The unsealing of Royal Wills in the United Kingdom: a contrast to Public Probate Wills

The Standard Practice: Public Probate Wills

When an individual passes away, their will typically goes through the probate process. Probate is the legal procedure that validates the deceased’s Will and oversees the distribution of their estate. One critical aspect of this process is that once a Will is admitted to probate, it becomes a public document. This transparency serves several purposes:

• 1. Transparency and Accountability: Making Wills public ensures that the distribution of assets is transparent, and that the executors adhere to the wishes of the deceased. This allows beneficiaries and the public to verify that the estate is administered correctly.
• 2. Legal Precedent and Research: Public access to wills provides valuable information for legal research, genealogy, and historical records. Researchers can trace property ownership, familial relationships, and historical contexts through these documents.
• 3. Fraud Prevention: Public availability helps prevent fraudulent claims and ensures that all potential heirs are aware of the Will’s contents.

The Secrecy of Royal Wills

It has been long established that the will of the monarch does not require a grant of probate, but this does not apply to any other member of the British Royal Family.

As such, it has been convention for the executors of the Will of a member of the Royal Family to privately ask the court to seal the Will and such applications have invariably been granted without any records or reasons been made. This means that these documents are not made public, and their contents remain confidential. The primary reasons include:

• 1. Privacy and Dignity: Royal Wills often contain sensitive personal information and financial details that the Royal Family wishes to keep private. Maintaining the dignity and privacy of the monarchy is deemed paramount.
• 2. Security Concerns: Given the high profile of Royal Family members, revealing the contents of their Wills could pose security risks, such as exposing the locations of valuable assets.
• 3. Public Interest: There is a belief that the details of royal inheritances do not fall under the same public interest considerations as those of ordinary citizens. The monarchy’s unique status justifies this departure from standard practice.

This tradition was most recently reaffirmed in September 2021, when a judge ruled that the will of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, would remain sealed for at least 90 years, following which there will be a private process which determines whether the will can be unsealed. This decision was a break away from the historical approach of ‘indefinitely’ sealing Royal Wills.

The legal precedent of sealing Royal Wills

The sealing of Royal Wills dates back to the early 20th century. One of the first significant cases was the Will of Prince Francis of Teck, which was sealed in 1911. The practice has continued unchallenged for over a century, although it has occasionally faced scrutiny from legal scholars and the public.

In the 2021 ruling on Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh’s will, Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division of the High Court, emphasised the importance of protecting the dignity and privacy of the late Queen Elizabeth II and her family. He also acknowledged the unique position of the monarchy and the necessity to maintain confidentiality to preserve the institution’s integrity.

Conclusion

The stark difference between the public probate process for ordinary British citizens and the sealed nature of Royal Wills highlights the unique legal and cultural position of the British monarchy. While public probate ensures transparency and accountability for the general populace, the secrecy surrounding Royal Wills underscores the special considerations given to the Royal Family. This duality reflects the balance between public interest and the need to maintain the monarchy’s privacy and security.

In the writer’s opinion, while there will be a lot of inevitable conjecture about which Royal Wills might find their way into the public domain in the future, it is highly likely that many Royal Wills will never be published because the secrecy of Royal Wills ensures the privacy, dignity and security of the Royal Family, and helps maintain the tradition and integrity of the institution.