Paul McCartney and Heather Mills appeared in court Thursday as British media reported they may be nearing a settlement in their divorce.
Paul McCartney and Heather Mills appeared in court Thursday as British media reported they may be nearing a settlement in their divorce.McCartney and Mills arrived separately at London's Royal Courts of Justice. Bodyguards shielded Mills from view with a dark blanket as she made her way into the neo-Gothic courthouse.
A Mills aide carried a wheelchair from the back of a car for the former model, who lost a leg in a motorcycle accident in 1993.
McCartney arrived minutes later, wearing a dark grey suit.
The hearing is listed discreetly on the daily court lists only by its case number. Even a small security viewing hole in the door of the court room was covered to stop prying eyes.
News reports say the immediate issue is likely to be the size of Mills' divorce settlement from the wealthy former Beatle. Press speculation has recently put the size of the settlement at between 20 million and 50 million pounds, about $40 million to $100 million.
McCartney and Mills announced in May of last year that they were splitting after four years of marriage.
They married in June 2002, four years after McCartney's first wife, Linda, died of breast cancer.
McCartney and Mills have a three-year-old daughter, Beatrice.
Mills, a 39-year-old former model and activist, recently appeared as a contestant on the U.S. television program "Dancing With the Stars.''
The McCartney divorce has become the most sensational marital breakup in Britain since Prince Charles and Princess Diana parted ways more than a decade ago.
The divorce is expected to be Britain's most expensive, with a settlement topping the 48-million pound award given to the ex-wife of an insurance tycoon last year. Legal experts, however, expect McCartney, whose wealth is estimated at 825 million pounds, will insist on keeping the settlement confidential to prevent Mills from discussing it, The Mirror newspaper reported.
