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The remains of the last Plantagenet King, Richard III, will be
reburied in Leicester cathedral, it has been revealed.
Distant relatives of the King, who formed the Plantagenet Alliance,
have lost their battle in the High Court over where the remains
should be buried.
Richard’s skeleton was discovered underneath a car park by
excavation teams from University of Leicester in September
2012.
The question of where the King’s remains should be reburied has
been a contested issue over the past months. The Plantagenet
Alliance have continued to argue that the Ministry of Justice
should not have given the University of Leicester the rights to
decide where Richard should be buried.
The Alliance were given a judicial review over the decision to
reinter the remains in Leicester cathedral by the University for
Leicester. However, the relatives were told by judges in the High
Court this morning that there was “no duty to consult” the issue.
They also commented: “There was no public law grounds for the
court to interfere”.
Members of the public, alongside Leicester’s mayor Sir Peter
Soulsby, gathered in Leicester cathedral as they awaited the High
Court decision to be released. Rounds of applause broke out
throughout the cathedral as the people inside celebrated the news.
The cathedral can now go ahead with their extensive plans for
Richard’s funeral.
At a press conference from the cathedral, Sir Peter Soulsby
stated: “After the frustration of recent months it is now in the
hands of the Cathedral to make proper provision for the
re-interment of Richard III, and that his remains would be laid in
a tomb fit for a king”.
A spokesperson from the University of Leicester said: “This is a
victory for common sense and justice and it upholds the norms and
agreed practice for archaeological excavations. King Richard
III received a Christian burial in Leicester over 500 years ago and
it is only right, now that the Church where he was buried has been
destroyed, that he is reinterred in the Cathedral in the same
parish with honour and dignity. The fact that the University
of Leicester discovered the King through the expertise of its
archaeological work and subsequent scientific investigation is
undisputed”.
The Plantagenet Alliance have argued that York Minister is a more
appropriate place for Richard to be buried, having spent much of
his childhood in Yorkshire and governing the Council of the North
during the reign of his brother, Edward IV. Richard ruled England
from 1483 for two years, before being defeated and killed by Henry
Tudor’s forces at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.
It has been revealed that it may take “three or four weeks” for a
new design for a tomb to be released.
The reburial ceremony is scheduled to take place in Spring
2015.
The Very Reverend David Monteith, the Dean of Leicester, commented:
“This is a day to open the champagne that’s been sat in my fridge.
Let’s just rejoice that the judgement has come”. He continued by
saying: “We agree that it is time for Richard III to be given
a dignified reburial, and finally laid to rest”.
It has been announced that Channel 4 will be the official
broadcaster for the funeral. The reinterment will take place over a
number of days and Channel 4 will be the only national broadcaster
in the UK to show the funeral live on television.
Jay Hunt, Chief Creative Officer, has stated: “We’re proud to be
the only broadcaster who committed to this extraordinary story from
the very start and we’re delighted to be able to see that story
through to its conclusion with the broadcast of this remarkable
international event”.
There will be a procession from the University of Leicester to the
cathedral along a public route, which will allow members of the
public to follow the path that Richard took during the final
days before his death. The King will then be formally laid to rest
in the cathedral in a newly-constructed tomb at the altar,
where the public will be welcome to go and pay their respects.
Photo credit: Lisby via photopin cc]]>
