The Marchioness of Bath, Emma Thynn, and her husband the 8th Marquess of Bath, Ceawlin Thynn, have been in the news this week as they attended court to ensure that their second son, Henry, born through surrogacy, can, in due course, inherit from the Longleat Estate.
Henry was born in the United States via a surrogate, and is the biological child of both Lord and Lady Bath. Following the birth, it is likely that they regularised the arrangement by obtaining a Parental Order in the English court, as required. Many will be unaware that when a child is born through surrogacy, under English law the woman who carried the baby is always the legal mother at birth, even where she has no biological link to the child. If the surrogate is married, her husband may also be treated as the legal father, again irrespective of biology.
A Parental Order in England and Wales brings the surrogate’s (and her spouse’s, if relevant) legal parentage to an end and grants legal parentage to the intended parents. Lord and Lady Bath are likely to have obtained such an order following Henry’s birth. However, their situation was complicated by the fact that the Longleat family trusts contain a pre-1970 common law definition of ‘children’ that pre-dates modern fertility and surrogacy arrangements. It was therefore necessary to seek an order to confirm that definition would include their child born by surrogacy.
However, in a more ordinary case where there is no vast family fortune and archaic trust language, it is just as important that intended parents obtain a Parental Order.
The High Court recently confirmed in A & B v C & D [2026] EWHC 972 (Fam) A & B v C & D (Rev1) [2026] EWHC 972 (Fam) (14 April 2026) that there is currently no provision to recognise a foreign surrogacy arrangement as there is in overseas adoption matters. As the law stands, if no Parental Order is obtained in English law, then a child born through surrogacy would not be able to inherit under the rules of intestacy, as that child would not be the intended parents’ child in law.
It is important to seek specialist legal advice both in the country where the child is to be born and in the UK, if you intend to live with your child here, to ensure that there are no unintended legal consequences arising from surrogacy. At Rayden Solicitors, we advise many couples who have entered into both domestic and international surrogacy arrangements. If you would like to speak to us about a surrogacy arrangement please get in touch.
