The petitioners sought a faculty to exhume a body so that a minimal bone extraction could take place so that in turn the DNA could be examined, and the result used to confirm or deny the family’s belief in its Russian and royal ancestery.
Held: The reason was insufficient to justify the exhumation. There was no direct evidence of the family connection, and the faculty was sought to support curiosity only. A genuine scientific enquiry might be a good reason, but there was no such element in this case.
Sheila Cameron QC
Times 29-Oct-2004
England and Wales
Ecclesiastical
Leading Case
Updated: 01 November 2021; Ref: scu.220038
