Professor Thackeray, from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, said: ‘400 years after his death, Shakespeare remains one of the most famous people in history – yet nobody knows for certain how he died…

Professor Thackeray said technology had now advanced to the stage where a skeleton could be exposed and studied without any need for it to be moved…

Professor Thackeray continued: ‘The technology we would use is hi-tech and powerful, and with patience we could achieve great results while staying within the letter of the warning.