Richard III (Leicester or York?)

This blog post is part of the Blast From The Past series; a selection of older blog posts, previously made private, now republished. Find out more here.


Today's post could be described as more of an appeal... For those of you that don't know, former King and divine ruler of England Richard III's body was recently found under a car park in Leicester City Centre. If you have been watching the BBC's The White Queen, an adaptation of the historical events revolving around Elizabeth Woodville and the War of the Roses, you will know who Richard III is. He was the third son of the York line and his ruling of the country has often been under scrutiny throughout history, as can be seen in the Shakespeare play Richard III.

Richard III as depicted in the National Portrait Gallery

Richard was born in 1452 at Fotheringhay Castle, in our very own Northamptonshire! His death came in 1485 at the Battle of Bosworth Field, Leicestershire. His body was quickly transported to the city of Leicester to be buried in the church of the Greyfriars, which has since been lost to redevelopment and it's exact location remained unsure for decades. The royal skeleton discovery was announced in February and has been a great success for the University of Leicester & Leicester City Council, who drew together to unravel the mystery of the exact location of the church and the burial site of the last king to die in battle. Richard III finally ended the battle for leadership between the two families of York and Lancaster, his successor Henry Tudor is the start of a stable line to the throne and even today Queen Elizabeth II's ancestry can be traced back to Henry.

Aneurin Barnard who plays Richard III in the BBC's The White Queen

Since the discovery of Richard's body plans were put in place for his re-interment in Leicester Cathedral, with an entire section of the cathedral being re-developed to honour the monarch. The £1million redevelopment plans include new floors, lighting and stained glass windows, creating a truly contemplative space. These plans co-inside with bigger Leicester Cathedral plans to redesign themselves and re-tell the story of Christ and Richard III to an ever-changing city. This is a great opportunity for Leicester and I feel this really will do justice to the king and his reign. However, the city of York and Richard's present day ancestors have put in a bid for the king's re-interment in York, the city of which they say Richard would've chose to be buried in. The battle for the rights for re-interment has been taken to the courts with results hopefully expected soon.

I personally would love to see King Richard III buried in Leicester, where it was decided he would be buried all those many years ago, after his death on the battlefield. I have signed a petition against the house of York in favour of Leicester as I feel that Leicester is a great representation of modern Britain, it's diversity is something to be proud of! Yes, Leicester does lack the level of historical importance that York has, but this opportunity gives the up-and-coming city an option to have a historical influence on the country for many years to come.

The plans include Richard's tomb resting on a marble white rose, the symbol of the York dynasty.

You too can sign the official HM Government petition against York -HERE- It takes no time at all and is a worthy cause. Let's hope this modern day War of the Roses doesn't drag out too long and we will all see Richard III's re-internment in Leicester, in May as planned.


MJT

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*This blogpost was originally published on 03/09/2013, reformatted and republished on 26/02/2016