The contents of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh’s Royal Will will not be made public for at least 90 years, according to the High Court of Judiciary. Despite the fact that probate has already been granted by the court.
The legal manoeuvre is intended to shield the Queen and other members of the royal family from “public speculation and guesswork,” which is nothing new in royal circles.
The Royal Will of Prince Philip is kept in a vault with 29 other documents. Sir Andrew McFarlane, president of the High Court’s Family Division and a well-known senior judge in those courts, is handling this.
Sir Andrew decided on Thursday that a royal will would be unsealed and examined after 90 years by the monarch’s private solicitor, the keeper of the Royal Archives, the attorney general, and any remaining personal representatives of the deceased. They’ll decide whether or not to make Prince Philip’s Will public at that time.
To avoid any harm to the documents and seals, it is recommended that a Royal Will be unsealed by a competent archivist.
Sir Andrew, on the other hand, stated that certain Royal Wills could potentially remain unpublished indefinitely.
In the Recent Past, There Have Been Disputed Royal Wills
The most recent additions to the collection are the wills of the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret, the current Queen’s sister. In February 2002, Princess Margaret died at the age of 71, and the Queen Mother died a month later at the age of 101. In 2007, a guy named Robert Andrew Brown claimed to be Princess Margaret’s illegitimate child and filed a lawsuit alleging that the privacy of the documents had been infringed. His request to make both Wills public was refused.
After Diana, Princess of Wale died in 1997, her will was made public. It was discovered that her riches had been given to her sons William and Harry. The funds were held in trust until they reached the age of 25.
For nearly a century, it has been customary to seal royal wills.
A will is normally made public once it has been granted probate, an executor has been named, and distribution has taken place. On the other hand, the practise of sealing the Wills of senior members of the royal family extends back over a century. After a private court appeal, Prince Philip’s Will was sealed in July. A similar method will be followed in 90 years, with the Royal Will either being made public or being kept secret.
Sir Andrew overruled the Queen’s counsel and attorney general, who wanted the time restriction to be established at 125 years.
The notion of a sealed bid opening is unheard of in the history of auctions.
However, history was created at the application hearing. This is due to the fact that it is the first time that a sealed Royal Will has been made accessible at a later period.
“Given the constitutional position of the Sovereign, I have ruled that it is legitimate to adopt a specific practise in relation to royal wills,” Sir Andrew explained.
“There is a need to increase the protection offered to very private aspects of this tiny group of people’s lives in order to protect the Sovereign’s dignity and those of her family members.”
Sir Andrew admitted that the application to seal the will was held in private to discourage public interest and curiosity. In any case, as the public face, the Attorney General presided over the meeting and declared the contents of the Will to be “not truly in the public interest.”
Mary Queen of Scots’ honour was preserved thanks to a hidden will.
In 1509, Prince Francis gave his mistress at the time, the Countess of Kilmorey, priceless emeralds beloved by his wife, Mary Queen of Scots, necessitating the sealing of Royal Wills.
Prince Francis of Tech, who died in 1910, was the first member of the present Royal Family to have his Will sealed. He was Queen Mary’s younger brother.
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