For reasons unknown to the British people

Beyond politics.. British court rules Prince Philip's will kept secret for 90 years

Prince Philip.

From the source

The Supreme Court ruled in a secret hearing in September that the will of the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, must be hidden from the public for 90 years.

A lawsuit has been filed against the attorney general and the Queen's lawyer, over the decision to prevent media organizations from attending the court hearing on the Duke of Edinburgh's will.

The Guardian is seeking permission to argue that the Supreme Court's failure to allow the press to attend the hearing, or to make representations, constitutes a dangerous interference with the principle of open justice, so that this case must be re-examined.

In September, the head of the Family Division of the Supreme Court, Sir Andrew MacFarlane, ruled that Prince Philip's will must be kept from the public for 90 years, after a secret hearing, in which media organizations were not notified and prevented from attending.

The only parties allowed to attend court were Philip's executing law firm, the Farrer & Co. Trust Corporation, an affiliate of the Queen's private attorneys, Co & Farrer, and the attorney general, Michael Ellis.

Both parties succeeded in persuading the judge to exclude the media from the hearing.

MacFarlane said he "accepted the argument that only the attorney general could speak, because it was a matter of common law, the public interest, and that, legally speaking, there would be no role in the hearing for those representing the media (public or private) in putting forward any Opinion contrary to the public interest.

Under British law, when someone dies, any wills they leave behind are automatically made public.

This is done in order to ensure the execution of the will, to draw the attention of potential beneficiaries to it, and to prevent fraud against one's property.

However, the Windsor family is exempt from this requirement.

Although the wills of the king or queen are hidden from the public by law, there is no law previously passed by Parliament requiring the concealment of the wills of other members of the royal family.

There is also no firm legal definition of who is a member of the royal family and who is not.

However, about 100 years ago, the royal family began making legal requests to hide their wills from the public.

In the judgment summarizing the closed-court case relating to Prince Philip's will, MacFarlane identified the first will to be kept secret, as was that of Prince Francis Teck, Queen Mary's younger brother, who died in 1910. Teck's will was kept secret in order to cover up a scandal nationality.

Mary persuaded the judge to keep it closed, for it appears in the will that he had bequeathed precious family jewels to his mistress.

"The answer to the question: Why should there be an exception for senior members of the royal family is in my opinion it is necessary to strengthen the protections afforded to the private lives of this unique group of individuals, and to protect the dignity and prestige of the public role of the King and other close members of his family," MacFarlane wrote.

• Under British law, when someone dies, any will left behind is automatically made public.

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