"Son" of Princess Margaret irrational: judge

By Andrew Hough

LONDON (Reuters Life!) - An accountant claiming to be the illegitimate son of Britain's late Princess Margaret was branded irrational by a senior judge on Friday, despite winning the latest round in his bid to access secret royal wills that he believes will prove his claim.

Robert Brown, 53, from Jersey, says he is the illegitimate son of Margaret, who died in 2002, and the late Group Captain Peter Townsend.

He wants to see the wills both of Margaret -- sister of Britain's Queen Elizabeth -- and the Queen Mother.

Last October, Brown was given leave to appeal an earlier ruling, which prevented him gaining access to the wills.

On Friday, he won a key legal battle allowing him the right to have the issue thrashed out in a public trial.

Despite allowing his appeal, one of Britain's most senior judges, High Court Chief Justice Nicholas Phillips, branded Brown's claim as "irrational and scandalous".

Paving the way for the allegations to be heard in public, Lord Phillips, together with Lord Justices Thorpe and Dyson, ruled Brown's public right to know about the wills outweighed the royal family's privacy.

"It is unfortunate that the important issues to which we have drawn attention should be raised by an application made by a person motivated by a belief that is both irrational and scandalous," Lord Phillips' judgment said.