Let’s hope for the sake of Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas’s children that they reach an amicable solution
WHEN Game Of Thrones actress Sophie Turner married pop star Joe Jonas in a fairytale wedding in 2019, the happy couple got tattoos to celebrate their love.
“To infinity” on his wrist, “and beyond” on hers.
But four years and two children later, the dream of infinity is over and what appears to be an ugly divorce battle is now commencing.
Last week, 27-year-old Sophie’s lawyers filed a petition through the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction that aims to give a civil solution to parents “seeking the return of a child wrongfully removed or retained across international borders”.
She accused 34-year-old Joe of withholding the passports of their daughters, aged three and one, and refusing to let them return with her to the UK where, she claims, the couple had agreed to live before their split.
Joe’s people responded with: “When language like ‘abduction’ is used, it is misleading at best, and a serious abuse of the legal system at worst. The children were not abducted . . . ”
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Now they have both agreed to an interim consent order that bans either of them from removing their daughters — both born in America — from the state of New York until a legal agreement has been drawn up.
Let’s hope for the sake of their children that they reach an amicable solution.
But in the meantime, it’s a reminder of how tricky it can get when a international relationship involving children breaks down.
Sometimes it’s entirely natural that either the mother or father might want to return to their homeland and support network of family and friends, but of course it means that the other one has to live miles away from their own parents and siblings if they want to see their kids regularly.
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Otherwise, it’s school holidays only and a hell of a lot of flying back and forth.
Many years ago, I fronted a documentary that opened my eyes to the serious issue of what’s known as “parental child abduction”, where a mother or father wilfully removes a child from their home country without the permission of the other parent.
In 1987, the charity Reunite International was founded by UK-based parents whose children had been taken by a partner and in 2019 alone its advice line took an astonishing 21,000 calls.
The charity’s website says: “Many children are born to parents who hold different nationalities . . . unfortunately, what is also natural is that some of these relationships will break down and come to an end.”
They might come to an amicable agreement but, as Reunite also points out, “It may be that one parent makes a unilateral decision to move or keep their child in another country.
"This would be considered to be child abduction”.
Workable solution
There are two types: Wrongful removal, where a child has been taken out of their home country without the consent of both parents or a court order, and wrongful retention, where a child has been taken abroad with consent for a short period of time but fails to return.
The first is considered a criminal offence in the UK and the police will get involved, but the second is not and you have to go through the family courts under the 1980 Hague Convention.
The UK is one of 91 members signed up to the multilateral treaty that, hopefully, helps hasten the return of an internationally abducted child.
But it is only effective if they’ve been taken to a country that follows the convention.
Despite their early war of words, it seems that Sophie and Joe are now attempting to find a workable solution for both themselves and, most importantly, their children.
But for so many other international relationships that hit the rocks, a child custody solution can be much harder to come by.
HAZ IN A BOOK CLUB
WHEN Prince Harry visited the UK for one night recently, he reportedly asked to see his father and stay over.
He was asked to put in a formal request, which he did, but was then told that King Charles was in Balmoral in Scotland on the date in question, but Harry was welcome to join him.
But as the Prince was attending an awards night in London, he asked if he could perhaps stay at Windsor or one of the other royal residences in the capital, but was told his request was too late.
So he ended up staying in a hotel.
Can you imagine having to go through all this palaver with your own family?
Sources at the Palace say it remains a source of frustration that, while the King’s public activities are a success, headlines persist that all is not well behind the scenes between him and his younger son.
Little wonder when poor Harry now has to “book in advance” to stay in one of the many mansions he grew up in.
THERESA MAY says that since she stopped being prime minster she’s been trying out lots of new recipes.
Her husband Philip told her the other day: “You’ve now got 275 cookery books in the kitchen.”
I have at least 50.
Except I haven’t actually opened any of them.
KEIR BARB IS SPOT ON
BUSINESS Secretary Penny Mordaunt, she of the stoic sword holding at the King’s Coronation, continues to impress.
Not least when she takes chunks out of Sir Keir Starmer in the House of Commons.
When the opposition recently rehashed their old gag about PM Rishi Sunak being “Inaction Man”, the mighty Mordaunt retaliated with a toy comparison of her own for the Labour leader – beach Ken.
“Beach Ken stands for nothing, on shifting sands in his flip flops staring out to sea,” she said.
“When we examine the Labour leader’s weak record on union demands and stopping the boats, we discover that, like beach Ken, he has zero balls.”
So, what would be pugilistic Penny’s plastic alter ego?
Boxer Barbie must be a shoo-in.
HOME Office data shows that hundreds of foreign criminals are ditching electronic tags to go on the run.
Of course they are.
With our streets seemingly abandoned by police, the only surprise is that the offenders got caught in the first place.
Ah, eye can see your problem, Becks
HERE’S David Beckham looking all intellectual while promoting his new eyewear range.
But David, love, it would help if you were actually reading the book, instead of staring vacantly into the middle distance.
Unless, of course, it’s son Brooklyn’s What I See photography book, in which case we understand completely.
SO SAD TO SEE HIM GO
OUR Tibetan Terrier Jasper has appeared in this column many times over the past 16 years – mostly as a result of his bad behaviour.
He ate several of our shoes as a puppy, a skirting board and a garden trampoline, he weed on my prized vegetable patch just as it was ready to pick, stole multiple chicken drumsticks and sausage rolls from various picnickers on the local common and drowned out songs on the radio by howling along.
At times he drove us to distraction, but as I write this, the tears are pouring down my face because we had to have him put down at the weekend.
His legs had given way, he was covered in tumours and he was going blind and deaf.
After talking to two different vets, we knew the greatest act of love was to end his misery while sleeping in his bed at home.
He was none the wiser and finally at peace. But for us, it was immensely painful, as anyone who has lost a dog knows.
He loved us unconditionally, was always pleased to see us and provided comfort through the trials and tribulations of life.
RIP Jasper. We’ll never forget you.
HUNDREDS of hardy skinny-dippers braved the North Sea at the weekend to help raise money for charity. Good for them.
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Afterwards, the swimmers in Druridge Bay, Northumb, were treated to coffee and snacks.
I’m reliably informed the naked gentleman who carried a coffee in each hand and 12 doughnuts was particularly popular.