Declassified Files Reveal Queen Elizabeth II's 10-Year Ignorance of Spy in Royal Household
New revelations from declassified MI5 documents indicate that Queen Elizabeth II was kept in the dark about Anthony Blunt, a known Soviet double agent and surveyor of the Queen's pictures, for nearly a decade. According to the files, Blunt confessed to being a spy in April 1964, but the Queen was not informed until 1973. The delay was due to concerns over potential negative publicity following Blunt's death and his long-held status within the royal household.
The documentation reveals that the Queen's private secretary was fully briefed only as Blair's health declined, prompting governmental actions to protect the monarchy's reputation. During the briefing, it was noted that the Queen appeared unfazed, recalling previous suspicions about Blunt stemming from the Burgess and Maclean case in the early 1950s. MI5 officials had believed that keeping the Queen unaware of Blunt's true activities would prevent unnecessary stress, and reports suggest she had minimal interaction with him.
Blunt was part of the infamous Cambridge Five spy ring and remained in his royal position even after his confession due to the belief that public awareness of his status would be detrimental. The files, released ahead of an upcoming exhibition on MI5 at the National Archives in London, challenge previous narratives about the Queen's knowledge of Blunt's espionage.
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