Request
Are you able to tell me please how many files have been transferred from the National Archives to the Royal Archives in each year from 1995 to date, and how many made the journey in the opposite direction?
Can I ask if such transfers result from requests from the Royal Archives or other elements relating to the royal family, or are they decisions taken at Kew?
Are you able to refuse requests for such transfers from Kew to Windsor?
Am I correct in thinking that all files relating to discussions about royal finances between the government and the palace that occurred between 1992 and 1994 have been transferred to Windsor following a request / demand you received?
Outcome
Information provided
Response
Under section 3(6) of the Public Records Act 1958 (PRA), public records selected for permanent preservation are transferred to The National Archives or other place of deposit appointed by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. Public records selected for permanent preservation may also transfer between The National Archives and places of deposit under the terms of sections 4(1) and 4(3) of the PRA.
However, the Royal Household is not covered by the First Schedule of the PRA, so the papers of the Royal Archives are not defined as public records. Neither is the Royal Archives an appointed place of deposit and we therefore have no record that any material has transferred to the Royal Archives on that basis.
There are no formal or informal agreements or policies concerning the transfer of records between The National Archives and Royal Archives specifically. The National Archives liaises with the Royal Archives and provides advice and support for its archival operations generally, based on the Historical Manuscripts Commission warrant. The warrant provides for The National Archives to be the central advisory body on all issues related to archives and manuscripts that are not covered by the PRA and forms an important part of our engagement with the archives sector. However, this relationship does not include specific agreements, procedures or instructions about transfers of records between The National Archives and the Royal Archives.
Records of the Keeper of the Privy Purse were transferred from the Public Record Office (as it then was) to the Royal Archives in May 1967. This was reported in the 9th Annual Report of the Keeper of Public Records (1967). The basis on which the transfer was made is not given but these records appear originally to have been deposited with the Public Record Office for safekeeping rather than permanent preservation and they were not considered to be public records. Transfer to the Royal Archives was therefore permissible and was not subject to the specific provisions of the PRA noted above.
We are not aware of any other direct transfers of records from the Public Record Office/The National Archives to the Royal Archives.
Section 3(6) of the PRA makes it permissible for public records that have not been selected for permanent preservation at The National Archives or a place of deposit to be presented by a department to a bona fide archive as an alternative to destruction. Decisions in relation to this procedure are guided by our Records Collection Policy. Please use the following link and refer to paragraph 4.2.
https://cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/records-collection-policy-2012.pdf
In these circumstances, The National Archives supervises the presentation of records by the relevant department. Several groups of records have been offered to the Royal Archives under section 3(6) and the following table provides details of presentations to the Royal Archives by various departments made under the supervision of The National Archives:
| Years | From | Description of records |
| 2010 | Ministry of Defence | Files detailing flying training for Royal Family, 1967-1984 |
| 2004 | HM Customs and Excise | Customs and Excise: Letter from Prince Adolphus Frederick, 1846 |
| 1993 | Treasury Solicitor | Royal Correspondence (details provided in the Public Record Office Annual Report 1993) |
Please note the information provided to you here is based on the best information we can establish from the records that we hold here at The National Archives, based on our role which is to oversee the process of presentations under section 3(6) of the PRA.