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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
John Bett

Royal wills from Diana to the Queen Mother as Prince Philip's is legally sealed

The High Court has ruled that Prince Philip's will is to remain a secret to protect the "dignity" of the Queen, so we'll never know just how much the longest-serving consort was worth.

A legal fight by the Guardian to challenge the secret nature of a court hearing which means the press is excluded failed today.

The newspaper brought a challenge to the Court of Appeal against a judge’s decision to exclude the press from a hearing in July 2021.

Lawyers for the paper argued that the exclusion was the “most serious interference with open justice”.

But senior judges on Friday morning dismissed the newspaper's appeal, ruling it was not a case where "fairness demanded that the media be notified of the hearing or asked to make submissions before judgment".

The Duke of Edinburgh died aged 99 on April 9, just two months before he would have turned 100, and, as has been convention for over a century, an application to seal his will was made to the President of the Family Division of the High Court.

Will we ever learn Prince Philip's worth? (Getty Images)

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The Queen Mother's will was also kept a secret, but that doesn't mean that information doesn't get out - as it emerged that she left more to Prince Harry than Prince William..

Now we've taken a look at Royal wills that have been shared over the years, including Princess Diana's, as the legal row over Prince Philip's continues.

The Queen Mother

The Queen Mother reportedly put a large chunk of her money into a trust fund, to be split between all her great-grandchildren, but she had an agreement that Prince Harry would get more than Prince William.

So, when she passed away aged 101, the brothers had £14million to split between them, but as agreed the younger brother did better out of the deal.

The logic behind the Queen Mother's decision is based on how finances within the royal family work.

When the Queen dies and Prince Charles becomes king, William will likely become the new Prince of Wales.

The Queen Mother's will was made private (Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)
Secrets from the Queen Mother's will emerged after time (Getty Images)

This means he will inherit the Duchy of Cornwall, a private estate that funds the public, charitable and private activities of the heir to the throne. Harry, on the other hand, won't get any of this.

After the Queen Mother's death, Buckingham Palace revealed some details about her will after going to the High Court to try to keep it private.

Her estate was valued at between £50m and £70m at the time, was passed onto her daughter the Queen.

Prince Philip's will is set to remain a secret (Getty Images)

Many items from the Queen's private art collection were given to the Royal Collection and went on display at Buckingham Palace.

A statement released at the time read: "Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother has bequeathed her entire estate (which mainly comprises the contents of her houses) to The Queen.

"In her will, she asked The Queen to make certain bequests to members of her staff, and these bequests will be subject to Inheritance Tax in the normal way.

"The Queen has decided that the most important of Queen Elizabeth's pictures and works of art should be transferred to the Royal Collection."

Princess Diana

Princess Diana was only 36 when she tragically died following a car crash in Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris.

Not everyone of her young age would have thought to have penned a will, but, having come from an aristocratic family and once being married to the heir apparent to the British throne, the mother-of-two had put into writing how she wanted her wealth to be distributed once she passed.

Diana was generous in her will, making sure both her sons, Princes William and Harry, were financially looked after but also providing for her godchildren and favourite staff.

The net value of the former Princess of Wales’ estate amounted to more than £21million when she died in 1997, according to the appendix to her will.

Princess Diana sadly died at the age of 36 (Getty Images)
Thankfully she had made a will before she passed away (Getty Images)

The money came from Diana's divorce settlement with Prince Charles, as well as shares, jewellery, cash and personal items from the family's Kensington Palace home.

Inheritance taxes ended up taking a heavy chunk out of the stated amount, however, leaving approximately £13million to her inheritors, reports have suggested.

William and Harry were the main beneficiaries after being left without their mother, but the princes were not the only people to be handed sums of money.

Paul Burrell, Diana’s trusted butler, was willed £50,000.

Queen Elizabeth II, arriving at the state banquet in her honour at Schloss Bellevue palace (Getty Images)

Her 17 godchildren were also named as beneficiaries, with sentimental photographs, paintings and china among the items left to them, according to Worthy.com.

A discretionary fund outlined benefits for the princes, their future spouses and family members, and special charities received £100,000, plus Princess Diana’s wardrobe, including her famed wedding dress.

Certain charities were permitted to benefit from royalties brought in from continued authorised commercial use of her intellectual property.

What was left of the estate, once the above had been dished out, was to be divided between Diana’s two sons William and Harry, who were 15 and 12 respectively when she died.

The Queen's will probably would be private (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Reports have speculated that their mother left them a fortune of £13million which reduced to £8.5million after death duties.

Years of clever investments by royal advisors meant the fortune swelled to more than £20million by the time it came back to the siblings.

Diana's will stated that her sons should receive some of their inheritance at 25, then the rest of the money when they turned 30.

Both brothers paid inheritance tax when they received their share of the fortune.

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Prince Harry, in the bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey that he and Meghan Markle conducted last year, said the couple survived on the inheritance after quitting as senior royals in 2020.

Harry said he was cut off financially by the so-called "Firm" following their decision.

He told Oprah: "I have what my mum left me and without that we wouldn’t have been able to do this.

“It’s like she saw it coming and she’s been with us through this whole process."

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