DNA testing may establish lineage going back more than 500 years

[Matilda]

4. As a corollary to the DNA testing of the body found in Leicester,

it would be very interesting if the bones of two boys found in the Tower in 1674 could be DNA tested to see whether they are the bodies of the two princes.

The bones, found under a stone staircase, were declared to be those of the two princes and were placed in an urn by order of Charles II and placed in Westminster Abbey, where they remain today. But many historians now think it's quite unlikely that these are the bones of the princes - it would have been an impossible task to have demolished a stone staircase, buried the bodies and rebuilt the staircase in a night, as the legend has it. It's believed far more likely that the bones were buried before the construction of the staircase, generations before the princes lived.

DNA testing could prove once and for all whether the bodies are those of the two Plantagenet princes, and if not, it weakens the case against Richard III considerably. But only the Queen can grant permission for the testing, and she has so far refused to do so. It's hard to believe she has so little curiosity about her distant family. Perhaps Prince Charles may be able to change her mind - he has a degree in archeology, which indicates an interest in history. We can only hope.