Kate Middleton and Prince William decided not to sign prenup – despite dark warning
There was no pre-nuptial agreement in place when Prince William married Kate Middleton back in 2011. It was reported at the time that the future King had been advised to sign one but had refused
When Princess Kate walked down the aisle to marry Prince William in April 2011, there was no prenup in place – despite warnings in some circles.
Thirteen years on from their Westminster Abbey wedding, the couple are stronger – and happier – than ever, bucking a trend which has seen multiple royal marriages end in divorce, including Prince Charles and Princess Diana, and Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. Indeed, shortly after William and Kate announced their engagement in November 2010, Princess Diana’s former private secretary Patrick Jephson remarked: “If she was my sister, I’d tell her to get a good prenup.” He further warned: “Kate’s not just going into a marriage, she’s going into a business.”
But according to senior royal sources at the time, no legally binding document was drawn up before the wedding to safeguard the future King’s wealth or ensure Kate is maintained in a certain lifestyle if they do ever split. And they outright dismissed reports that William was advised that a legal agreement would be a good idea but that had refused to sign one.
One source told the Daily Mail: “For him to refuse, it would have had to have been suggested to him by someone and it was not. There is no prenuptial agreement in place for this wedding.” In keeping with tradition, neither Princess Diana nor Sarah Ferguson signed a prenuptial agreement before their own royal weddings – but with differing results.
The Duchess of York received £15,000 a year from Prince Andrew when their marriage ended after ten years in 1996. But Princess Diana’s lawyers got her a £17 million pay-off when she divorced Prince Charles. Before her royal wedding, Kate was already relatively well-off, not least because her family reportedly inherited a trust fund estimated to be worth more than £3 million in 2014.
When Kate was born, her father, Michael, was a flight dispatcher and her mother, Carole, was a flight attendant – but five years after welcoming their daughter, they started their business called Party Pieces. It grew into a successful enterprise that was valued at £30 million at the time of the royal wedding, according to the Evening Standard. And the family grew wealthy enough to send their three children to a prestigious private school, Marlborough College, buy an apartment in London, and set up home in their beautiful family mansion in Bucklebury, Berkshire.
Prior to her engagement to William, Kate worked for her parents’ business and as an accessory buyer for the apparel brand Jigsaw. Since she is now a working royal, the Princess gets her official living, travel, and household expenses covered by the Sovereign Grant.
