ZapGossip

Duke of Edinburgh left money to aides

Prince Philip left money to three of his staff members in his will.

The Duke of Edinburgh -who died last month aged 99 – reportedly bequeathed most of his £30 million estate to his wife, Queen Elizabeth, but also left a “generous” financial gift to some of his closest aides.

A source told The Sun newspaper’s Fabulous Digital: “Unlike some other royals, Prince Philip will be generous to the three men who looked after him.

“These include his private secretary Brigadier Archie Miller Bakewell, his page William Henderson and valet Stephen Niedojadlo.”

All three men were involved in Philip’s funeral procession, and William and Stephen were regularly by the prince’s side at Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate, where he spent most of his time.

While royal wills are not made public, it’s believed Philip’s four children – Princess Anne and Princes Charles, Andrew and Edward – were told they can “take what they want” from their father’s collection of 13,000 books, which have been returned from Wood Farm to the library at Buckingham Palace.

Small personal items are likely to have been passed to family members, with it previously being reported that his granddaughter, Lady Louise Windsor, would inherit his horse carriages as she shared her grandfather’s passion for carriage driving.

Philip’s eldest son, Charles, is believed to have been given his father’s collection of Robert Falcon Scott’s treasured mementoes of his ill-fated 1912 South Pole expedition.

According to the insider, Philip spent some time after being released from hospital in March signing photos of himself, which were placed in frames with his cypher on them with the intention of being given as gifts to those who had looked after him.

A royal spokesperson refused to confirm the reports of how Philip’s assets will be divided.

They simply said: “This is a personal matter for the family and as such arrangements are private.”