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The Duke of Edinburgh's will is to remain secret for at least 90 years to protect the "dignity and standing" of the Queen, the High Court has ruled, BBC News reports.

It has been convention for over a century that, after the death of a senior member of the Royal Family, the courts are asked to seal their wills.

It means that, unlike most wills granted probate, it will not be open to public inspection.

There will be a private process in 90 years to decide if it can be unsealed.

The hearing into the application to seal the will was also held in private in July by Sir Andrew McFarlane, the most senior judge in the family courts.

He heard arguments from lawyers representing the duke's estate and the attorney general, the government's chief legal adviser, and published his ruling on Thursday.

Sir Andrew said that as president of the Family Division of the High Court, he is the custodian of a safe containing more than 30 envelopes, each containing the sealed will of a dead member of the Royal Family.

And for the first time in more than 100 years, he set out a process by which those wills could be made public.

Sir Andrew said: "I have held that, because of the constitutional position of the Sovereign, it is appropriate to have a special practice in relation to royal wills.

"There is a need to enhance the protection afforded to truly private aspects of the lives of this limited group of individuals in order to maintain the dignity of the Sovereign and close members of her family."