page_title: Exhumation and reburial of Richard III of England
section_title: Reburial and commemorations
hierarchical_section_title: Exhumation and reburial of Richard III of England / Identification of Richard III and other findings / Reburial and commemorations
caption_attribution_description: English: Richard III's new tomb in Leicester Cathedral. I personally took this picture when Richard III's new tomb was revealed to the public in Leicester Cathedral on 27 March 2015, pictures were allowed with no restrictions of use
context_page_description: The exhumation and reburial of Richard III of England began with the discovery of the king's remains within the site of the former Greyfriars Friary Church in Leicester, England, in September 2012. Following extensive anthropological and genetic testing, the remains of Richard III, the last English king killed in battle, were ultimately reinterred at Leicester Cathedral on 26 March 2015.
  Richard III, the final ruler of the Plantagenet dynasty, was killed on 22 August 1485 in the Battle of Bosworth Field, the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses. His body was taken to Greyfriars Friary in Leicester, where it was buried in a crude grave in the friary church. Following the friary's dissolution in 1538 and subsequent demolition, Richard's tomb was lost. An erroneous account arose that Richard's bones had been thrown into the River Soar at the nearby Bow Bridge.
  A search for Richard's body began in August 2012, initiated by the Looking for Richard project with the support of the Richard III Society. The archaeological excavation was led by the University of Leicester Archaeological Services, working in partnership with Leicester City Council.
context_section_description: In February 2013, Leicester Cathedral announced a procedure and timetable for the reinterment of Richard's remains. The cathedral authorities planned to bury him in a "place of honour" within the cathedral. Initial plans for a flat ledger stone, perhaps modifying the memorial stone installed in the chancel in 1982, proved unpopular. A table tomb was the most popular option among members of the Richard III Society and in polls of Leicester people. In June 2014 the design was announced, in the form of a table tomb of Swaledale fossil stone on a Kilkenny marble plinth.That month, the statue of Richard III that had stood in Leicester's Castle Gardens was moved to the redesigned Cathedral Gardens, which were reopened on 5 July 2014.
  The reburial took place during a week of events between 22 and 27 March 2015. The sequence of events included:
  Sunday 22 March 2015: Richard's bones were sealed in a lead-lined ossuary and placed in a wooden coffin. The remains were moved from the University of Leicester to Leicester Cathedral via the site of the Battle of Bosworth at Fenn Lane Farm and through Dadlington, Sutton Cheney, Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Centre on Ambion Hill, and Market Bosworth retracing part of Richard's last journey.  The coffin, made  from English oak from the Duchy of Cornwall estate by Michael Ibsen, was transferred from a motor hearse to a four-horse-drawn hearse for entry into the city of Leicester.
  Monday 23 – Wednesday 25 March 2015: Remains lay in repose in the cathedral. Waiting times to view the coffin were reported to exceed four hours.
  Monday 23 March 2015: Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster, celebrated Mass for Richard III's soul in Holy Cross Priory, Leicester, the Catholic parish church, and in Holy Cross Church.
  Thursday 26 March 2015: Reburial in the presence of Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and senior members of other Christian denominations. The service, shown live on Channel 4, included memorial prayers for Richard III and the victims of Bosworth and other conflicts. Actor Benedict Cumberbatch, a distant relative of Richard III, who would soon portray him in the BBC Shakespeare adaptation The Hollow Crown,  read a poem written for the service by the poet laureate, Carol Ann Duffy. The Royal Family was represented by Sophie, Countess of Wessex, Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and his wife Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester—Richard III was Duke of Gloucester before coming to the throne himself. Music during the service included a setting of Psalm 138 by Leonel Power; Ghostly Grace, an anthem composed for the service by Judith Bingham; a setting of Psalm 150 by Philip Moore; and an arrangement of "God Save the Queen" by Judith Weir.
  Friday 27 March 2015: Unveiling the tomb to the public, in a Service of Reveal at Leicester Cathedral, followed by commemorations across Leicester.
caption: The 2015 tomb of Richard III
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