Secrecy of royal wills questioned by senior officials, documents reveal

Papers from 1970s and 1980s warn practice of sealing wills was haphazard' with slender' legal basis

Senior government officials privately believed that the practice of keeping secret the wills of the royal family was legally questionable and even warned ministers not to discuss it in parliament, according to official documents.

Over the past century, high court judges have issued secret legal orders allowing the wills of 33 members of the royal family to be kept confidential after hearings that were held behind closed doors.