Papers from 1970s and 1980s warn practice of sealing wills was ‘haphazard’ with ‘slender’ legal basis
Senior government officials privately believed that the practice of keeping secret the wills of the royal family was legally questionable and even warned ministers not to discuss it in parliament, according to official documents.
Official papers discovered in the National Archives show that during private discussions within government, a Whitehall official said in 1970 that the legal basis for granting these orders was “rather slender”. Another official described the practice as “somewhat haphazard”.
This clause stated that in general, wills were to be opened “subject to the control of the high court”, meaning that judges could seal wills if lawyers representing a dead person made an application. It did not define in what circumstances wills could be closed, nor did it refer specifically to the royal family.
In the same month, the royal family consulted the government about whether a junior royal’s will could be sealed. A Whitehall official recorded that the proposal had been dropped: “The Buckingham Palace lawyers consider that except in special circumstances ‘fringe’ members of the royal family need not have their wills sealed. This should only be for HRHs [Royal Highnesses].”
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