The Westminster Abbey Urn

Are the media reports true that HM King Charles III may allow the re-opening of the urn purporting to contain the remains, found at the Tower of London in 1674, of Edward and Richard, the sons of Edward IV? If so, does the Society plan to seek permission?

The successful identification of Richard III’s mortal remains in 2012/13 awakened interest in seeking to identify the remains in the urn. The special status of Westminster Abbey means that permission to re-examine them may be granted only by our monarch. In recent years there has been a media story, widely circulated, that when King Charles ascended the throne he would look favourably on such a request. This is not accurate. It was based on a comment by a historian that was blown out of reasonable proportion to create headlines. As a Society we are committed to promoting research, but first there are many matters that need to be resolved. Because of this, we are convening an advisory group of highly qualified experts and will report their findings to our members before any next steps are contemplated.

1. What is the objective of re-examination? If identification by DNA matching is hoped for, the chances are remote: DNA is notoriously hard to extract from ancient remains and made even harder due to contamination (they were handled extensively in the 17th century and again in the 1930s).

2. Is it wise to attempt this re-examination now, with our current state of technology, or is it better to wait until more reliable means of identification have been developed? Bearing in mind that once re-examination has been performed, the urn will likely be re-sealed for another century.

3. Given that King Charles has been so widely misreported, is this a propitious moment to look at making such a request, or would it be an irritant?

4. In practical terms, such a proposal will require meticulous preparation: sufficient scientific evidence to convince the King and his advisers of a meaningful outcome; estimation of the costs and logistical arrangements involved; and identification of experts and laboratory facilities to carry out the re-examination. The Society will be led in this by experts in these fields.