Abstract

Where ancient human remains are interred in Anglican burial grounds, any questions relating to exhumation are regulated by the Canon Law of the Church of England. In contrast, a distinct set of secular legal provisions govern ancient burials on all other sites. This article explores the implications of the special relationship between the Church, State and the Royal Family, in connection with decision-making in this area, concerning human rights, equality and the wider public interest. It considers recent debates over DNA testing of the skeletons interred in Westminster Abbey as the vanished «Princes in the Tower». It explores what these controversies reveal about the treatment of ancient human remains more generally, and how legal systems might balance the various rights and stakeholders.