Brown v Executors of the Estate of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
9th February 2008
[2008] All ER (D) 118 (Feb); [2008] EWCA Civ 56; 8 February 2008; Court of Appeal, Civil Division; Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers CJ, Thorpe and Dyson LJJ
Well, he got his hearing.
The executors of the estate of the late HRH Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowden Princess Margaret and the late Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother applied, under s 124 and r 58 of the Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987, for an order that Princess Margaret’s and the Queen Mother’s wills should not be open to inspection and the application succeeded. The wills were sealed.
The claimant believed that he was the illegitimate son of the late Princess Margaret and applied to unseal the wills, so that he could discover whether they made provision for an illegitimate child. In his affidavit he stated, amongst other things, that he had concluded that he was the son of Princess Margaret. The President of the Family Division struck out his application.
It was held by the Court of Appeal that the issues raised by the application were of public importance and it was impossible to say that the claimant’s claim was doomed to failure. He was entitled to have a substantive hearing of his claim to inspect the wills.
Got something to say?
You must be logged in to post a comment.
