KING RICHARD III is to be re-buried in Leicester - more than 500 years after he died.
The battle-scarred bones of the former monarch will be laid in a "dignified reburial" in Leicester Cathedral, the High Court has ruled.
The King's remains were discovered under a council car park in the city back in September 2012, but it has taken almost two years to reach a decision about where he should interred.
Three judges have rejected a bid by distant relatives of the King, who formed the Plantagenet Alliance, to force Justice Secretary Chris Grayling to set up a public consultation to decide where he should be buried.
There was applause at Leicester Cathedral as the Bishop of Leicester Tim Stevens read out the result at 10am to a crowd of supporters and media.
Richard was killed at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 - ending the Wars of the Roses and the Plantagenet dynasty. His body was taken to Leicester by supporters of the victorious Henry VII and buried in Greyfriars church, now the site of the council car park.
The Alliance claimed the exhumation licence granted by the Justice Secretary in September 2012 to the University of Leicester was legally flawed because he had not attached conditions ordering consultations on re-interment.
The Alliance indicated that it wanted the remains to be buried at York Minster, claiming that was the wish "of the last medieval king of England", known as Richard of York.
Gerard Clarke, counsel for the distant relatives, told a recent court hearing that they wanted a consultation which would take in the opinions of the Queen and the Royal Family. The distant relatives of Richard III and members of the public would also be questioned.
Richard III, Leicester Cathedral, burial, relatives, High Court, ruling, plantaganet, Tim Stevens, Chris Grayling, Battle of Bosworth.A model of Richard III as he might have looked [PA ]
But Lady Justice Hallett, sitting with Mr Justice Ouseley and Mr Justice Haddon-Cave, ruled at London's High Court that there were no public law grounds for interfering with the plans for reburial at Leicester Cathedral.
The three judges said in a joint ruling: "Since Richard III's exhumation on 5th September 2012, passions have been roused and much ink has been spilt.
"Issues relating to his life and death and place of re-interment have been exhaustively examined and debated.
"The Very Reverend David Monteith, the Dean of Leicester Cathedral, has explained the considerable efforts and expenditure invested by the cathedral in order to create a lasting burial place 'as befits an anointed king'.
"We agree that it is time for Richard III to be given a dignified reburial, and finally laid to rest."
In Leicester, a delighted Bishop Stevens said: "Here in the cathedral, in the diocese, in the city, in the county, we've waited a long time for this."
Welcoming the ruling, Mr Grayling said: "I have been very clear from the start that the decision to grant an exhumation licence for Richard III was taken correctly and in line with the law.
"I am pleased the court has reached the same conclusion and comprehensively rejected all of the claimant's arguments.
"I am, however, frustrated and angry that the Plantagenet Alliance - a group with tenuous claims to being relatives of Richard III - have taken up so much time and public money.
"This case, brought by a shell company set up by the Alliance to avoid paying legal costs, is an example of exactly why the Government is bringing forward a package of reforms to the judicial review process."
Richard III, Leicester Cathedral, burial, relatives, High Court, ruling, plantaganet, Tim Stevens, Chris Grayling, Battle of Bosworth.A memorial stone to Richard III inside Leicester Cathedral [Newsteam]
Wendy Moorhen, deputy chairman of the Richard III Society, said it would work constructively with Leicester Cathedral to help bring about the reburial.
She said: "Consideration should now be given to the need for his remains to be removed to an appropriate place of sanctity before their final reinterment.
"Further arguments over the location of the King's final resting place can only be counter-productive to the solemnity of the reburial and will not help efforts to secure a reassessment of his life and character."
Nick Rushton, leader of Leicestershire County Council, said: "I'm glad the waiting is over and the issue is finally settled. It has been a very undignified time as you must remember this is the body of a man - and a king of England. He deserves to be buried with dignity and honour in Leicester Cathedral.
"Next year it will be 530 years since Richard III died at Bosworth - the last king to die in battle - and it will be with great pride that the people of Leicestershire will be part of the ceremony."
David Monteith, Dean of Leicester, said the reinterment ceremony would take place next spring. The design for the tomb which will hold the King's remains had been approved by the Cathedral Fabrics Commission for England, he added.
source: http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/477735/King-Richard-III-WILL-be-bu...
Below is the latest information about the reburial of Richard III.
To keep updated, visit www.kingrichardinleicester.com or www.richariii.net. My understanding is that the reburial will take place prior to Easter 2015. It will be a series of events and I suspect that many of them will be open to the public. When the dates are established, it will be great to know how many Geni relatives of King Richard III will attend. With all the publicity surrounding this event, I suspect that the little town of Leicester will be inundated with requests for lodging.
Reburial of Richard III
Our plans for the reburial (reinterment) of King Richard III have been carefully thought through and developed over the past year by our team at Leicester Cathedral. We have drawn on a wide range of expert knowledge and advice, but above all have been guided by our Christian perspective on life, death and what lies beyond. It is only responsible of us to have these plans ready, so that we can be in a position to lay this English monarch properly to rest as soon as possible after Judicial Review permits it, and without further undue delay.
