The British justice rejected this Friday the resource of the newspaper The Guardian who challenged the media’s exclusion of an audience that decided to seal the last wishes of Prince Philip, Elizabeth II’s husband who died in 2021.
It has been a convention for over a century that, after the death of a prominent member of the British royal family, an application must be made to the Chief Justice of the Family Division of the High Court in London for the last wishes of the deceased. sealed.
In September, the court had thus ordered that Prince Philip’s will be sealed for 90 years to protect the “dignity” of the queen, during a secret hearing in which the media could not participate.
“Media Storm”
The Guardian challenged the exclusion of the media before the Court of Appeal, considering it “a serious interference with the principle of transparency of justice”.
But the judges ruled on Friday that this was not a case where “fairness required that the media be informed of the hearing”, citing “exceptional” circumstances and fear of a “media storm”.
“The hearing took place at an extremely sensitive time for the sovereign and her family, and these interests would not have been protected had lengthy hearings been reported in the press,” the Court of Appeal said.
“A Dark Exemption”
According to the left-wing daily, the call drew attention to “the secrecy surrounding an obscure exemption granted to the royal family.”
The wills of more than 30 members of the monarchy have been kept secret since 1910, according to the newspaper, while British law stipulates that everyone’s last wishes must be made public, in particular to prevent fraud and notify beneficiaries.
Prince consort with record longevity, the Duke of Edinburgh died on April 9, 2021 at the age of 99.
Source: BFM TV
