A royal will can remain sealed for decades.
The court in London postponed the publication of Prince Philip's will for 90 years in order to protect the dignity and reputation of his widow, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain.
This is reported in the decision of the chairman of the family division of the High Court of London, Andrew Mafarlane.
He decided not to break a long tradition and allowed not to open the will of a member of the royal family. The custom assumes that a royal will can remain sealed for many decades, unlike an ordinary person's will.
“It is necessary to increase the protection of the truly personal aspects of the lives of people in this small group in order to preserve the dignity of the monarch and those close to her family,” he said.
All this time, the sealed will will lie in the safe of the chairman of the family affairs division of the High Court of London, along with 30 more closed envelopes with the last wishes of members of the royal family who have died in different years.
The earliest will dates back to 1910 and belongs to Franz of Teck (1870-1910), brother of Queen Mary of Teck, wife of King George V of Great Britain (1865-1936).
The last wills in this safe belong to Her Majesty's younger sister Princess Margaret and Queen's mother Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. They died less than two months apart in 2002.
At the same time, Diana, Princess of Wales, became an exception from this list. Her will was published. According to him, she left the property in trust so that it would go to her sons upon reaching 25 years of age.
Interestingly, even after 90 years, the last will of Prince Philip may remain unknown to the public. After this time, any will of a member of the royal family can be opened and examined by the personal lawyer of the monarch, the custodian of the Royal Archives, the attorney general of England and Wales, as well as any representative of the deceased.
They have the right to decide whether the will can be made public.