Why Prince Philip's will is being kept a secret for 90 years

After Prince Philip passed away in April at the age of 99, many royal fans were left wondering what would happen to his belongings, however, it seems none of us will ever find out as it's going to be kept a secret for 90 years.

This is done in order to protect the "dignity and standing" of the Queen as well as people like Prince Charles and Prince William.

The will is sealed from public inspection for at least 90 years, after this time has passed, there will be a private process to decide if it can be unsealed.

The man who's in charge of the decision to seal the will is Sir Andrew McFarlane, the president of the Family Division of the High Court.

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At a hearing into whether to keep the will sealed, he heard arguments from lawyers representing the Prince's estate and the attorney general and decided to keep it secret.

Sir Andrew said of the ruling, "I have held that, because of the constitutional position of the Sovereign, it is appropriate to have a special practice in relation to royal wills."

"There is a need to enhance the protection afforded to truly private aspects of the lives of this limited group of individuals in order to maintain the dignity of the Sovereign and close members of her family."

"I accepted the submission that, whilst there may be public curiosity as to the private arrangements that a member of the Royal Family may choose to make in their will, there is no true public interest in the public knowing this wholly private information," he added.

Sir Andrew also shared that he himself had not seen the contents of the will, other than the date of its execution and the identity of the executor.

It's nothing new to keep royal will's a secret. For over a century the courts have sealed the wills of senior royals who have died.

Sir Andrew is also the custodian of a safe that holds more than 30 sealed wills of royals who have passed.

He shared that after the 90 years the wills are opened by the monarch's private solicitor, the keeper of the Royal Archives, the attorney general and by any personal representatives of the Royal who may still be available.

However, this doesn't mean that they will necessarily be made public at that time. Those representatives can still decide to keep the wills a secret.

Princess Diana's will was one of the few that was published after her tragic death in 1997.

It was revealed that she left much of her fortune in a trust for Prince William and Prince Harry

Harry revealed earlier this year his inheritance is what allowed him to move his family to the US after he was cut off financially from the royal family.

"I've got what my mum left me, and without that we would not have been able to do this," he told Oprah Winfrey in his first sit-down interview since stepping back as a senior royal.

Diana left her sons around $12 million, which they were able to access on their 30th birthdays.

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