London’s High Court has declared that the contents of Prince Philip’s will are to remain private for the following 90 years.
And while most wills are available to the public, a special order was requested to the Family Division at the High Court, with Andrew McFarlane, president of the court’s Family Division, accepting the request made from the royal family.
It was also stated that “no copy of the will should be made for the record or kept on the court file,” with the purpose of enhancing “the protection afforded to truly private aspects of the lives of this limited group of individuals in order to maintain the dignity of the Sovereign and close members,” in reference to the royal family.
This would be the first time a judge explains the reasons as a need for privacy, however royal members have sought to keep information sealed before.
“The degree of publicity that publication would be likely to attract would be very extensive and wholly contrary to the aim of maintaining the dignity of the Sovereign,” the statement said.
The president of the court’s Family Division is also the custodian of multiple legal documents, including the royal wills of the Queen Mother and Queen Elizabeth’s sister Princess Margaret, and the will of Prince Francis of Teck, Queen Mary’s younger brother and great uncle of Queen Elizabeth II, who died in 1910.