Buckinghamshire accountant wins battle of the baronet

Buckinghamshire accountant wins battle of the baronet

A retired accountant from the Home Counties has won his claim to the Baronetcy of Stichill

AN ACCOUNTANT from the Home Counties is to become a baronet after using DNA evidence to prove that he is the rightful heir to a 300 year-old Scottish baronetcy, rather than his own cousin.

Murray Pringle, a retired accountant from High Wycombe, proved that he is the rightful heir to the Baronetcy of Stichill in the Scottish borders, after DNA samples proved that the bloodline that has carried that baronetcy, is ‘illegitimate’, reports The Guardian.

Sir Stuart Pringle, who died in 2013, was the 10th Baronet of Stichill but DNA samples proved that his father, 9th baronet Sir Norman Hamilton Pringle was the secret love child of an affair between his mother an unknown man, just weeks before her marriage to Norman’s father in 1902.

This means that the baronetcy does not pass down to Sir Stuart’s son, Simon Pringle, who like his cousin Murray, registered a claim to the Baronetcy of Stichill.

The case was presided over by the judicial committee of the Privy Council by the Queen, as they needed to decide who would be noted as the baronet in historical records.

In a statement through his solicitor, Simon Pringle, commenting on Murray’s victory said: “‘I want to congratulate Murray for winning the verdict and express the hope that he and his successors will wear the title as honourably as my father.”

The DNA evidence was first used as part of a family genealogy project, but indicated the illegitimacy in the bloodline. The case is a pioneering one, as DNA evidence has never been used before to resolve disagreements over a hereditary title.

Share

Subscribe to get your daily business insights

Resources & Whitepapers

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata
Professional Services

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata

3y

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folde...

In the past decade, the professional services industry has transformed significantly. Digital disruptions, increased competition, and changing market ...

View resource
2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

3y

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professi...

In recent months, professional services firms are facing more pressure than ever to deliver value to clients. Often, clients look at the firms own inf...

View resource
Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine
Accounting Firms

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

3y

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

In a world of instant results and automated workloads, the potential for AP to drive insights and transform results is enormous. But, if you’re still ...

View resource
Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021
Making Tax Digital

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

3y

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

The first phase of Making Tax Digital (MTD) saw the requirement for the digital submission of the VAT Return using compliant software. That’s now behi...

View resource