Next week (March 2015) Richard III will be buried in Leicester Cathedral. The lead-lined coffin has been carved by one of his descendants, named not Richard but Michael. It was Richard's closest descendant's DNA which enabled Richard III to be identified when his skeleton was dug up from a Leicester car park.
Richard III should be buried in York, many people protest, because he is from the House of York. (He lost to the Lancastrians, from Lancaster, Tudor dynasty, a line of kings all confusingly named Henry who led to Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.)
However, York already has many attractions and does not need another. Also visitors to York might find so many other things to do that they neglect Richard III.
Leicester, however, has almost no major attractions. I recall the highlight of my stay with my good friend Lynda was a trip to the Dunelm Mill store. Leicester is also nearer if you are going north from London, where large numbers of tourists arrive.
Yes, Leicester, specifically Leicester Cathedral, is a great place for Richard III to be buried, near where he died in the battle of Bosworth Field, ending The Wars of The Roses ((White rose of York versus Red Rose symbol of Lancaster on their heraldic badges). He lived from 2 October 1452 to 22 August 1485, dying in his early thirties.
How do you get to Leicester? Drive up the motorway from London. As Richard III said, according to William Shakespeare, at the end of the play, Richard III, written about 1592, more than a century later, "A horse! A horse - my kingdom for a horse!"
Did Richard kill, or order to be killed, his nephews, the two princes in the tower (of London). He had just cancelled the coronation of the eldest brother, declaring them both to be illegitimate, so that he could be crowned.
You may recall the opening line of the Shakespeare's play, given to Richard III, "Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of York."
If you want to know more about Richard III, you can read three books about him. Two of the biographies were reviewed in a recent edition of the Sunday Times, by the author of the third book.
Richard III should be buried in York, many people protest, because he is from the House of York. (He lost to the Lancastrians, from Lancaster, Tudor dynasty, a line of kings all confusingly named Henry who led to Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.)
However, York already has many attractions and does not need another. Also visitors to York might find so many other things to do that they neglect Richard III.Leicester, however, has almost no major attractions. I recall the highlight of my stay with my good friend Lynda was a trip to the Dunelm Mill store. Leicester is also nearer if you are going north from London, where large numbers of tourists arrive.
Yes, Leicester, specifically Leicester Cathedral, is a great place for Richard III to be buried, near where he died in the battle of Bosworth Field, ending The Wars of The Roses ((White rose of York versus Red Rose symbol of Lancaster on their heraldic badges). He lived from 2 October 1452 to 22 August 1485, dying in his early thirties.
How do you get to Leicester? Drive up the motorway from London. As Richard III said, according to William Shakespeare, at the end of the play, Richard III, written about 1592, more than a century later, "A horse! A horse - my kingdom for a horse!"
Did Richard kill, or order to be killed, his nephews, the two princes in the tower (of London). He had just cancelled the coronation of the eldest brother, declaring them both to be illegitimate, so that he could be crowned.
You may recall the opening line of the Shakespeare's play, given to Richard III, "Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of York."
If you want to know more about Richard III, you can read three books about him. Two of the biographies were reviewed in a recent edition of the Sunday Times, by the author of the third book.
Photo of Richard III of England from Wikipedia in public domain
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