Prince Philip passed away earlier this year. Select family members gathered for the funeral, and the Queen’s husband was remembered fondly.

There is one thing about Prince Philip that the general public will never know during our lifetime – what was in his will. The will is to remained sealed for 90 years.

The tradition of sealing the wills of members of the royal family dates back to 1910 when Queen Mary’s younger brother, Prince Francis of Teck, passed away. At the time, Prince Francis’s will revealed that he left emeralds to his mistress, the Countess of Kilmorey.

Ever since Prince Francis’s will became public, the wills of royals have been sealed in envelops, and currently Sir Andrew is responsible for keeping these sealed wills safe.

Sir Andrew is the president of the Family Division of the High Court, and he is currently responsible for protecting more than 30 wills of members of the royal family. Prince Philip’s sealed will is Sir Andrew’s responsibility as well. Sir Andrew keeps the wills protected in a safe.

Sir Andrew thinks that keeping the wills sealed is important, but he also doesn’t think they should be sealed from the public forever. He believes that 90 years is an appropriate amount of time.

According to the BBC, Sir Andrew said that after 90 years have passed, “each royal will would be opened and examined by the monarch’s private solicitor, the keeper of the Royal Archives, the attorney general and by any personal representatives of the dead person who may still be available.” At that time, it would be decided whether or not the wills should become public knowledge.

The Queen’s solicitor and the attorney general want the wills to be sealed for 125 years instead of just 90 years, but Sir Andrew argued that 90 years was long enough.

There is one royal will missing from Sir Andrew’s safe. That is the will of Princess Diana. Her will became public knowledge after her death. It revealed that she left most of her money in a trust for her sons until they turned 25.

Did you know that royal wills were sealed and kept in a safe? Do you think 90 years is long enough to wait to potentially make them public knowledge? Why do you think Princess Diana’s will wasn’t sealed after she died?