Prince Philip passed away last April. (File)
London:
Britain’s The Guardian newspaper on Friday lost its case against the decision to ban the media from participating in a trial over Prince Philip’s will.
A Supreme Court judge in September 2021 ruled the will would be kept private for 90 years, to protect the privacy of his widow, Queen Elizabeth II and other royals.
The hearing is held privately and media organizations are not allowed to attend.
The newspaper sued the attorney general, the government’s chief law officer, and the Queen’s personal lawyers, saying the media should have been allowed access.
Rejecting the newspaper’s appeal, senior justices Geoffrey Vos and Victoria Sharp ruled that informing the media of the hearing would risk storming public opinion.
“The hearing takes place at a very sensitive time for her sovereignty and family, and those interests will not be protected if there are lengthy hearings covered by the press,” the judges said. judgment judgment.
Guardian attorney Caoilfhionn Gallagher has argued that “a completely private hearing like this is the most serious interference with open justice”.
But the judges said the circumstances of the case were “exceptional”, and the UK’s probate rules “allow wills and their value to be hidden from the prying eyes of the public”. the public in some cases”.
“It is true that the law applies equally to royalty, but that does not mean that the law produces the same results in all situations.”
Unlike ordinary members of the public, the Windsor family’s wills are traditionally kept secret after their death.
More than 30 members of the royal family have successfully applied at private trials to keep their wills secret since 1910, the newspaper said.
Prince Philip, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, passed away last April, just weeks before his 100th birthday, after more than a month in hospital.
He and the Queen have been married for 73 years.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a collaborative feed.)
