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Contents of secret safe revealed for first time ever – and it includes Prince Philip's final wishes

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Prince Philip
Prince Philip
Photo: Matt Dunham - WPA Pool / Getty Images
  • Sir Andrew McFarlane is in possession of the wills of over 30 deceased royal family members.
  • Prince Philip's will is the newest to join the long list, which was revealed by the High Court judge.
  • The wills date back to Prince Francis of Teck who died in 1910, and more recently, those of the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret.


Sir Andrew McFarlane, the most senior judge in the family courts and the custodian of a safe containing more than 30 envelopes with the wills of dead royals, revealed the contents of the secret safe on Thursday, which also holds the will of the recently deceased Prince Philip.

Queen Elizabeth's husband, Prince Philip, died on 9 April 2021, and his final wishes were recorded and stored in the secret royal safe, which is in the High Court judge's care.

Though it was ruled in September that Prince Philip's will is to remain sealed for at least 90 years in order to maintain "the dignity of the Sovereign" – Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth – McFarlane shared the contents of the safe.

"I am now custodian of a safe in which there are over thirty envelopes, each of which purports to contain the sealed will of a deceased member of the Royal Family," McFarlane said, People reports.

"I can confirm that the earliest such envelope is labelled as containing the will of Prince Francis of Teck. The most recent additions were made in 2002 and are, respectively, the wills of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother and Her late Royal Highness Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon."

The following list, he said, "is intended to be an end in itself, in order to achieve transparency, and nothing more".

See the full list of wills kept in the secret royal safe here:

1. Prince Francis Joseph Leopold Frederick of Teck

2. Alexander William George, Duke of Fife

3. Prince Morris Victor Donald of Battenberg

4. Dowager Grand Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz

5. Lord Leopold Louis Mountbatten 

6. Helen Frederica Augusta, Duchess of Albany

7. Princess Helena Augusta Victoria, Princess Christian

8. Princess Frederica Sophia Maria Henrietta Amelia Theresa of Great Britain

9. Princess Louise Victoria Alexandra Dagmar, Princess Royal

10. Princess Victoria Alexandra Olga Mary

11. Queen Maud Charlotte Mary Victoria of Norway

12. Prince Arthur Frederick Patrick Albert of Connaught

13. Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, Duchess of Argyll

14. Prince Arthur William Patrick Albert, Duke of Connaught

15. Prince George Edward Alexander Edmund, Duke of Kent

16. Princess Beatrice Mary Victoria Feodore of Battenberg

17. Maud Alexandra Victoria Georgina Berth, Countess of Southesk

18. Princess Louise Sophia Augusta Amelia Helena

19. Queen Mary

20. Princess Franziska Josepha Louise Augusta Maria Christiane

21. Princess Alexandra Victoria Alberta Edivina Louise, Princess Arthur of Connaught

22. Princess Victoria Alexandra Alice Mary, Princess Royal

23. Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent

24. Prince William Henry Andrew Frederick of Gloucester

25. Prince Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David, Duke of Windsor

26. Lady Victoria Patricia Helena Elizabeth Ramsay

27. Prince Henry William Frederick Albert, Duke of Gloucester

28. Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas, Earl Mountbatten of Burma

29. Princess Mary Victoria Augusta Pauline, Countess of Athlone

30. Prince George Valdemar Carl Axel of Denmark

31. Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon

32. Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother 

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