An aristocrat related to the Duchess of Cornwall is trying to use Scottish divorce law to challenge maintenance payments awarded to his wife in the English courts.

In the latest example of divorce “forum shopping”, Charles Alastair Hyde Villiers, 54, a descendant of Mary Tudor, claimed that his wife was “trying it on” in the English courts as a cross-border divorce tourist.

Emma Mary Jane Villiers, 58, has been granted maintenance payments that are far more generous than she would get in Scotland — where inherited wealth is not taken into account in calculating a spouse’s wealth.

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England and especially London has been dubbed the divorce capital of the world due to attractions such as the courts’ flexible approach, which takes into account the needs of both spouses, and the starting point of equal shares when dividing assets.

Amy Scollan, of Hunters Solicitors, said: “Scottish law is mean to the financially weaker spouse. What side of Hadrian’s Wall you want to be on will depend on how deep your pockets are.”

Read the full article in The Times here.