King Richard III's Remains to Stay in Leicester; London High Court Says It Shouldn't Have Interfered
ByThe High Court in London has ruled against distant family members of King Richard III and ordered his remains be buried in Leicester.
According to BBC News, the court handed down its ruling Friday, but also stated it should not have been involved in the first place. The lost bones of the last King of England to die in battle were found in a Leicester car park in 2012 and Richard III's distant relatives tried to gain the right to rebury him in York.
Richard III was buried at the Leicester Church after dying in the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. However, the building was lost years later and the king's remains were too considered gone. Leicester authorities were glad to hear the ruling and stated they would reinter the bones with "dignity and honor."
The group lobbying for Richard III's bones to return to York, the Plantagenet Allegiance, claimed to be the king's descendants and wanted his remains to be reburied in York, where Richard III spent his childhood and most of his adult life. They were granted a judicial review, but the High Court found, "There was no public law grounds for the court to interfere."
From BBC News, the three judges' joint decision:
"Since Richard III's exhumation on 5 September 2012, passions have been roused and much ink has been spilt.
"Issues relating to his life and death and place of reinterment have been exhaustively examined and debated.
"The Very Reverend David Monteith, the Dean of Leicester Cathedral, has explained the considerable efforts and expenditure invested by the cathedral in order to create a lasting burial place 'as befits an anointed King'.
"We agree that it is time for Richard III to be given a dignified reburial, and finally laid to rest."
David Monteith, the dean of Leicester Cathedral, told the Los Angeles Times the Leicester burial site is the most fitting for King Richard III.
"He fell here. He's lain here for over 500 years. The cathedral is about 150 meters from the site of discovery," Monteith said. "He knew the city of York well, but he knew the city of Leicester well. He didn't leave any will saying [where] he should be buried.... We're simply doing what the law requires."