Queen Elizabeth II stepped in to ensure minor royal’s will was kept private despite courtier’s claims that ‘fringe members’ of the family didn’t need them sealed
The late Queen Elizabeth II kept details of a minor royal family’s wealth hidden from the public, it has emerged.
Staff at Britain’s National Archives have reportedly censored documents in which the late queen requested that the will of one of her relatives be kept secret.
They retracted the documents two years ago and deleted parts of them before putting them back into the public domain last year.
This is despite one courtier’s claims that ‘fringe members’ of the royal family ‘do not need to have their wills sealed’ except in special circumstances.
The Guardianwho photographed the entire file in 2021, found that a section was missing from a report written by senior justice officer Robert Bayne-Powell in 1970.
It said: ‘I understand that Her Majesty has requested the lawyers to request the executors to seal the will of the Royal Princess, Countess of Harewood. I propose that every royal will should be sealed if the sovereign requests it.”
Staff at Britain’s National Archives have reportedly censored documents containing a request from the late Queen to keep the will of one of her relatives secret
The late Queen Elizabeth II kept details of the wealth of a minor royal hidden from the public – the Countess of Harewood – it has emerged
The Countess of Harewood was a daughter of George V and an aunt of the late Queen.
She died in 1965, leaving behind £5.6 million in today’s money.
According to reports, staff at the National Archives in Kew, south-west London, have removed the file containing official discussions about royal wills between 1957 and 1970.
Staff A letter from June 1970 in which a The courtier in charge of the Queen’s finances said the wills of minor royals did not need to be kept private.
Courtier Lord Tryon had told a Whitehall official: ‘Buckingham Palace’s lawyers believe that except in special circumstances (for example a will containing something that should not be made public) ‘fringe members’ of the Royal Family should not have to sign their will to have it sealed. This should only apply to HRHs.”
The National Archives told the Guardian that the documents were removed in consultation with the Ministry of Justice because they had information about communications with the Queen – which they said were being kept private under a section of the Freedom of Information Act.
A spokesperson for the National Archives told MailOnline: ‘In January 2023 we dealt with an FOI request in relation to file LCO 65/262 ‘Royal wills: retention and sealing of royal wills’. The record was given ‘Access Under Review’ status while it was being reviewed.
‘Redactions have been made because, in consultation with the Ministry of Justice as the responsible authority (in accordance with s.66 FOI Act), we have determined that some information contained in this document is exempt under section 37(1)(a) ) of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000, which exempts information if it relates to communications with or on behalf of the Sovereign.’
MailOnline has also contacted Buckingham Palace for comment.