The Duke of Edinburg, Prince Philip’s will is set to remain sealed for 90 years to protect the dignity of the Queen due to her constitutional role, the high court ruled.
According to The Guardian, Philip was the nation’s longest-serving consort and sadly passed away at the age of 99 on April 9, just two months before he would have turned 100.
Once the 90-year waiting period is complete, the will can then be opened in private and only then will it be decided if it should be published or not, reports US Magazine.
In a ruling that was published on Thursday, September 16, the current president, Sir Andrew McFarlane, ordered that Philip’s will remains sealed for 90-years from the grant of probate – a formal process that confirms the authority of an executor to administer a deceased person’s estate.
The judge said: “I have held that, because of the constitutional position of the sovereign, it is appropriate to have a special practice in relation to royal wills.”
“There is a need to enhance 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 of her family”, adds the judge.
He said the ruling was to make as much detail as possible public without “compromising the conventional privacy afforded to communications from the sovereign.”
The judge also made it clear that he had not seen or been told anything regarding the contents of Philip’s will, other than the date of its execution.
After 90 years, the private process would involve an inspection by the monarch’s private solicitor, the keeper of the royal archives, the attorney general and any of the deceased’s personal representatives who might be available.
The physical unsealing process must be done by a professional archivist to ensure that the document and its seal are preserved.
McFarlane further added that any future judgments on applications to seal royal will would remain closed and will not be made public.
Picture: Cape {town} Etc gallery
