The Secret Dairies by David Sharrock, Ireland Correspondent (2006)
By David Sharrock, Ireland Correspondent

Diaries will stay secret 'to protect the Queen'
The owner of one of the world’s great art collections left diaries containing secrets apparently so explosive that his widow ordered their suppression for 21 years after the death of the Queen.

A special clause in the last will and testament of the socialite Clementine Beit, published by the Probate Office of the Irish Republic in Dublin, has revealed that she was so concerned by the contents of the diaries of her late husband, Sir Alfred Beit, and their potential consequences for the Royal Family, that they are to remain under lock and key until 21 years after the Queen’s death or 70 years after Lady Beit’s death, whichever is sooner.

Sir Alfred, who inherited a diamonds, gold and fine art fortune from his South African uncle, known as the “Randlord”, lost his Tory Commons seat in the Labour landslide of 1945 and moved with his wife to South Africa. They then made their home in Ireland after buying Russborough House, a Palladian mansion in Co Wicklow.

Before their withdrawal to Ireland, the couple had lived at the heart of London society, with a home on “Millionaires’ Row” in Kensington Palace Gardens. In the 1930s Lady Beit had visited Germany and, with her cousins Nancy and Unity Mitford, met Adolf Hitler.

Clues to what Sir Alfred’s diaries conceal that could be so damaging are scarce. There was speculation in Dublin yesterday that a decision of the Beits to sever their London links after the death of George VI in 1952 could hold the key to the mystery.

Sir Alfred would have had access to the royal court throughout the 1920s and 1930s, during the abdication crisis in 1936 of Edward VIII and his replacement by George VI, the Queen’s father. He and his wife were not just the richest but were thought to be the most handsome couple in London during this period.

“The only conclusion that can be drawn from Lady Beit’s will is that the diaries have been suppressed to avoid causing [the Queen] embarrassment during her lifetime,” said the Sunday Independent, the Irish newspaper that broke the story yesterday.

The diaries are to be kept strictly private by the trustees, Dublin solicitors Paul Guinness and Paula Fallon. There is also provision for new trustees to be appointed if necessary to accommodate the full period stipulated by the will.

When the “trust period” expires, Sir Alfred’s diaries are to be handed to the National Library of Ireland.