HL Deb 09 August 1966 vol 276 cc1680-1

2.43 p.m.

LORD AMULREE

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

[The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government when the report on the body of Anne Mowbray, Duchess of York, is expected to be made.]

LORD STONHAM

My Lords, I understand that the London Museum is compiling an historical monograph which will deal not only with information derived from study of the coffin and skeleton but also with various aspects of the life and times of Anne Mowbray. It is expected that the text will be completed in the course of the autumn, but it is not yet possible to say when the report will be published.

LORD AMULREE

My Lords, while thanking the noble Lord for his reply, which is full of information, may I ask him whether it is proposed that the same rather cumbersome procedure will be followed when the body of a Royal or a noble person is unexpectedly found in the course of some kind of excavation?

LORD STONHAM

My Lords, the responsibility of my right honourable friend the Home Secretary in such circumstances is confined, first, to granting a licence for the disinterment, which in this case happened some two months before he heard about it; and, second, to granting a licence for the reburial. Both of these responsibilities have been fulfilled. It would be extremely hypothetical for me to forecast what action would be taken in similar circumstances if, 500 years hence, some other Royal personage is discovered under like conditions.

LORD AMULREE

My Lords, can the noble Lord tell me who is to pay for this somewhat expensive report?

LORD STONHAM

My Lords, with regard to the report, the noble Lord will appreciate that the London Museum is responsible for the text of the report, and contributions to this are coming from a number of eminent sources. The role of the museum in this is largely one of coordination. With regard to the actual printing, assuming that Her Majesty's Stationery Office are responsible for this, they, of course, will be responsible for the printing costs, and also for the receipts from the sales of the report.