Final journey of vilified King Richard III is a noble affair
HE WASthe despised king of Tudor legend, a murderous stage villain whose brief reign went down in infamy.
Yet with the 2012 discovery of his mutilated remains in a Leicester carpark, Richard III’s reputation has been transformed. And, starting yesterday, came a remarkable national celebration for the last English king to fall in battle.
From the embroidered linen bags containing his tiny hands and feet, to the simple tomb carved in Swaledale rock, the five days of ceremony will be packed with thought-provoking detail.
His final journey started close to Bosworth Field where he was killed in 1485, and ended at Leicester Cathedral, where the last Plantagenet king will lie until his burial on Thursday.
Richard will be attended by his closest living relatives and peers descended from the noblemen who fought at Bosworth. The queen will be represented by the Countess of Wessex and the Duke of Gloucester.
Richard of York, who lost his crown to Lancastrian Henry Tudor, has been vilified as a tyrant. But many historians now regard him as a typical king in turbulent times. His skeleton had a large hole in the skull, and crucially, a curved spine, which is consistent with reports that he had a hunched back.
The bones have been packed in wool and the hands and feet placed in linen bags, embroidered with roses by children at Leicester’s Richard III Primary School. With the king is a wooden rosary, emblazoned with an enamelled white rose. The skeleton is covered by a raw linen cloth, embroidered with York roses.
The tomb is incised with a simple cross. On top of a slab of black polished granite, carved with Richard’s boar badge, his coat of arms, is his motto “Loyaulte me lie”.
The oak coffin was made by Michael
Get the Cape Argus delivered to your doorstep.
Ibsen, Richard’s nephew 17 times removed, whose family’s DNA was used to identify the skeleton.
As well as invited VIPs, more than 2 000 people have bought tickets for the event. Battlefield re-enactment society members will have held a dawn vigil in medieval dress. There will be exhibitions of aspects of medieval life. There will be a minute’s silence, then a 21-gun salute from eight medieval cannon. – Mail on Sunday.