father of their children.
So yeah, a pre-nuptial would have been a very good idea.
i’m surprised that pre-nups are not well thought of in england. is that because tend to marry within their same class?
Miserable people with their multiple divorces don’t understand the meaning of real love, which involves mutual respect and sacrifice. These two are not teenagers in lust. They are adults who have done things the right way in terms of their relationship. A long and happy life to them! Yes, on rare occasions fairytales do come true….
There may not be a legal document, but I’m sure everyone is well aware of how it would go down should they someday split.
I don’t follow them closely, but it sounds like this relationship and marriage is very different and more modern than a lot of the previous royal ones, so hopefully it works out for them.
I agree with eternalcanadian: William may regret not having a prenup. I’m sorry that I just do not share the fairy tale believing euphoria on exhibit here. Pretty girl shows up for her wedding in a pretty dress (it really was lovely), and almost everyone decides to forget that this 29 year old woman has still never worked a day in her life. She was supported by her rich parents as she shopped, went to nightclubs, and went on expensive holidays for 6 years. She got him, though. I’ll give her that.
If William wants a divorce, however, he will get one. Nothing will stop it.
I really think this couple is solid. They have been together almost 9 years already, if someone was going to bail, it would have already happened. I am almost 10 years into my relationship and my partner drives me nuts, but I love him and we are in it for the long haul at this point. All the best to them!
Call me sentimental…I hope they live till they are old and gray together..with lot’s babies in between.
“I have never met someone that didn’t continue having sex with an ex-lover at some point even when they are with someone else. Also all my co-workers said they would never invite an ex-lover to their wedding unless that person was the father of their children.”
you must not know a lot of people then, or just a shitty caliber of them. im friends with almost all of my exes and i do not continue to sleep with them, whether im in a relationship with someone else or not.
Dude, would you lay off her makeup? She looked amazing, whether she did it herself or not. They are a lovely couple and have been together a long time. I wish them nothing but the best.
I thought I read in Vanity fair that the royals paid for the wedding themselves.
Off-topic, but can you see her nips through the dress in that first pic, or does the dress just have a wonky fit?
1) If prenups aren’t recognized in England (and from what I understand they don’t hold any sway in court over there), it’s a waste of time and effort. Sure they can do a ‘contract’ but I’m willing to venture that won’t hold up either.
2) They weren’t in Chile at the same time.
3) Most of Will’s ex’s are now in long term relationships with other people. And since that rich crowd tends to run with the same folks-the guys are all friends of Will, Kate, Harry, or are royal themselves. If they are a duo, you aren’t going to ignore your mate just because you dated his g-friend x number of years ago. And I don’t think teenage high school relationships count either.
““I have never met someone that didn’t continue having sex with an ex-lover at some point even when they are with someone else. Also all my co-workers said they would never invite an ex-lover to their wedding unless that person was the father of their children.”
Dude….NEVER? Really? Never?
@JulieM – I guess I am getting soft because I have been thinking that the Prince has to marry someone and very likely that person wouldn’t be able to hold down a regular job if they expected to fly with him kind of like how George Clooney pays his girlfriends to be at his beck and call and when he is done with them he reported gives them a generous settlement so maybe that is what Kate was doing. If the prince wants her around than she stays around for him with the hopes that it will end in marriage.
I don’t see how this is news considering prenups are extremely rare and are not even enforced. I hate when tabloids and blogs try to make a scandal when there isn’t one.
Look at everyone looking at her while she stands next to William. They’re all like, “You’re marrying a PRINCE, skank, don’t f*ck this up!” And I would say she’s faking that big smile, but it’s definitely a genuine smile of entitlement. Lucky little thing….
n
I don’t really think they need a pre-nup; if anything bad happens, Kate wouldn’t risk looking like a gold-digger in front of the rest of the British public. Similarly, the royal family wouldn’t be stingy with her for appearance’s sake. They are not celebrities in the typical sense of the word, & there is still much goodwill towards the royal family in England, the Middletons won’t want to make thousands upon thousands of enemies unnecessarily, especially when Kate’s parents run the business that they do.
Anyway, I think they’ll be fine. They’ve been together for so long, I think all their dirty laundry has been aired (with each other at least). They both know what they’re getting into, & the fact that they’ve been apart & decided that they would rather be together bodes well for their marriage 🙂 I hope.
I think they are totally into each other. Also when dating young break ups are inevitable to happen. I would not date someone I thought could be my husband till both of us are ready for a commitment. They both seem to have similar personalities. As far as her not working. I would not work to make someone elsa rich either. I would work for my fam or use what my fam has to do what I really want to do. Which is what I am doing now, but my parents arent millionaires and I have to work. Also if those women are going to be available to spend time with the guys they cannot have a regular job…theyd be fired. Why should she take a job from someone that needs it just for some little dough. That is how I think of it. They travel in the same circles no surprise a few exes would be there. I mean when did he date these people…in college…lol. Anyway divorce is not the worst thing. If it happens let us hope it is peaceful. You just want to make sure you do your best to prevent that from occuring. Late twenties is a good age to get married. I wish them the best. I love all their smiles and she has some really pretty cheeks. I wish them the best…what an attractive couple. If she did make herself available to meet him ….nothing different than what women do with regular men or otherwise. When you do things that are self destructive to get a man’s attention…then it is an issue.
