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Like Julia Barrow's response, this is mere speculation, but the Anglican bishops may have had some doubts about the authenticity of the relics, which clearly had a rather checkquered past. Was the absolute identity of the bones exhumed in 1931 with those of the martyred king ever established to the satisfaction of--well, anybody other than the fellow who owned the property? The Anglican church's attitude toward the veneration of saints might have to be taken into account as well. When was the offer made? Did conditions in England at that time somehow suggest to the bishops that such a course of action would be inadvisable? (Anything, perhaps--and this again is entirely speculative--to do with the unexpected retirement of another king, coincidentally named Edward, in 1936??????) Finally, it is a sure thing that the Anglican church in recent times has not viewed meddling with royal remains as A Good Thing. A lock of hair supposed to be that of Edward IV has now surfaced, and suggestions have been made that its DNA might helpfully be compared to that of the bones in Westminster Abbey believed to be those of Edward's sons, the princes who disappeared in the Tower of London around 1483. So far, however, the clergy of the Abbey have temporized in the matter of opening the urn containing the bones for a third time this century. There appear as well to be concerns at a far higher level of society that if the DNA comparison with the lock of hair was inconclusive, there might be calls for Edward IV's tomb in in St George's chapel to be opened so that a conclusive match either with Edward or his wife might be obtained. Requests to open any royal tombs have for the past century or so been turned down flat by the incumbents at Buckingham Palace; the only exception was that of Henry VI in St George's chapel, which was examined in Edward VII's reign because there were some doubts whether Henry's remains had ever been moved there. When Victoria heard that Dean Stanley was rummaging around the Abbey looking for James I's coffin, the location of which had somehow gone unrecorded, she issued stern orders that while the royal vaults might be opened, none of the contents were to be disturbed nor any of the coffins opened. Perhaps we should simply coin a new sobriquet for Edward the Martyr and start calling him St Edward of the Midlands or something of the sort? The bank could probably do with an irreproachable patron--but imagine the challenge of composing the liturgy for his feast! (Something about Christ and the moneychangers in the Temple?) John Parsons %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%