Court to Keep Prince Philip's Will Private

The Court of Appeal decided, on Friday, to keep Prince Philip's will hearing sessions secret, refusing the claims of The Guardian to make it public.

The newspaper claimed that it was wrong to exclude media away from the hearing sessions of Queen Elizabeth II late husband which is supposed to seal the will for 90 years.

The trial was ruled by three judges: Sir Geoffrey Vos, Dame Victoria Sharp, and Lady Justice King. The three judges explained the reasons behind their decision.

The Judges expressed: "The hearing was at a hugely sensitive time for the Sovereign and her family, and those interests would not have been protected if there had been protracted hearings reported in the press rather than a single occasion on which full reasons for what had been decided were published."

Legally, wills could be discussed in public hearings, however, the ones related to the Royal Family member are sealed and this practice is applied for over a century.

The court explained: "It is true that the law applies equally to the Royal family, but that does not mean that the law produces the same outcomes in all situations. These circumstances are, as we have said, exceptional."

"We are not sure that there is a specific public interest in knowing how the assets of the Royal family are distributed," asserting:  "A perceived lack of transparency might be a matter of legitimate public debate, but the (Non-Contentious Probate Rules) allow wills and their values to be concealed from the public gaze in some cases. The judge properly applied the statutory test in this case."

Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth’s Husband and the Duke of Edinburgh passed away in April 2021 aged 99. The funeral was held at Windsor Castle with a limited number of guests due to Coronavirus.