A Jersey accountant sued to open Princess Margaret's sealed will to prove he was her secret son

Princess Margaret died in February 2002 and the Queen Mother in March 2002. Both wills were sealed. Robert Andrew Brown, an accountant living in Jersey, believed he was Margaret's illegitimate son, given up at birth. He applied to inspect both wills, hoping they would contain evidence of his parentage. The President of the Family Division refused permission. The Court of Appeal heard his appeal and on 8 February 2008 gave judgment in Brown v Executors of the Estate of HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. The court described his belief as without foundation and irrational, though held in good faith, and dismissed the appeal^†. The court noted that the case raised a general public interest in the practice of sealing royal wills. The litigation brought into the open the list of sealed wills and the private procedure behind it. Margaret's children sold many of her possessions at Christie's in 2006 for about £13.6 million^†. Margaret's will remains sealed.