HEARD IN SECRET.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20541, 16 February 1935, Page 21 (Supplement)

HEARD IN SECRET.

How England Shelters Her “ Gloria Vanderbilts.” WARDS OF CHANCERY. has had “ Gloria Vanderbilts ” —hundreds of them. But they are in very different case from the Gloria Vanderbilt whose future has just been decided in the full glare of publicity in the New York courts. “ Gloria Vanderbilt ” cases fought out in London average one a week. But the law of England shelters the “ Gloria Vanderbilts ” of England . . . shelters them from the public gaze . . . keeps their names and their sad little stories secret. The “ Gloria Vanderbilts ” of England are known as wards of Chancery. No crowds flock to hear cases in which they are concerned. The law forbids it. No newspaper reports such cases. The law forbids it. Disputes between relatives about the future of wards of Chancery are contested in private in chambers, before a Chancery judge. The judge asks the ward to come to him alone, and then asks, in the most fatherly way, such questions as: “ Where would you prefer to live?” and why. A matter frequently referred to a judge is: “To which school shall a ward of Chancery go?” Hundreds of pounds are often spent in deciding the rival merits of .say, Eton and Winchester. There are many things a ward of Chancery may not do without the consent of the court. For instance, he or she may not leave the country even for a holiday. And if a ward elopes and marries prison may be the lot of those who defy the court.