Amal Alamuddin has officially changed her surname to that of her new husband George Clooney as she returns to her work as a highly acclaimed human rights barrister working in the field of international relations.
On the website of the British law firm Doughty Street Chambers, where Amal works, her name is now officially listed as “Amal Clooney”.
Amal, 36, officially tied the knot with George Clooney, 53, in Venice last month. Since the big day, the photogenic couple have been laying low. It’s rumoured they were honeymooning in Britain, where it’s also believed movie star George splashed out on a lavish country manor for his new bride near the real-life Downton Abbey.
Back at work, Amal is taking on one of the most famous historically and culturally significant cases in the world of international cultural relations. Joining with high-profile fellow barrister Geoffrey Robertson and archaeologist David Hill, she arrived in Athens, Greece, to meet with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and other cultural officials regarding the repatriation of Greek historical artefacts.
The case concerns ancient Greek marble sculptures currently housed in the British Museum in London, referred to as “Elgin’s marbles”, after British aristocrat Thomas Bruce, the 7th Earl of Elgin, who pilfered them from the Parthenon in Greece in 1800.
The nation of Greece and cultural and history buffs have long been demanding the marble statues be returned but it’s proven to be a long and drawn out process of tricky international relations.
Now, with the star power of Mrs Clooney behind it, those marbles may very well be seeing their way home soon.
