Remains confirmed as Richard III

9:07am Tuesday 5th February 2013 in News

The skeleton of Richard III, who was killed in battle, which was found under Grey Friars car park in Leicester The skeleton of Richard III, who was killed in battle, which was found under Grey Friars car park in Leicester

THE remains found underneath a car park in Leicester have been confirmed as that of Yorkist King Richard III – but he will not be returning to the city.

Following a long wait it was announced the remains of a man buried on the site in Leicester were those of the last Plantagenet king.

After extensive tests, Richard Buckley, dig project leader, said: “It is the academic conclusion that beyond reasonable doubt, the individual exhumed at Grey Friars in September 2011 is King Richard III.”

But despite an online petition called Richard III: Come Home To York launched by The Richard III Foundation, advocating the reburial of the remains in York, it looks likely they will be interred in Leicester.

Sir Peter Soulsby, mayor of Leicester, said moves were under way for the remains to be interred in the city’s cathedral next year, stating: “The body will be reinterred in the cathedral, in whose shadow his remains have lain for 500 years.”

Canon Chancellor David Mantieth, of Leicester Cathedral, said the announcement was a “momentous day” and the king’s body once re-interred would “rest in peace and rise in glory”.

Local expert Mike Bennett, custodian of the Richard III Museum in Monkgate Bar, York, said: “I always knew the body wouldn’t be coming back to York.

“We petitioned for so long but there were not enough signatures to make a difference.

“Leicester cathedral is relatively new. It’s a shame for York and a shame for Richard himself.”

After suffering at least two fatal head wounds, tests on his skull and body showed evidence he was brutally hacked, presumably by the victors, after falling and dying on the battlefield in 1485.


Fact file

• Richard, born in 1452, was raised and trained at Middleham and Sheriff Hutton Castles

• After the death of Edward IV in 1483, Richard was made Lord Protector and later king

• He was killed on August 22 at the Battle of Bosworth Field in Leicestershire by Lancastrian forces led by Henry Tudor

Comments(27)

gsykes says...
10:04am Tue 5 Feb 13

That is so wrong that Richard is not being buried in York. If you died in a fight with somebody from Leicester would you want to be buried there. No you would not. You would want to be buried in your home town. Richards home town was York.

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Garrowby Turnoff says...
10:16am Tue 5 Feb 13

Couldn't York Minster get a little bit of him, say the skull or a leg? It would spread the assets around a bit in the human skeletal visitor marketing business. The net gain on visitor numbers as a whole in the UK tourist industry would be significantly increased as two pilgrim-able burial sites are better than one. No?

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ReginaldBiscuit says...
10:28am Tue 5 Feb 13

Bring him home.

YORK NEEDS ITS DICK BACK.

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Ignatius Lumpopo says...
10:48am Tue 5 Feb 13

Garrowby Turnoff wrote:
Couldn't York Minster get a little bit of him, say the skull or a leg? It would spread the assets around a bit in the human skeletal visitor marketing business. The net gain on visitor numbers as a whole in the UK tourist industry would be significantly increased as two pilgrim-able burial sites are better than one. No?
I agree. Richard III Part 2.

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Old_Town_Leicester says...
10:55am Tue 5 Feb 13

Richard was born in the East Midland's, not Yorkshire. He died in Leicestershire and has been buried here for over 500 years.

Also Leicester Cathedral is not new - it was built in 1086. Leicester had a Bishop at least as early as 679AD, but this was lost after the Danish invasion. It took many centuries for Leicester to regain its former cathedral status.

Richard will be buried close to St Nicholas Church, one of the oldest buildings in the UK and many other buildings and fragments survive from 1485, such as Leicester Castle Great Hall, The Church of the Annunciation, Turret Gateway, Castle Gate House, Castle House, The Magazine Gateway, The Guildhall and Wyggeston's House.

Come and visit Leicester - you may be surprised by how nice and historic Richard's final resting place is.

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Old_Town_Leicester says...
10:59am Tue 5 Feb 13

Also it is not new for VIPs to be born, die or be buried in Leicester.

