King grants mother’s wish over burying son

THE King has granted a grieving mother’s wish to have her seven-year-old son buried in a closed graveyard dear to the family’s heart after she delivered a handwritten letter to Sandringham this Christmas.

The King has approved a Privy Council decision to allow William Brown, who was killed in a hit-and-run, to be laid to rest in the churchyard attached to his primary school.

He is said to have been “exceptionally moved” by the family tragedy.

Nobody has been buried there for 100 years since it was closed by Order of the Privy Council, with the modern-day council needing to give special permission for an exception to be made.

The Privy Council is not due to meet until February, with William’s mother Laura Brown, 41, issuing a heartfelt personal plea to the King for the decision to be sped up.

On Christmas morning, she drove three-and-a-half hours to the Sandringham Estate to hand her letter to the monarch’s security team in person.

“I don’t want him to be on his own in the morgue without us for months, especially at Christmas,” she said.

It can now be confirmed that William, who had been retrieving his football from the road outside his home when he was struck by a car on Dec 6, can be buried at the Church of St Mary and St Eanswythe.

A spokesman for the Privy Council said: “We are pleased that His Majesty The King, on the advice of his Privy Council, has granted permission in order to support the family in these tragic circumstances.

“The Brown family and the local community in Folkestone are in our thoughts at this difficult time.”

A spokesman for the King said: “His Majesty was exceptionally moved by the family’s circumstances, and pleased to be able to assist.”

It is understood that all parties were mindful of the distressing circumstances and keen to accelerate the official process.

William was a year three pupil at the primary school attached to the Church of St Mary and St Eanswythe, who walked through the grounds every day and attended services weekly.

William Brown’s mother Laura wrote a letter to the King after her son was killed