PRINCE Philip has paid a final thank you to the “three key men in his life by leaving them money in his will”, a royal insider has claimed.
The Duke of Edinburgh left an estimated £30 million when he died of old age last month aged 99, just weeks before his 100th birthday.
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While the majority of his estate is likely to have been left to the Queen, a source close to Buckingham Palace claimed the duke has also rewarded his closest aides.
“Unlike some other royals, Prince Philip will be generous to the three men who looked after him,” the insider exclusively told Fabulous.
“These include his private secretary Brigadier Archie Miller Bakewell, his page William Henderson and valet Stephen Niedojadlo.”
All three men were hugely supportive of the duke in his final years with Bakewell frequently standing in for Philip when he couldn’t make an engagement.
Henderson and Niedojadio, meanwhile, took turns to be with him during his stay at Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate, and Henderson was with him during his last two days at Windsor.
The insider claimed that Philip’s grandchildren, including Prince Harry who has launched a number of scathing attacks on the royal family in recent months, will have been “sorted out quite a while ago” when it came to money.
They said: “Philip was not the sort of character to punish a grandson [Harry] for misbehaving. He was a very fair, even-handed and lovely man. Never held a grudge.”
They added: “Philip had plenty of time to sort out all the legal stuff so it wouldn’t attract inheritance tax. He was no more of a fan of leaving his cash to the Treasury than anyone else.”
The source added that the dukes’s children – Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Edward and Prince Andrew – have been told they can “take what they want” from his collection of 13,000 books in his library at Buckingham Palace.
The majority of the books were moved to Wood Farm, Sandringham, where Philip spent much of his time since retiring from public life, but they have all been returned to Buckingham Palace.
The insider added that upon his return from hospital, Philip spent time signing photographs of himself which were placed in frames with his cypher on them and are believed to have been intended as gifts to those who looked after him.
A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace told Fabulous Digital: “This is a personal matter for the family and as such arrangements are private.”
Prince Philip was born penniless on a Corfu kitchen table and slept in an orange box.
When he married the Queen in 1947 the Duke of Edinburgh’s naval income was just £11-a-week.
In 1969, he went onto US television to plead poverty for the royals, saying they might have to sell a polo pony or two.
However, before his death, Philip was receiving £359,000 a year from the Sovereign Grant.
Nonetheless, a palace insider revealed it “wasn’t enough” and that the Queen had to supplement it.
Many of his assets were co-owned by the Queen and she will now take full ownership of them. Reports suggest that the duke had invested in stocks and expensive pieces of art.
David McClure, who published a book on the monarch’s finances, The Queen’s True Worth, last year told i News: “The most efficient way is to pass it spouse to spouse. If he left his entire estate to the Queen there’d be no tax to pay on it.
“The Royal Family keeps it in the family when it comes to inheritance. Traditionally, they pass it on to the next in line.”
Smaller, more personal items are likely to be passed down to family members, including his horse carriages which have been inherited by his granddaughter Lady Louise Windsor.
He is said to have also left treasured mementoes belonging to Robert Falcon Scott on his ill-fated 1912 expedition to the South Pole specifically to Charles.
Until the death of Edward VII in 1910, monarchs’ wills were available for public inspection.
However, since then, the Royal Family has chosen to conceal their wills.
A Labour peer Lord Berkeley has called for transparency over the will amid fears details of the royal’s personal fortune will be kept secret.
Justice minister Lord Wolfson said a deceased’s representatives could apply to have a will closed to public inspection if that was “undesirable or otherwise inappropriate”.
Calling for transparency, royal finance expert David McClure said: “If it’s good enough for all citizens why shouldn’t it be good enough for the Royal Family?”
“The reason you have testamentary transparency is to guard against fraud. It is a universal principle as fraud can go on in estates.”
In other royal news, Princes William & Harry ‘relaxed in moment of unity’ as they chatted at Philip’s funeral, a body language expert said.
And this is the adorable nickname Prince Philip’s mum used in loving letters to the Duke revealed – and it will melt your heart.
Plus the Royal Family paid heartwarming tribute to Prince Philip as they revealed the ‘unique touches’ Duke planned for his funeral.
