The Queen Would Never Allow Prince William & Kate To Divorce — Even If They Wanted To
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Speculation about Prince William’s alleged affair with Rose Hanbury seems to have cooled in the face of baby Archie’s arrival. But just a few weeks back, those who followed the royal drama were full of concern about the state of William and Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge’s marriage — and especially about Kate herself. For those wondering what her options are, a newly resurfaced report holds some vital answers concerning an alleged conversation between William and Queen Elizabeth II. According to the 2006 Sunday Express report, the Queen warned William — a year or so into dating Kate — that “enough was enough” with royal divorces, and to think carefully before proposing.
Kate and Prince William first met in 2002 at St. Andrew’s, but didn’t confirm their relationship publicly until 2005. Shortly after they entered the public eye, rumors of a proposal followed. But, as the 2006 report speculates, it was the Queen’s warning that prevented the second in line to the throne from acting sooner, and may have even precipitated the couple’s brief split in 2007. It wasn’t until 2010 that William got down on one knee, telling CNN in an interview shortly thereafter that he wanted it to really “mean something.” So, maybe that was the Queen’s voice in his ear — or maybe it was just Will taking the idea of marriage seriously.
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Either way, the Queen had seen many royal divorces in her time already, and impressed upon William and Harry alike that they should choose their partners wisely. The Palace aide reporting to Sunday Express explained that as “head of the Church […] from a point of principle she is opposed to royal divorces,” adding: “However, she has witnessed the divorces not just of her sister Princess Margaret, but also those of her three eldest children. She now feels, to put it bluntly, that enough is enough. She does not want to name names, but she is adamant that there are going to be no further royal divorces during her reign.”
Well! No need to name names for that to have an effect. It seems to lay out plainly that any attempt to divorce by the Cambridges would be met with disapproval by the Queen. She does not legally have to approve the divorce, as she does with marriage, but having her staunchly against it would make life much more difficult for both parties — particularly Kate, whose post-divorce titles (and to a lesser extent, living arrangements) are determined by the monarch. Hopefully it never comes to that, but we know where the Queen stands if it does.
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