When is it OK to photograph graves?

During a recent visit to the Cathedral in Monte Carlo in which Princess Grace of Monaco* is buried alongside her husband, Prince Rainier, I felt shocked and uncomfortable when the person in front of me took a photograph of Princess Grace's memorial. Reflecting on this later, I found myself questioning my reasons for feeling shocked at his action. It cannot simply have been that it took place inside a sacred space, because as part of a course on Loss and Death I take students to a cemetery, where I ask them to take pictures of anything they find of interest, which inevitably includes graves.

      Was it simply that I felt photographing Princess Grace's grave was frivolous, because for the photographer, a holidaymaker like me, it was just a holiday snap, whereas the photographs I take with my students contribute to their professional development? Could the fact that the cemetery I visit with my students is a public space mean that photographing graves there is ethically OK? I am left with an uneasy sense that the only possible justification must focus on the fact that the work we are doing has a serious educational purpose. But is this really good enough?

Maggie Jackson, School of Health and Social Care, University of Teessside.

* Formerly the actor Grace Kelly.