'Reason why' Prince William hired same divorce lawyer his mum Princess Diana used

Prince William is said to be 'parting ways' with the British monarchy in one respect, after hiring his late mother's lawyer.

In shock reports by the Mail this week, the future King recently made the decision to call upon the prolific UK law firm Mishcon de Reya to handle some of his personal affairs - a company famed for having worked for Princess Diana prior to her death.

The late Princess of Wales previously hired de Reya to administrate and handle the August 1996 termination of her marriage to Prince Charles (now, King Charles III).

In particularly, she used the firm's deputy chairman Anthony Julius to represent her throughout the duration of the high-profile split.

Following her tragic death the following year, Julius was also made the vice-president of the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, until its closure in 2012, having been one of the charity's founding trustees.

Diana divorced Charles in 1996 (David Levenson/Getty Images)

The mother-of-two - who also shared Prince Harry with the now-King - passed away alongside partner Dodi Fayed on 31 August 1997 following a car chase involving paparazzi, after her vehicle crashed in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris.

Fayed was also killed in the collision.

As we say, however, 42-year-old William, who was just 15 when his mother passed away, has since turned to Diana's trusted law firm, de Reya, to represent his interests in recent weeks, turning his back on long-term legal time Harbottle & Lewis.

The latter corporation have served the British Royal Family for decades, with the father-of-three specifically having relied on Gerrard Tyrrell - one of the firm's partners - on numerous occasions in the past.

Like his mother, William specifically sought Julius, a renowned and respected figure in the British law circuit, as his new legal representative, according to reports published by the New York Post.

William recently changed legal representatives (Jane Barlow - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Whilst it's not believed that the Prince has any plans to use Julius' service to orchestrate a divorce from wife Kate Middleton, the move is being interpreted as a considerable departure from royal convention.

Addressing the decision, a source supposedly told the Post there are no concerns being had: "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."

The royal insider continued: "William's decision to break away from his father's legal advisers signals that he's not afraid to shake up the status quo behind palace walls."