Phillipa Queen of Portugal - born 1359 in Leicester
John (brother of King Henry IV) - born 1362, died and buried 1365 in Leicester
Edward (brother of King Henry IV) - born 1365, died and buried 1365 in Leicester
John (brother of King Henry IV) - born 1366, died and buried 1366 in Leicester
Mary de Bohun (wife of King Henry IV and mother of King Henry V) - buried 1394 in Leicester
Constance of Castille (mother of Catherine Queen of Castille) - died 1394 in Leicester
John O'Gaunt - died 1399 in Leicester
Richard III - buried 1485 in Leicester
Cardinal Wolsey - died and buried 1530 in Leicester

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heworth.28 says...
11:24am Tue 5 Feb 13

ATOS have declared him fit for work already

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pedalling paul says...
12:37pm Tue 5 Feb 13

ReginaldBiscuit wrote:
Bring him home.

YORK NEEDS ITS DICK BACK.
Some contributors might suggest that we already have one.....!

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idlehousewife says...
12:42pm Tue 5 Feb 13

What about creating him then his ashes could be spread in a number of locations?

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petethefeet says...
1:20pm Tue 5 Feb 13

Old_Town_Leicester wrote:
Also it is not new for VIPs to be born, die or be buried in Leicester.

Phillipa Queen of Portugal - born 1359 in Leicester
John (brother of King Henry IV) - born 1362, died and buried 1365 in Leicester
Edward (brother of King Henry IV) - born 1365, died and buried 1365 in Leicester
John (brother of King Henry IV) - born 1366, died and buried 1366 in Leicester
Mary de Bohun (wife of King Henry IV and mother of King Henry V) - buried 1394 in Leicester
Constance of Castille (mother of Catherine Queen of Castille) - died 1394 in Leicester
John O'Gaunt - died 1399 in Leicester
Richard III - buried 1485 in Leicester
Cardinal Wolsey - died and buried 1530 in Leicester
Nice Try but we're not buying this. OK, I was born at Fulford maternity hospital but I don't want to be buried there and Richard did express a wish to be interred in the Cathedral of the County town of his house and upbringing. Furthermore, the Minster is rightly lauded as 'one of the greatest gothic cathedrals in the world' - a fitting resting place for Yorkshire's Monarch. What did the City of Leicester do for him? Build a car-park over his remains. He should 'come home' like any soldier should.

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petethefeet says...
1:21pm Tue 5 Feb 13

Old_Town_Leicester wrote:
Also it is not new for VIPs to be born, die or be buried in Leicester.

Phillipa Queen of Portugal - born 1359 in Leicester
John (brother of King Henry IV) - born 1362, died and buried 1365 in Leicester
Edward (brother of King Henry IV) - born 1365, died and buried 1365 in Leicester
John (brother of King Henry IV) - born 1366, died and buried 1366 in Leicester
Mary de Bohun (wife of King Henry IV and mother of King Henry V) - buried 1394 in Leicester
Constance of Castille (mother of Catherine Queen of Castille) - died 1394 in Leicester
John O'Gaunt - died 1399 in Leicester
Richard III - buried 1485 in Leicester
Cardinal Wolsey - died and buried 1530 in Leicester
Nice Try but we're not buying this. OK, I was born at Fulford maternity hospital but I don't want to be buried there and Richard did express a wish to be interred in the Cathedral of the County town of his house and upbringing. Furthermore, the Minster is rightly lauded as 'one of the greatest gothic cathedrals in the world' - a fitting resting place for Yorkshire's Monarch. What did the City of Leicester do for him? Build a car-park over his remains. He should 'come home' like any soldier should.

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capt spaulding says...
1:27pm Tue 5 Feb 13

pedalling paul wrote:
ReginaldBiscuit wrote:
Bring him home.

YORK NEEDS ITS DICK BACK.
Some contributors might suggest that we already have one.....!
Yes he rides a bike

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bloodaxe says...
1:43pm Tue 5 Feb 13

"King Richard, late mercifully reigning over us, was, through great treason, piteously slain and murdered, to the great heaviness of this city."

York City Council, Mayor's Serjeant of the Mace, August 23rd 1485

I wonder what Leicester said.

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bloodaxe says...
1:47pm Tue 5 Feb 13

Old_Town_Leicester wrote:
Richard was born in the East Midland's, not Yorkshire. He died in Leicestershire and has been buried here for over 500 years.

Also Leicester Cathedral is not new - it was built in 1086. Leicester had a Bishop at least as early as 679AD, but this was lost after the Danish invasion. It took many centuries for Leicester to regain its former cathedral status.

