14 (UPI) --Documents newly declassified by MI5, Britain's internal intelligence agency ... only told her about the infamous Cambridge Five member and art historian, Anthony Blunt, who was employed as the monarch's surveyor of official pictures, in 1973 ...

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.

Recently declassified MI5 files have shed light on one of the most infamous chapters in Cold War espionage, revealing previously hidden details about Soviet infiltration in Britain's intelligence establishment and the royal household.

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.

Queen Elizabeth was left in the dark for almost a decade over the full scale of the treachery of one of her most senior courtiers, according to newly-released official files

The files about royal art historian Anthony Blunt are among a trove from the intelligence agency MI5 released Tuesday by Britain’s National Archives.

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.

Queen Elizabeth II was not told officially for nearly a decade that one of her most senior courtiers had admitted he was a Soviet spy, newly declassified British files revealed Tuesday.

Sir Anthony Blunt, the royal family's picture surveyor and renowned art historian, finally admitted that he had been a Soviet agent since the 1930s