Richard III: Keep our King where he belongs Saturday, August 31, 2013 Leicester Mercury Today we launch a campaign to keep King Richard III where he belongs – here in Leicester. We are aiming to gather huge support for a Government epetition supporting the city’s claim to be the rightful resting place of the last Plantagenet king. And we are appealing to our army of readers to support the cause by adding their names to the petition, which already has about 12,000 signatures, but closes in six weeks. During that time, we will be enlisting sports clubs, businesses and other organisations, as well as a host of famous faces, to back our campaign. We want to send out a clear and united message from Leicestershire that the king should stay here. The campaign has been launched in response to a bid by the Plantagenet Alliance to overturn plans to reinter Richard’s remains in Leicester Cathedral and bury him in York instead. The Alliance has won the right to a judicial review and the judge has recommended that an independent advisory panel should be set up to decide the matter. That has cast doubt over plans to reinter Richard in Leicester Cathedral next year and raised the possibility that the remains may be snatched away. Our campaign has already won the backing of the Richard III Society’s Philippa Langley, who was the driving force behind the decision to search for the king’s remains. Philippa, who lives in Edinburgh, said: “I think it’s a brilliant idea. I think Leicester really needs to get behind this campaign in the same way it did when it showed its support for a tomb over a slab memorial. Richard should stay in Leicester.” The petition, created by Hinckley resident Roy Shakespeare, ends on October 12 and is headlined “Keep Richard III remains in Leicester”. It asks for “the mortal remains of England’s last Plantagenet King, Richard III, the last king to die in battle, recently discovered under a council car park in Leicester, to be re-interred with due dignity and respect in Leicester, where he was originally buried.” York also launched a petition, which has gathered about 28,000 signatures – and finishes on September 24. Other petitions include Gloucester, Northamptonshire, Lancaster, York and Westminster Abbey. Mercury editor Richard Bettsworth said: “We need to show the rest of the UK that Leicester is the home of Richard III. “He was buried here more than 500 years ago and was discovered, against all odds, by the University of Leicester. “Without the fantastic achievement of the university’s archaeologists, there would be no bones for anyone to lay claim to. “We need to rally together as a city and county to demonstrate our passion and pride for Richard III.” City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: “The argument that the bones should remain here in Leicester is overwhelming. “He rode out from Leicester to Bosworth, after choosing to spend the night before the battle here. He died at Bosworth and was brought back to the city and buried here on the orders of the new king. “But it was the University of Leicester that discovered and identified, with great skill, his remains and without the archaeologists and academics there would be no Richard III for York to unceremoniously attempt to abduct.” The Very Rev David Monteith, Dean of Leicester, said: “Richard has lain across the road for the past 500 years and now we are looking forward to offering him the dignity and sanctuary of our cathedral as his final resting place. “We very much welcome this opportunity for people to express their support for our proposals and encourage everyone to sign the petition.” Richard was killed at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 and buried in Leicester’s Grey Friars, a friary which has long since disappeared and been built over. His remains lay undiscovered until a project was launched by Ms Langley and the University of Leicester last August to excavate a council car park and try to find the lost king. Incredibly, a skeleton with a curved spine and battle wounds was found almost immediately, and was confirmed in February as that of Richard III following extensive tests including studies of DNA. The sensational find led to international headlines, but it also triggered a campaign to remove Richard’s remains from Leicester and bury him in York, where supporters claim he had greater historical links. The Plantagenet Alliance, a group of people claiming to be related to the king, applied for a judicial review of the decision to rebury Richard in Leicester. It said relatives and the nation should have been consulted before the university was given an exhumation licence, which allowed it to decide on reburial at the cathedral. The licence was granted by the Ministry of Justice before the excavation began. Two weeks ago, a High Court judge agreed to allow a judicial review to take place but suggested that the matter should be decided by an independent advisory panel rather than being fought out in the courtroom. GET INVOLVED: How to show your support To show your support for the Mercury’s campaign sign the petition here: epetitions.direct.gov.uk It takes just a few minutes and readers will need to provide an e-mail address when signing the online document. If you know anyone who does not have access to a computer they can sign a paper version of the petition, which can be found at the reception at the Leicester Mercury offices, in St George Street, Leicester, from Monday. MERCURY OPINION: Make it clear - Richard III belongs here
Posted on: Sat, 31 Aug 2013 10:59:59 +0000
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