Harry Benson, the Marriage Foundation’s research director and author of the study, said: “It seems the young are embracing the idea of a pre-nup should the worst happen and a marriage break down – and in very large numbers.

“Our previous study also found that while they did not appear to increase the chances of a divorce, their presence was associated with lower levels of commitment.

“Why, then, this lower level of commitment was not seen in higher break-up or divorce rates remains unanswered. But pre-nups are here to stay.”

He added that some couples may see a pre-nup as showing that they’re “on the same page.”

In the 1980s pre-nups were used in 5 per cent of weddings; by about 2000 that had grown to 20 per cent, often among older couples.

Sir Paul Coleridge, founder of the Marriage Foundation, said: “Times have changed and, strangely, as divorce rates have fallen over the last ten years, pre-nups have become increasingly popular across all age groups.

“Partly, it is because they have been an accepted feature of European divorce law for decades and there are many now who marry abroad but end up making their home in the UK and being divorced here. Another reason is that the courts have endorsed them as a perfectly respectable and responsible step to take before you marry, as long as everyone behaves fairly.

“A couple are thus allowed to make their own bespoke financial arrangements and not rely solely on the one-size-fits-all imposed statutory system in the event of breakdown. Overall, we welcome these latest findings as being pro-marriage and a healthy part of the process.”