Queen Elizabeth II was kept in the dark for a long time about a major scandal during her reign. Newly released MI5 files reveal that, for nearly 10 years, the late monarch didn’t know that royal household member Anthony Blunt was actually a Soviet double agent.

Documents newly declassified by MI5, Britain's internal intelligence agency, show the late Queen Elizabeth II was not informed for almost 10 years that a member of her staff had spied for the then-Soviet Union.

The identity of a Russian spy among Queen Elizabeth II's courtiers was kept from the monarch for almost a decade, but she took the news with her typically calm demeanour

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

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.

Declassified documents confirm that the late Queen Elizabeth II of England was not informed until many years later that she had a KGB spy amongst her members of staff. She didn't like him anyway.