Prince Philip’s will: legal battle launched over media exclusion from hearing writes the Guardian
High court ruled in secret hearing in September that Philip’s will should be hidden from public for 90 years
Legal action against the attorney general and the Queen’s private lawyers has been initiated over a decision to ban media organisations from a court hearing about the Duke of Edinburgh’s will.
The Guardian is seeking permission to argue that the high court’s failure to properly consider whether the press should be allowed to attend the hearing or make representations constitutes such a serious interference with the principle of open justice that the case should be reheard.
In September the president of the family division of the high court, Sir Andrew McFarlane, ruled that the will of Prince Philip should be hidden from the public for 90 years, after a secret hearing that media organisations were not told about and were barred from attending.
The only parties permitted to attend the court were Philip’s executor, Farrer and Co Trust Corporation, a subsidiary of the Queen’s private solicitors Farrer and Co, and the attorney general, Michael Ellis. Both parties successfully persuaded the judge to exclude the media from the hearing.
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