Prince Philip apparently left an extremely generous sum to his closest aides upon his passing in early April.
The majority of the royal’s estate was likely left to his wife, Queen Elizabeth, as she was co-owner of many of his assets, but a source close to Buckingham Palace revealed to The Sun that the Duke of Edinburgh also wanted to give something special to three key staff members he was very close with. “Unlike some other royals, Prince Philip will be generous to the three men who looked after him,” the insider told the outlet. “These include his private secretary Brigadier Archie Miller Bakewell, his page William Henderson and valet Stephen Niedojadlo.” All three men played a major role in caring for the 99-year-old royal in his final years with Bakewell even regularly standing in for Philip at events when he was unable to attend. Henderson and Niedojadio would also take turns staying with him during his time at Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate, and Henderson was by his side during his final two days at Windsor Castle.
The source also claims that despite Prince Harry’s falling out with his family over that bombshell Oprah interview earlier this year, that shouldn’t have any impact on his inheritance from his grandfather as that was all “sorted out quite a while ago.” They explained, “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. 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.” They added the royal’s four children—Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Edward, and Prince Andrew—have been instructed to “take what they want” from his 13,000 book library at Buckingham Palace. Upon his return from the hospital, Philip also apparently spent much of his time signing photographs of himself that were then placed in frames and are believe to have been intended as gifts for those who took care of him.
A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace told The Sun, “This is a personal matter for the family and as such arrangements are private.”
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