King Richard III relatives call for York burial

By AMY MURPHY
Published on 25/02/2013 00:00

The living descendants of King Richard III have demanded that his remains are reburied in York.

The monarch’s 500-year-old skeleton was identified earlier this month after it was uncovered during an archaeological dig at a council car park in Leicester last year.

The remains are due to be re-interred at Leicester Cathedral next year despite campaigns to bring them to York.

Today, nine of Richard III’s descendants said they believed the king, the last monarch of the House of York, would have wanted to be buried in the northern city.

They said in a statement: “We, the under-named, do hereby most respectfully demand that the remains of King Richard III, the last Plantagenet King of England and our mutual ancestor, be returned to the city of York for formal, ceremonial reburial.

“We believe that such an interment was the desire of King Richard in life and we have written this statement so that his wishes may be fully recognised and upheld.

Earlier this month, city leaders in York said they were to write to the Queen and the Ministry of Justice in a bid to get Richard III’s remains returned to his “spiritual home”.