The issue of access to the royal archives has become a subject of growing concern among historians and journalists in recent months. Alistair Lexden, who has strongly backed calls for much greater openness on a number of occasions, restated the case for change in a letter published in The Times on May 9.
Sir, Speculation about the extent of the royal family’s links with German relatives who supported the Nazis is damaging to the interests of the monarchy. This underlines the importance of the continuing campaign, widely supported by historians, to establish firm, transparent procedures under which scholars can have access to the royal archives, ending the existing secrecy.
The royal family has much to gain by opening up the relevant papers for proper historical study. The Duke of Coburg, described by Ben Macintyre as “the key figure in the saga” (“Hidden truth about royals’ Nazi links”, May 6), was the recipient of banal information, as the surviving German sources show. He made ludicrous mistakes, on one occasion referring to Rugby-educated Neville Chamberlain as a fellow Etonian. Like most people in Britain before 1939, the royal family wanted an understanding with Germany and used their family connections to try and help achieve it.
Lord Lexden
London SW1