Critics flag ‘worrying trend’ of keeping royal files under lock and key as thousands set for release to public

Researchers fear that thousands of government documents about the late queen and Prince Philip due for release in the next two years could be censored.

The files are scheduled to be made public in 2026 and 2027, five years after the royal couple’s deaths, and internal discussions have begun in Whitehall about how to process them and what should remain secret.