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Madonna is reported to be consulting divorce lawyers amid rumours she is set to split from husband Guy Ritchie. The star is said to have hired Fiona Shackleton, the lawyer who represented Sir Paul McCartney in his recent divorce battle.

As the McCartney case demonstrated, Miss Shackleton is adept at protecting the fortunes of her star clients, with the former Beatle giving up only £24.3 million of his £825m fortune to ex-wife Heather Mills.

Madonna's wealth is estimated at £300 million and she is not believed to have signed a pre-nuptial agreement before her wedding to Ritchie in December 2000. Ritchie, the film director whose previous credits include Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, could walk away from a divorce with up to £50 million, according to legal experts.

While he remained behind closed doors at the couple's Wiltshire mansion this week, a grim-faced Madonna, 49, was spotted alone in New York without her wedding ring. She was pictured driving away from her Manhattan apartment in her SUV, eyes hidden behind dark glasses.

The rumour mill swung into action several months ago, with claims that the couple effectively live separate lives. Their last joint public appearance was at the Cannes Film Festival last month, where Madonna was promoting her documentary, I Am Because We Are. Ritchie, 39, appeared deeply uncomfortable as they posed together on the red carpet, and they barely exchanged a word.

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