Well look at what they did to Fergie she got almost nothing something like 25 grand a year or maybe less. If the Queen is in charge and they divorce there is no doubt that this girl will be sent packing with a few jewels. The only reason Diana fared better is that she herself was an aristocrat with wealth in her own right. I do hope that they will last. I think they really love each other and actually have the temperment for marraige (Unlike Hot Harry who hopefully will wait 20 years or so). The amount of time they waited does bode well for them, but the girl is going to have to accept being led with an iron fist by his family.
I don’t really think its necessary for them. They have been together for so long and know what to expect out of their relationship. Even if they aren’t in love, and they sure look it, they know how to make it work and will stick it out. They know what they want and its each other.
Also, I doubt the royal family would want to get one anyways because it screams that they think it won’t last.
They have a MUCH better chance of making it than his parents did, for many reasons:
1. She’s TEN years older than his mother was when she got married.
2. She has a college education, the first woman to marry into the English royal family to do so. That means she’s been out on her own and has something to call her own that no one can take away from her. Higher education is important. Her horizons were already expanded long before this wedding.
3. They’ve been together 9 years. Prince Charles and Diana had been together about 5 hot minutes compared to them. It all happened very fast–Charles needed to get married (he was three years past the age when he famously said he would be married), the pressure was on, and there she was, cute, young, from a noble family, available, naive, everything he needed.
4. William saw what the royal family and the paps did to his mom. He witnessed that stuff first hand, off and on throughout his childhood. He also witnessed his parents’ alienation from each other and divorce. If anything, I think he’ll be more willing to stick to it and work through things so the marriage will work.
5. The pressure to NOT divorce will be very high for them. So far 75% of the Windsor children have divorced (Anne, Charles, and Andrew–I think Edward is married to his beard). If the grandchildren start divorcing, it’ll be even worse. One grandchild besides William is married and another will get married this summer, making three married. (Harry next?) The royal family can’t continue having divorces, so the investment in this is extremely high.
EC, I don’t consider Jecca Craig any greater beauty than Kate, and was a bit surprised when I first saw pictures of her only recently, they way I’d heard her described.
On a sort of side note, is it a fair guess to assume the impending Bin Laden thing was a possible factor in the honeymoon postponement? What with the possibility of retaliations and travel issues etc.
mln76 – I was also thinking about how little Fergie got considering she married a prince. The royal family really screwed in her that aspect. I mean they probably spend that amount on little mini trips to go skiing.
I think money in the long run won’t matter to either of them. Kate’s family business will most likely grow 100 times in popularity after the family’s flawless behavior at the wedding that Kate will be set for life no matter what.
“I have never met someone that didn’t continue having sex with an ex-lover at some point even when they are with someone else…”
* * * *
Glad I don’t hang around with YOUR friends.
@lin234, I don’t know if this is true, but the story supposedly was that Fergie agreed not to pursue a large divorce settlement because she was trying to mend fences with the royals after the endless tabloid fodder she provided during her separation from Andrew. She and Andrew appear to still be buddies (although there was that unpleasantness recently with Jeffrey Epstein), so there may be something to the story of her wanting to stay on good terms to the extent possible.
How many times has fergie declared herself bankrupt now? 3? 4? Last I heard she owed her lawyers 200,000 pounds. She lost ALL of the money she got from Jenny Craig-last year the woman was almost a million dollars in debt. So I don’t feel sorry for her at ALL. She’s crap at handling money, and is still getting paid from her divorce from over 15 years ago now.
When I watched William say his vows with sincerity, I couldn’t help thinking how his father, sitting at the church next to Camilla (ugh), never meant a word when he said his to Diana. As much as the world loved Diana, she was completely out of Charles’s league, uneducated, did not have the same interests, circle of friends whatsoever. A relationship doomed from the start.
I do agree for the reasons stated by Anastasia they have a good chance of staying together. They will make beautiful children.
Who cares if she never held a proper job or if she “chased” William. She was in love with her boyfriend who will be the future king of England after all, and had a shot of being Queen. Can you say you wouldn’t have done the same?
I really hope that they have a good marriage and stay in love with each other. You need true love if you’re gonna survive living a life like they will. People envy people like them because of money and celebrity status but looking at them just makes me so grateful to live a simple life which is truly my own with a man that I truly love. I think the next couple years will be the best of their marriage because he’ll still be working as a pilot and they’ll have a little privacy in that little town. I’m really wishing them the best.
