It always looked like an unlikely pairing: the queen of pop and the laddish British film director. Now, it seems, the marriage of Madonna and Guy Ritchie may be over

Last summer, Madonna sat down with Guy Ritchie and her three children at their home in Wiltshire to celebrate her 49th birthday. An equestrian troop dressed in medieval-style armour fought with lances on the lawn as the happy family looked on.

Ten months later, the jousting seems to have acquired a serious nature: after months of speculation about the couple's relationship, reports suggest that they are on the brink of divorce after seven and a half years of marriage.

Madge is said to have turned to the eminent divorce lawyer Fiona Shackleton, "the Steel Magnolia", who represented Prince Andrew against Sarah Ferguson, his brother Charles against Diana, and most recently Sir Paul McCartney against Heather Mills.

Ms Shackleton memorably emerged from the final hearing with her hair plastered to her forehead, after Ms Mills threw a jug of water over her in anger at the

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