Man claims to be 'son' of British queen's sister

LONDON: A man who claims to be the illegitimate son of the late sister of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II appeared in a London court on Tuesday in a bid to prove what he says is his royal lineage.

Robert Brown, 51, an accountant from the British island of Jersey, off the north French coast, says he is 12th in line to the British throne as a son of Princess Margaret, who died in 2002, aged 71.

He wants to see the wills of the princess and her mother, the Queen Mother, who died in 2002 aged 101, to prove his case and cites the queen as a defendant.

Brown was born in Nairobi, Kenya in 1955 -- his birth mother is offically Cynthia Joan Brown, a model who worked for Hardy Amies, the queen's former dresser, and his father, Douglas Brown, was posted to Kenya with the army.

Britain's Press Association (PA) news agency said one theory being used to support Brown's claim is that the Browns adopted Margaret's illegitimate child to avoid a scandal.

Brown also claims that, around the time of his birth, Margaret was confined to bed with a hacking cough.

Before entering court for a private hearing, he said he 'bitterly regretted' not acting while Margaret was alive.

"I know this woman spent some time with me. I remember we were playing games and during the day she told me that I must be on my very best behaviour because one day I might be king of England," he said.

In 1954, Margaret faced controversy over her wish to wed a divorced man, Group Captain Peter Townsend, before marrying photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones in 1960, whom she later divorced.