Richard III TO HAVE EFFECTIVE STATE FUNERAL BY (Anglican)ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY AT LEICESTER CATHEDRAL MARCH 26th King Richard III will lie in repose for three days and have a cortege in an effective state funeral more than 500 years after his death. The re-interment, which will take place at Leicester Cathedral, has been announced two years after the King’s remains were found beneath a car park – making him the only English monarch without a marked grave. The ceremony will see his remains transferred into a lead lined coffin which will travel from Leicester to Bosworth before he is laid to rest, at a cost of £2.5 million. The route has not yet been confirmed, but will take in several villages related to his last days. These could include Donington le Heath and Barwell. Officials at the cathedral said the ceremony will not be classed as an official state funeral, but will be very similar, and the re-interment ceremony will be broadcast on Channel 4. The Cathedral will receive the monarch’s remains on March 22, 2015 and he will then lie in repose for three days. He will then be reburied during a ceremony on March 26. The Rt Revd Tim Stevens, the Bishop of Leicester, said: “Our cathedral has been consistently committed to providing a fitting, dignified and memorable ceremony for the re-interment of King Richard. We can now see how this works out in detail and our city and county look forward to all the events of next spring.” So far almost £1 million has been raised to cover the cost of the interment and the Cathedral is hoping to raise all the funds in the next eight months. The reinterment comes after a lengthy battle between the Planagenet Alliance, set up by descendants of the family of Richard III who wanted him to be reinterred in York Minster, and Leicester Cathedral and University – which led the archaeological dig. Judges at the High Court ruled earlier this year that Richard III should be reinterred in Leicester. Whilst I can see the tourist value of Richards remains being re-interred in Leicester, the Cathedral is small, a little larger than a parish church, and parking very difficult. I am also very disappointed in the very modern tomb for this king. Surely they could have made it a bit less Protestant looking-an effigy would have-in my view-been less boring and appropriate for a Mediaeval royal....what does everyone else think? Given he was building himself a tomb in York Minster at the time of his death (or so I have been led to believe) I think he would have been disappointed too. At least I suppose the Franciscans gave him a valid Requiem.
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 10:27:53 +0000