I think she looked really lovely. The dress was a definite win for me. Reminded me of the Grace Kelly wedding dress but the modern version.
Marriage isn’t really about “being in love”. It’s about commitment, devotion, and taking the hard knocks of life together and celebrating the ups as well as the downs. I do think they will last because they have been together so long and they understand each other.
Let’s hope Kate…errr make that Catherine puts that utter tenacity and durability to get William to the alter and uses it for a good cause. We forget that she’s not even thirty yet. Who knows what kind of princess or queen she will make.
That being said. The cynic in me wonders how long it will be before William cheats and unfortunately for Kate; I don’t think anyone will symphatize with her since she sort of made her bed.
Just a theory on their timing. Will let Kate know that when they got married, a baby would be expected in a year or two. So they’d wait to get married when they were ready to have them.
Everyone who is saying that they haven’t got a prenup because they are so in love or because it would look bad are totally missing the point. PRENUPS ARE NOT LEGALLY BINDING IN ENGLAND AND WALES. That is why no-one gets them here, it would be basically going to your lawyer’s office and burning a pile of money in front of them.
$27 million a year………… dammmmmmmmmmmmmmm what royal beauty! If I was Kate I would laugh at the “prenup” topic alone, let alone wipe my ass with every newspaper that gets on my nerves…..
I asked 47 people and that was the consensus of their replies. Don’t shoot the messenger. 😛
And we all know Catherine has been advised by “The Firm” that when William fiddles around she is to keep quiet about it and not do a Diana. It is not “if” it is “when” he will be unfaithful.
Maybe that’s why she invited her two ex-lovers, they can be her fiddle arounders while William fiddles around with his seven ex-lovers. 😛
Eternalcanadian: I still agree with you. Fairy tales don’t exist. He will wander, because he can. Yes, she has a university degree, and what did she do with it?
Would she have hung on to him for 9 years if he were not heir to the throne? If your answer is yes, just another silly fairy tale to believe in.
They may last longer than Charles and Diana. But I don’t really buy the fairy tale. He was screwing around time after time and she put up with it. I think he may not have married her if another one was willing enough. Several young lady friends were asked if they are “couple” and every one denied it. I think he’s only too happy(after time) that Kate stuck to him and she’s more in love with the throne than with William, after 9 years of such on/off “romance” as theirs.
Anyway she might be better queen than Diana exactly because she’s so cooly calculative and willing to pay the price. And he won’t be a faithful husband. I bet on that.
I think she looks awesome, and incredibly happy. Wills looks happy, too. I am very happy for them!
@Micki: “she’s so cooly calculative and willing to pay the price”
Exactly! That’s why she kept taking him back after his numerous trips to greener pastures didn’t work out. But without some sort of legal agreement Catherine will be hung out to dry (especially with regard to the children) if she doesn’t put up with William’s infidelity.
I don’t know exactly what happened with Sarah and Andrew, if it was infidelity or pressure or whatever, but Sarah was hung out to dry and always had financial problems that eventually led her to that unmitigated disaster selling out Andrew for money. She was incredibly lucky Andrew let her and the kids stay with him. Who knows if William would be as generous.
@Layzo: “The cynic in me wonders how long it will be before William cheats and unfortunately for Kate; I don’t think anyone will symphatize with her since she sort of made her bed.”
That’s not being cynical, that’s being realistic. Also Catherine has very few, if any, friends that would be on her side should something happen and she need help. Everyone is so pro-William. Her parents, her siblings, and even Holly Branson (the friend who got Cathererine to show William what he was missing when he dumped her in 2007) all are so huge on William. So if she goes to them seeking support for William’s infidelity or marriage problems everyone will tell her “it’s a bit too late now” eh?
Nothing about William dating women other than Kate is ever reported in the British press. But I do recall how, immediately after he split up with Kate one time, he asked four or five other girls to marry him and they all turned himm down.
Cheyenne (18)
I’m still trying to fathom how his grandmother has put up with Prince Philip for 64 years.
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LOL I guess she’s always concentrated on being queen,… but still managed to have 4 kids with him.
Looking at old pictures, he wasn’t bad-looking when he was young.
Exactly, knoww (27)
William has had other girlfriends. He and Kate also split for a while, but he picked her to marry.
He has no Camilla, so there won’t be three in this marriage.
#30
You sound like you’re looking forward to them splitting. Are you?
Nobody knows the future. Their life will be in the limelight. Won’t be easy. Just wish them the best.
As for the wedding being expensive, it’s once per generation.
#51 They both know what they’re getting into, & the fact that they’ve been apart & decided that they would rather be together bodes well for their marriage I hope.
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x2.
Don’t forget that another prince will marry a non-royal in a few weeks time.
Charlene Lynette Wittstock, a champion swimmer from South Africa will become
a Grimaldi. She will marry Prince Albert and become HSH, the Princess of Monaco.
Harry is still available!