Richard III’s Remains Reburied at Leicester Cathedral

The remains of King Richard III have been reburied today during a ceremony at Leicester Cathedral attended by the Countess of Wessex and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.

Reverend Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, led the service accompanied by several members of the clergy including the Bishop of Leicester. The ceremony was more a memorial remembering the last Plantagenet King than a sober funeral – “a reinterment” the Dean of Leicester told the congregation.

A number of individuals who had been heavily involved in the discovery of Richard III’s remains, as well as preparing the reburial celebrations, were invited to attend the final reburial. Collateral descendants and relations of Richard III were also present, including actor Benedict Cumberbatch, who read a poem entitled ‘Richard’ written by Carol Ann Duffy.

Queen Elizabeth was not present in Leicester, but wrote a foreword for the order of service calling the occasion one of “great national and international significance” for a King who “lived through turbulent times and whose Christian faith sustained him in life and death.”

At the beginning of the ceremony, the Duke of Gloucester placed the Book of Hours, which was found in the tent of Richard III on the battlefield of Bosworth, at the foot of the King’s coffin.

Filed under Historical Royals, The United Kingdom
Tagged House of Plantagenet, Richard III of England, The Countess of Wessex, The Duchess of Gloucester, The Duke of Gloucester.

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