Legal Eagle

We note from the BBC today that Price William, aged 27, has been made an honorary barrister at a "ceremony" (ritual) in London's ancient Middle Temple, presumably last night. He follows in the footsteps of his mother and the Queen Mother in this respect and is only the 6th member of the Royal Family to be called to the bench.

From wikipedia we note the history of Middle Temple:

The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn. It is near the Royal Courts of Justice, within the City of London.

In the 13th century, the Inns of Court originated as hostels and schools for student lawyers. The Middle Temple is the western part of "The Temple", the headquarters of the Knights Templar until they were dissolved in 1312; the awe-inspiring Temple Church still stands as a "peculiar" (extra-diocesan) church of the Inner and Middle Temples. There has never been an "Outer Temple", apart from a modern office block of that name - an order of 1337 refers to repairing the lane "through the middle of the Court of the Temple", which became known as Middle Temple Lane and probably gave its name to the Inn.

cheers

BBC Report here.