Mural from the Museum of Antiquities, Edinburgh, Scotland
THAT WHICH REMAINS – THE
HEART OF KING ROBERT THE BRUCE
Just before he died (the possible cause was leprosy), in 1329, Bruce
asked that his heart should be taken out of his body, and that Sir James
Douglas should carry it with him to fight against the Saracens in Spain.
Douglas obeyed the king, and the heart was enclosed in a silver casket. Sir
James died in battle, and the casket was found under his body on the
battlefield. The heart was returned to Scotland, where it was buried at Melrose
Abbey.
In the archeological excavations of the Chapter House floor of Melrose
Abbey, undertaken by Historic Scotland in the summer of 1996, the team investigated
a lead container thought to contain King Robert the Bruce's heart which had
been removed from beneath the Chapter House floor.
Under laboratory conditions a small hole was drilled into the casket and the
interior investigated by a fibreoptic cable. This larger casket was then
carefully opened: inside was another small conical lead casket, and an engraved
copper plaque inscribed;
"The enclosed
leaden casket containing a heart was found beneath Chapter House floor, March
1921, by His Majesty's Office of Works"
The smaller conical casket is about 10 inches high and 4 inches in
diameter at the base tapering to a flat top about one and a half inches in
diameter. Despite being pitted with age it was in remarkably good condition.
One of the investigating team from Historic Scotland, Richard Welander, said
that although it was not possible to prove absolutely that it is Bruce's heart,
"We can say that it is reasonable to assume that it is". There are no
records of anyone else's heart being buried at Melrose.
The casket containing the heart was not opened, and remained in
Edinburgh until it was buried again during a private ceremony at Melrose Abbey
on 22 June 1998. On the 24th June, coinciding with the anniversary of the
victory of Bruce's army over the English at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314,
the Scottish Secretary of State, Donald Dewar, unveiled a plinth over the place
in the abbey grounds where the heart is now buried.
The following item appeared in 1998 in the
Scotsman Newspaper:
There is a Mr. Mathews who wants a DNA check of Robert the Bruce's
heart, because he believes he is the illegitimate son of the late John Talbot
Fletcher, whose East Lothian estate has been reported to be valued at £300
million. After time-consuming genealogical research he is convinced that the
Talbot Fletchers are descendants of the Scottish king.
The heart could be the only genetic link between Mr Matthews and the fortune.
Lawyers acting for Mr Matthews have told him that if DNA testing confirmed his
lineage he could be entitled to a share of the family's wealth.
Mr Matthews, 61, a car plant personnel officer from Swansea, has traced the
Talbot Fletchers back to a 17th century nobleman, Sir Robert Bruce, who was
said to be a direct descendant of the 14th century monarch. A local historian
is now helping him to trace earlier links.
Mr Matthews said yesterday: "There still needs to be a lot of research
done but this is a positive lead and I have a solicitor working for me who has
proved a paternity case using DNA techniques on a body.
"The case is still continuing and I won't rest until I have proved the
claim. I want recognition that I am John Talbot Fletcher's son and entitled to
any rightful share of the inheritance.
"I am not going away, I am sticking with this.
All I have had from the Fletchers are threats, and I am sick of it."
Mr Matthews was born in a workhouse and was adopted soon afterwards. He later
discovered that his real mother was Ivy Pinn, a maid who worked at Margam
Castle, near Port Talbot, in the 1930s.
According to anecdotal evidence from local people Miss Pinn had a 12-year
affair with Talbot Fletcher - known as Jock - the married master of Margam and
the 11th Laird of Saltoun.
Mr Matthews believes the landowner was his father although records of his
adoption have gone missing. His birth certificate stated "father
unknown".
Talbot Fletcher inherited the family estates when he was 30 from his great
aunt, Lady Emily Charlotte Talbot, who said in her will that he should hand
over the legacy to his eldest son when he died.
However, there was no legitimate child.
A month before he died in 1995, Talbot Fletcher refused to discuss any
inheritance with Mr Matthews. He also refused a blood sample and was cremated
three days after his death.
Miss Pinn, who was moved to a workhouse when she became pregnant, was also
cremated when she died nine years ago. Mr Matthews and his wife, Penny, of
Llansamlet, Swansea, believe a DNA test on the heart is the only way to prove
his inheritance.
Robert the Bruce died in 1329, a hero of the Scottish War of Independence. A
spokeswoman for Historic Scotland, which has custody of the heart, said:
"Any request for exhumation of the heart would be dealt with by the
Secretary of State for Scotland but obviously this is a sacred piece of
Scottish history and a lot of thought would have to go into moving it, let
alone subjecting it to any detailed analysis."
Paul Heron, a researcher at the School of Microbiological Sciences at Swansea
University, said the test was feasible: "An organ which has been kept in a
lead lined casket could well be a useful subject for analysis.
"There was an exercise carried out recently in which it was proved that a
man living in a village in Suffolk was a direct descendant of Bronze Age people
who had been living there. This was carried out after DNA was taken from bones
dating back to that time."
Mr Matthews has so far failed in an attempt to have the remains of other
members of the Talbot Fletcher family exhumed from a tomb in Saltoun.
The Royal Bank of Scotland has estimated the family's holdings at over £300
million, the bulk of which are tied up in East Lothian and in Sussex.
The dynasty gave its name to the South Wales steel town of Port Talbot and
derived much of its wealth from William Henry Fox Talbot, the physicist
credited with pioneering photography.
Angela Fletcher, the estranged wife of the current Laird of Saltoun, said
yesterday: "As far as I understand there are no links with Mr
Matthews."
The Fletcher family's firm of solicitors, Mills & Reeve of Cambridge, said
yesterday: "We cannot confirm or deny any family link with Robert the
Bruce. Mr Matthews has so far been unsuccessful with his claim of a direct link
with the family, which the family deny."
Novelist Dame Barbara Cartland might be called upon for a DNA sample. She also
claims to be a descendant of Bruce.
The present clan chief of the Bruces is The Rt Hon Earl of Elgin and
Kincardine.
According to Who's Who the Earl's full name is Andrew Douglas Alexander Thomas
Bruce. He's the 37th Chief of the Name of Bruce, the 11th Earl of Elgin
(created 1633) and the 15th Earl of Kincardine (created 1647). Date of birth 17
February 1924, which makes him 75. He has 3 sons and 2 daughters.
(Text from http://www.magicdragon.com/Wallace/)