Queen Elizabeth's Private Letters & Diaries Could Be Released to the Public — What They May Contain

Let’s hope Queen Elizabeth II wasn’t keeping any deep, dark secrets in her personal diaries and letters because they could be released to the public. Across her 70-year reign, the monarch kept a handwritten diary containing reflections on both her personal life and her role. These admissions could be released for publication in the coming years.

According to The Daily Express, the monstrous task of combing through the Queen’s writings has been assigned to Paul Whybrew, a former footman who must decide which of the documents could be eligible for national historical archives, which are public.

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Whybrew, who stands at 6 feet, 4 inches tall, is affectionately known as “Tall Paul” in royal teams and worked for the Queen for 44 years. Whybrew, who is now the keeper of the Queen’s secrets was one of few people with the longest reigning monarch in her final days at Balmoral.

However, it will ultimately be at King Charles II’s discretion to determine which of the letters and diary entries are too personal to be released to the public. The practice of publishing former monarch’s letters is not uncommon. Many of Queen Victoria’s personal diary entries are available online.

One entry on her 18th birthday reads: “Today is my eighteenth birthday! How old! and yet how far am I from being what I should be. I shall from this day take the firm resolution to study with renewed assiduity, to keep my attention always well fixed on whatever I am about, and to strive to become every day less trifling and more fit for what, if Heaven wills it, I’m someday to be.”

Queen Elizabeth II was known to have a penchant for writing handwritten letters and one such letter has already been stored away in a vault for another six decades. The late Queen sent a letter to Sydney’s Lord Mayor with these instructions on the envelope: “On a suitable day to be selected by you in the year 2085 AD, would you please open this envelope and convey to the citizens of Sydney my message to them. Elizabeth R.”

September 8, 2023 will mark a year since the Queen died at the age of 96 in her Balmoral residence in Scotland. It is unclear how long it may take to unveil any of her diaries and letter, if any are to be published at all, but it could certainly provide a fascinating insight into the life of the ultra-private Queen.

Before you go, click here to see the best photos of Queen Elizabeth II before she was queen.

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