Public statements or interviews from British royals

Queen Elizabeth II Kept Uninformed About Soviet Spy and Art Adviser Anthony Blunt Until 1973, Knighthood Later Revoked

Jan 14, 2025, 12:30 PM

Newly declassified MI5 documents reveal that Queen Elizabeth II was not informed for nearly a decade that her long-time art adviser, Anthony Blunt, who served as the Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures at Buckingham Palace, was a Soviet spy. Blunt confessed in 1964 to having worked for the Soviets during World War II and maintained contact with Russian intelligence afterward. Palace officials withheld this information from the Queen to avoid adding to her worries, according to the documents. It was not until 1973, under the government of Edward Heath and when Blunt was ill, that the decision was made to inform the Queen, fearing a potential media uproar following his death. The Queen reportedly reacted calmly and without surprise upon learning of Blunt's espionage activities, recalling suspicions from the early 1950s. Blunt's role as a spy was publicly disclosed by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1979, leading to the revocation of his knighthood. He died in 1983 at the age of 75.