Anthony Blunt, who worked at Buckingham Palace as Surveyor of the Queen’s Pictures, was secretly a Soviet spy during WWII.

Queen Elizabeth II was not officially informed for almost a decade that one of her most senior courtiers had confessed to being a Soviet spy, according to newly released MI5 files.

MI5 documents reveal her private secretary ‘saw no advantage in telling her’ about treachery of Buckingham Palace art expert

The National Archives has released declassified MI5 files, including the confession of a civil servant who worked in the Cabinet Office, Treasury and Foreign Office in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s – and spied for the Soviet Union at the same time.

Anthony Blunt, a royal art historian, confessed in 1964 to spying for the Soviets, but the late queen was not officially told about his past until 1973. View on euronews

When the Queen was finally told the full story in the 1970s, she was characteristically unflappable - taking it "all very calmly and without surprise".

Newly declassified British documents show that Queen Elizabeth II wasn’t told details of her long-time art adviser's double life as a Soviet spy because palace officials didn’t want to add to her worries.

Queen Elizabeth II wasn’t told details of her long-time art adviser's double life as a Soviet spy because palace officials didn’t want to add to her worries, newly declassified documents reveal.

Queen Elizabeth II was not officially informed for nearly a decade that Anthony Blunt was a Soviet spy, newly declassified documents reveal.