Richard was buried back in 1485. The ceremony took place almost certainly on 25 August, on the orders of the now King Henry VII, who we might imagine was anxious to leave Leicester and consolidate his new royal status. Richard’s body had been exhibited to public gaze for three days, to prove beyond doubt his death, and now it needed to be laid speedily to rest, and probably in a manner and place that would attract as little attention as possible. Hence the choir of Greyfriars Abbey, a place where we believe only friars would normally go. But we can be sure that however hasty the burial, funeral prayers would have been said, and prayer would, of course continue to be offered daily in the very place he was laid.
In Christian tradition bodies are always buried with the presumption of finality – even if, on occasion, they may need to be moved and reburied. If that has to take place, proper practice presumes reburial in the nearest consecrated ground. Greyfriars and St Martins church were immediate neighbours in 1485, and St Martins, now a Cathedral, is now the nearest place for reburial. It is also the place specified in the Exhumation Licence, and requested by the University. You can read the letter asking for this here.
Our draft reburial plans will involve a series of particular ‘moments’, which are to be spread out over several days
Reception
The remains of King Richard III will be placed in a coffin in the University, and brought from there to the Cathedral in a dignified manner, with a public route that will reflect the movements of his final days.
The coffin will arrive in the wonderful setting of the new Cathedral Gardens, marked with the relocated statue of the king with sword in hand, and the exciting new sculpture telling the story of his Bosworth defeat, death, burial and rediscovery. From there it will proceed into the Cathedral where it will be formally received in the setting of the medieval service of Compline.
Repose
The coffin will then lie at rest for a number of days, covered with a magnificent specially commissioned pall, which tells in pictures something of Richard’s personal story, and the public will be given the opportunity to visit and pay their respects to this one-time King of England.
The Cathedral’s regular daily prayers over this period will gain a special force and meaning, as they are said in the light of this significant moment in our history.
Reburial
The reburial itself will be the occasion of a special service, which will draw together all we know of medieval reinterment rites, but will also clearly be intelligible for a modern 21st century global audience. This will not be a funeral service, when the departed is clearly commended into the hands of God in the presence of those who knew them personally in life, because this has already taken place. It will involve prayers in memory both of Richard and of all who died at Bosworth and in warfare, and will commend his soul afresh to God’s merciful judgement.
At the culmination of this service the coffin will be lowered below ground into the specially designed tomb, in a place within the Cathedral closely corresponding to where he was placed in Greyfriars over five centuries ago.
Reveal
The following day there will be a service looking to the future, as the tomb in its fullness will be revealed for the first time. Overnight the massive stone top marking the sealing off of the grave-space will have been lowered into place. Inscribed with a cross, it will face towards the Cathedral’s magnificent east window depicting Christ the King coming in victory at the last.
The Cathedral church of Leicester and Leicestershire will then invite its many communities to join us as we celebrate this permanent resting place for the last of the Plantagenets, and all that this means for the story we tell every day into the future.
You're welcome, Dale. Have you or anyone else taken a DNA test to prove that you are related to King Richard III? I'm struggling to find a DNA testing service that will compare my maternal line (mtDNA) to King Richard III. My line of descent from Cecily Neville includes both male and females. It might be possible to concentrate only on my female line. The mother of Michael Ibsen, Joy Ibsen, had an all female line direct from Cecily Neville. (Joy Ibsen is now deceased). Her son's DNA was used to identify the remains of King Richard III from his mother's all female line Obviously, as a female, an mtDNA will only test for my female ancestors.
And, my DNA would need to be compared to King Richard's DNA. I doubt if this comparison is included in a typical mtDNA test.
You can trust the Family Tree DNA group out of Texas. They will set you up with the correct Project affiliation which they coordinate. My test returned haplogroup I-1 so not likely a Plantagenent, but they did conclude that the origination of my male family line to be Northern France. http://www.geni.com/path/Ralf+Ralph+de+Meri+Mary+is+related+to+Samu...
Which married into the Plantagenets after 1066. Good Luck, just Google Family Tree DNA and they will send you all you need. DCR
King Richard's coffin will be built by Michael Ibsen, a known direct descendant of Richard lll’s sister, Anne. Here's the link showing the design. Surprisingly plain, IMO.
http://kingrichardinleicester.com/news-blog/project-news/
Tomb Design for King Richard III Approved
The Richard III Society and the Looking for Richard Project, with members of the King Richard III Reinterment Project Team, met June 23 at Leicester Cathedral to review the design of the tomb for King Richard III.
“We are pleased to confirm that the design of the Swaledale fossil stone tomb with the incised cross on will proceed as stated by the Cathedral on June 16 and as approved by the Cathedral Fabrics Commission England. Discussions about the design did reveal that the lettering around the plinth, King Richard’s name, dates, and motto Loyaltie me lie, together with four small boars, will be cut out of the Kilkenny marble stone and will appear white, not black as shown on the CGI image. We know that the incised cross will remain a disappointment to some, but it was emphasized that the deep cut of the cross will allow light to flood through it,” says Phil Stone, Chairman, Richard III Society.