[Lessismore]

I say, dig her up and let's have a test.

[ChicagoRepublican]

Thank god we had a revolution.

[kitkat]

Well, let's see...in Victorian days they used to save a hunk of hair and have it made into a ring or a brooch as a way to honor the deceased. If anyone has such a memento of Victoria and can prove its authenticity, a DNA test would be possible.

[Utopia]

Mr. Brooks-Baker said he did not believe the claims of illegitimacy in the book and said it was doubtful Queen Victoria's remains would ever be made available for DNA testing.

I'm sure there are hair samples of Queen Victoria still around -- after all it was through tests done on Napoleon's hair samples kept by generations of his faithful followers that determined that Napoleon in fact died of arsenic poisoning.

DNA Tests on Queen Victoria's hair would settle this very easily.

[sneakypete]

and said it was doubtful Queen Victoria's remains would ever be made available for DNA testing.

I'm going to go out on a limb here,and say this is what they call a "understatement".

[CIB-173RDABN]

This only gives hope to the Democrats. 150 years from now they will still be writing books about President Bush and how he did not win the elections.

[A CA Guy]

Alright, anybody else have a great great grandpa also jump the queen. C'mon now, fess up!

[Iwo Jima]

And just how many ascendants to the throne over the past 1500+ years have been illegitimate? For example, do we know that Elizabeth I was really the daughter of Henry VIII? How many kings have "produced" an heir by such "alternative" means?

If we dug them all up, we just might learn that Joe Schmoe of Paducah, Kentucky is the "real" king of England. And would anybody care?

Well, maybe Joe would.

[x]

Her parents were married in May 1818 and she was born in May 1819. If she'd been born substantially later -- or earlier -- Wilson's views would carry a lot more weight. But adulterous fooling around that close to the wedding is much less likely, though certainly not impossible.

Victoria and her husband Albert were first cousins. Indeed, they were even more closely related than that, since her father and Albert's mother both came from the same family, as did her mother and his father. Somebody else will know more about the genetics involved, but my impression is that first cousins getting married can be a very risky thing. Can something come out because of such a marriage that hasn't shown itself earlier?

[Cicero]

I know A. N. Wilson from having read several of his books, including a biography of Milton. The man is an idiot.

[Crazymonarch]

The disease syphilus ran also in the family,it would be doubtful 10 percent of the 'nobility' would be any relation to a Magna Carta signatory

[JessicaDragonet]

This reminds me of the guy who used to leave his wife and kids to go to a bar every single nite. After dinner, he would grab his coat and hat, and while pausing at the door, he would say "goodnight mother of four".

He finally stopped when, one night, after saying "goodnight mother of four".....she said "goodnight father of three".

[freebilly]

A book to be published this week says that Britain's Queen Victoria may have been illegitimate, possibly undermining the whole Royal Family's legitimacy

Gee, can I survive such earth shattering news....

[weikel]

It won't effect the legitimacy of the royal family. William the Conqueror was illegitimate too don'tcha know.

[paulklenk]

the illness porphyria — a hereditary disorder of body metabolism — once ran in the Royal Family

Porphyria is the illness mentioned in The Madness of King George -- the illness that drove him insane and turned his pee pea green, if I remember correctly from the movie.

-- "One may produce a copious, regular evacuation every day of the week and still be a stranger to reason."

[soozer47]

You don't have to dig her up or even do DNA testing. Just look at the pictures and paintings of her through her life--By her own admission she thought she had inherited the ugliness of the Hanovers...she looks just like her father the duke of whatever.

[Cacique]

Hmmm, more arguments for an american style republic with checks and balances.

[SteveH]

Thought that British censors existed so that we would all be shielded from this kind of stuff ;-].