PRINCE William has hired Princess Diana’s divorce lawyers in a huge break with tradition.
The Prince, 42, wants to “be his own man” and has made a bold new move, a source claimed.
His late mum Princess Diana was extremely close with her lawyer Lord Mischon, who owns the Mishcon de Reya firm.
Deputy chairman Anthony Julius represented Diana throughout her very public divorce from King Charles in 1996.
The Princess even confided in Lord Mischon strong fears she would be murdered in a fake car accident.
He recorded her concerns and handed them in to the Metropolitan Police – who locked it away.
In the letter, Diana said she was terrified “efforts would be made if not to get rid of her by some accident in her car, such as a pre-prepared brake failure, at least to see that she was so injured or damaged as to be declared unbalanced [in her mind]”.
Just two years later, tragedy struck when the Princess was killed in Paris.
The mum-of-two died with Dodi Fayed, and driver Henri Paul in 1997.
However, the note expressing her worries was not given to the French authorities until six years later.
Now, Prince William has decided to use Diana’s lawyers – instead of King Charles’, as reported by the Mail.
In a break with tradition Wills has hired Mishcon de Reya and left a long standing relationship with his father’s choice of firm, Harbottle & Lewis.
A source said: “William wanted to strike out on his own.
“He did not want to continue using his father’s lawyers. It’s as simple as that. He wants to be his own man.”
Another added: “William wants to do things differently from his father, and wants to be seen to do them differently”.
A Kensington Palace spokesman declined to comment.
The alleged move has reportedly left a bad taste with Harbottle & Lewis after representing the Royal Family for decades.
The royals in particular had formed a close bond with Media law specialist, and firm partner, Gerrard Tyrrell.
Meanwhile, at Mishcon de Reya, deputy chairman Anthony Julius has continued to support Prince William through the years.
He is one of the founding trustees of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund and was vice-president until it shut down in 2012.
This comes as Prince William continues to show royal fans he is breaking away from tradition – and wants to do things differently from his father.
In January, Wills’ warmed the nation’s heart when he shared an unprecedented public declaration of love for Kate.
Many experts said the display of affect was putting an end to the Royal Family’s ‘stuffy’ stereotype.
And last year, the dad-of-three revealed his plans for the monarchy —and said it will be “royal with a small r”.
The future King shared how he wanted to continue helping people while carrying out his duties “differently for my generation”.
In one of his most open and candid interviews, he claimed there was a shortage of “empathetic leaders” around the world.
He outlined his plans for his Earthshot Prize rewarding environmental innovators as well as his Homewards programme to end homelessness.
Wills said: “I can only describe what I’m trying to do, and that’s I’m trying to do it differently and I’m trying to do it for my generation.
“And to give you more of an understanding around it, I’m doing it with maybe a smaller ‘r’ in the royal, if you like. That’s maybe a better way of saying it.
“So it’s more about impact philanthropy, collaboration, convening and helping people.
“And I’m also going to throw empathy in there as well, because I really care about what I do. It helps impact people’s lives. And I think we could do with some more empathetic leadership around the world.
“So that’s what I’m trying to bring. That’s what Catherine is trying to bring as well.”
