According to the law which states that parents of a child born in the royal family do not have full legal custody of their wards.
As per the law – enacted more than three centuries ago – it is the Queen that actually has the legal custody of the children, royal expert Marlene Koenig revealed.
“George I did not get along with his son, the future George II,” Koenig told
She added, “I believe it came about when the Prince of Wales [George II] did not want to have the godparent for his son that his father wanted – so George I got Parliament to come up with something.”
According to Koenig, the law became problematic in 1994 when Lady Diana, the Princess of Wales, separated from Charles, Prince of Wales.
Diana desired to take their sons, Harry and William, to live with her in Australia, but was unable to due to the rules outlined in the custody law.
This means that the Queen has full custody of all her great-grandchildren, including the children of Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
However, Koenig believes that she would never have the need to act upon it.
“I would doubt that the Queen would interfere. [It’s] more of a formality,” she says.
“I think the Queen has let her children raise their kids.”
