How Prince William and Kate Middleton Could Have Lost Custody Of Their Children

Royal family news reveals Kate Middleton and Prince William love their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis—so why don’t they have legal custody of them?

That’s not a typo, the reality is that William and Kate are technically not the legal guardians of their brood. That honor belongs to the sovereign!

According to News.com.au a three centuries-old rule denies Kate and William from claiming custody of their own kids. Talk about archaic!

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According to a 1717 law, Kate and William do not have legal custody of their three children

Speaking out about this odd matter, royal watcher Marlene Koenig told the outlet, “The sovereign has legal custody of the minor grandchildren.”

“This goes back to King George I [who ruled in the early 1700s], and the law’s never been changed. He did it because he had a very poor relationship with his son, the future King George II, so they had this law passed that meant the King was the guardian of his grandchildren.”

This boils down to the fact that Queen Elizabeth had custody of Prince William and Prince Harry when they were minors, and it’s possible that she legally retains custody of Prince George, Charlotte, and Louis.

This means that when Prince Charles becomes king, he will be given custody of his grandchildren, which include William’s kids and Prince Harry’s son with Meghan Markle, Archie.

Should a 300-year-old law be changed to reflect modern reality?

So, what does “custody” mean in this particular case? It entails having a say in the grandchild’s upbringing, travel, and education. According to News.com.au, the law states that the monarch is in charge of the grandchildren’s, “education and the care,” “ordering the place of their abode,” “appointing their governors and governesses,” and “the care and approbation of their marriages.”

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And believe it or not, this law has been applied in modern times. For instance, when William and Harry were younger, their parents had to ask the queen for permission for them to fly.

And there was at least one time in which the queen rejected such a request: when Princess Diana once asked for permission to fly her sons to Australia.

This law is also behind the fact that custody of children wasn’t included in Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s and Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson‘s divorce papers.

According to Koenig, “Custody is not included [in those divorce documents] because they did not legally have custody of their children, to begin with.”

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