Richard will be buried close to St Nicholas Church, one of the oldest buildings in the UK and many other buildings and fragments survive from 1485, such as Leicester Castle Great Hall, The Church of the Annunciation, Turret Gateway, Castle Gate House, Castle House, The Magazine Gateway, The Guildhall and Wyggeston's House.

Come and visit Leicester - you may be surprised by how nice and historic Richard's final resting place is.
Married in York Minster and wanted his chantry to be in York Minster.

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Old_Town_Leicester says...
1:50pm Tue 5 Feb 13

Where is the documentary proof that Richard wished to be buried at york Minster?

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nowthen says...
2:08pm Tue 5 Feb 13

Old_Town_Leicester wrote:
Where is the documentary proof that Richard wished to be buried at york Minster?
It's in Shakespeare :
Richard III the King : A horse a horse my kingdom for a horse.
James the Knave : we haven't got any because of government cuts.
Richard III the King : OK then, bury me in York.
However after pressure from the James' gang the last two lines were censored and removed :)

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pedalling paul says...
2:32pm Tue 5 Feb 13

capt spaulding wrote:
pedalling paul wrote:
ReginaldBiscuit wrote:
Bring him home.

YORK NEEDS ITS DICK BACK.
Some contributors might suggest that we already have one.....!
Yes he rides a bike
Only an hour for the first bite...not bad!!

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yorkiejason says...
3:07pm Tue 5 Feb 13

http://epetitions.di
rect.gov.uk/petition
s/38772

Please sign the petition

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Old_Town_Leicester says...
4:03pm Tue 5 Feb 13

Also this petition

http://epetitions.di
rect.gov.uk/petition
s/39708

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stonegate52 says...
5:37pm Tue 5 Feb 13

The remains of Richard III have been discovered and exhumed. The suggestion is that he will be buried in Leicester Cathedral. However, it seems wholly inappropriate and disrespectful to bury the former Monarch in the grounds of a church of which he was never a member and which was created by the son of the man responsible for his death and ignominious burial. I am not petitioning on religious or sectarian grounds but I believe the dead of any persuasion have a right to be interred in a place appropriate to their beliefs. Richard III was a Roman Catholic.

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Omega Point says...
10:48pm Tue 5 Feb 13

York or Leicester, it is pathetic.
There is a bridge in Leicester with a plaque saying his bones were thrown over into the river Soar.. Wrong of course but chuck them in there and save the expense of removing the plaque

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Omega Point says...
11:38pm Tue 5 Feb 13

Also, a request was sent to York by Richard for support troops, they did come.

He was also Duke of Gloucester and King of ALL England, so stop the York claims as if they had credence

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Omega Point says...
11:41pm Tue 5 Feb 13

oops: the troops did NOT come

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PinzaC55 says...
12:09am Wed 6 Feb 13

Who cares? Its a skeleton. Why does York need a skeleton?

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RooBeck says...
11:12am Wed 6 Feb 13

Listening to a local historian on this morning's Radio York programme, it appears that King Richard III was probably most fond of Scarborough and used the town as a naval base, to-gether with conferring several titles on local officials and buildings. So, bury his remains in Scarborough and as the historian jokingly highlighted, they already have an empty space!!!

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Old_Town_Leicester says...
11:21am Wed 6 Feb 13

Richard was born in the East Midland's, in Northamptonshire and spent much of his 2 year reign at Nottingham Castle. He called Nottingham his "Castle of Care".

More importantly he has been in Leicester for almost 200,000 days and should remain there. The area of Leicester where he was buried is full of history and there are some superb buildings. It is a fitting resting place.

There was no written desire by Richard III to be buried in a particular place. Many places have a strong connection with him including Leicester, Nottingham, Gloucester, London and Northamptonshire.

Best he continues to rest where he has lain for many centuries. There is no need for a dishonourable squabble over his mortal remains. It is unseemly. Also Leicester already holds the lawful licence to re-inter Richard.

We will look after him well - you can be assured.

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Old_Town_Leicester says...
12:00pm Wed 6 Feb 13

Out of interest, was Henry VII given the Freedom of York? The man who de-throned Richard III and buried him in a grave without pomp, or ceremony.

Also York Mint made Henry VII coins?

Henry VII's marriage to Elizabeth of York in commemorated in the Rose Window and York Minster.

During the War of the Roses, many rich landowners in and around York, supported the House of Lancaster.

How loyal was York to Richard III?

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