With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

Queen Victoria's Illegitimate Grandson? [30min]

"The Locock Baby". Following the trail of a possible British royal scandal in a graveyard in Sevenoaks in Kent. Does a family tomb in the graveyard hold the remains of an illegitimate royal child? The answer to the riddle that "Document" explores this week lies in a tomb in a graveyard in Sevenoaks. For two decades, one man has struggled to prove a family legend that his grandfather Henry -- the body within -- was the love child of Queen Victoria's daughter. Nick Locock's attempts to have the body exhumed and DNA tested have been thwarted twice. The authorities seem determined that any would-be royal scandal should be left to rest in peace. "Document" investigates whether this is a Palace cover-up or a much muddled family myth. Through wills, personal letters and accounts, the programme assembles compelling evidence that seems to support the Locock's claim. A passionate Princess, a royal call in the night for the Queen's obstetrician and a sudden adoption by that very man's son. Within months a hasty wedding, a new family home a stone's throw from the Mall, a family and an inheritance fit for a king. Will "Document" be able to solve the mystery without raising the dead?
Read entire article at BBC Radio 4 "Document"