Editing Richard III of England (section)

==Discovery of remains==
{{Main|Exhumation and reburial of Richard III of England}}

On 24 August 2012, the [[University of Leicester]], [[Leicester City Council]] and the Richard III Society, announced that they were going to look for the remains of King Richard. The search was managed by [[Philippa Langley]] of the Society's Looking for Richard Project with the archaeology run by [[University of Leicester#College of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities|University of Leicester Archaeological Services]] (ULAS).{{sfnp|Langley|Jones|2013|pp=11–29, 240–248}}{{sfnp|Ashdown-Hill|Johnson|Johnson|Langley|2014|pp=38–52, 71–81|ps=, including back cover.}}<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--no credited author--> |title=The remains of King Richard III reinterred in Leicester Cathedral, in pictures |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/uknews/11488494/The-Remains-of-King-Richard-III-reburied-in-Leicester-cathedral-in-pictures.html?frame=3241293 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |publisher=<!--Telegraph Media Group (omitted as substantially similar to newspaper name)--> |location=London |date=<!--not given--> |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150328133533/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/uknews/11488494/The-Remains-of-King-Richard-III-reburied-in-Leicester-cathedral-in-pictures.html?frame=3241293 |archive-date=28 March 2015 |url-status=dead |access-date=24 April 2016 |quote=Philippa Langley, who led the quest to find the remains of King Richard III ...}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Sabur |first=Rozina |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/environment/archaeology/11622151/Hunt-for-the-grave-of-a-medieval-king-first-check-the-car-park.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/environment/archaeology/11622151/Hunt-for-the-grave-of-a-medieval-king-first-check-the-car-park.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Hunt for the grave of a medieval king: first check the car park |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |publisher=<!--Telegraph Media Group (omitted as substantially similar to newspaper name)--> |location=London |date=22 May 2015 |access-date=24 April 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Earle |first=Laurence |date=10 February 2013 |title=Philippa Langley: Hero or Villain? |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/philippa-langley-hero-or-villain-8488318.html |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |publisher=<!--Independent Print (omitted as substantially similar to newspaper name)--> |location=London |access-date=17 September 2013}}</ref> The participants looked for the lost site of the former Greyfriars Church (demolished during Henry VIII's [[dissolution of the monasteries]]) to find his remains.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Historic search for King Richard III begins in Leicester |url=http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/press/press-releases/2012/august/historic-search-for-king-richard-iii-begins-in-leicester |publisher=[[University of Leicester]] |date=24 August 2012 |access-date=25 August 2012 |archive-date=27 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120827030633/http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/press/press-releases/2012/august/historic-search-for-king-richard-iii-begins-in-leicester |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--no credited author--> |title=Hunt for Richard III's remains under car park |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-25/medieval-british-king-sought-under-car-park/4222264 |publisher=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]] |location=Sydney |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=27 August 2012 |access-date=5 February 2013}}</ref> By comparing fixed points between maps, the church was found, where Richard's body had been hastily buried without pomp in 1485, its foundations identifiable beneath a modern city centre car park.<ref>{{cite web |title=Greyfriars Project – Update, Friday 31 August |url=http://www2.le.ac.uk/news/blog/2012/august/greyfriars-project-2013-update-friday-31-august |publisher=[[University of Leicester]] |date=31 August 2012 |access-date=1 September 2012 |archive-date=18 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121218122830/http://www2.le.ac.uk/news/blog/2012/august/greyfriars-project-2013-update-friday-31-august |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In 1975 Audrey Strange of the Richard III Society predicted that the lost grave lay beneath one of the three car parks that partly cover the site of the former Grey Friars Priory.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Strange |first=Audrey |date=September 1975 |title=The Grey Friars, Leicester |journal=The Ricardian |volume=III |issue=50 |pages=3–7}}</ref> In the mid-1980s, academic David Baldwin, a medieval historian formerly of Leicester University, concluded that the burial site lay further to the east, beneath the northern (St Martin's) end of Grey Friars Street, or the buildings that face it on either side.{{sfnp|Baldwin|1986}}<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ashdown-Hill|first1=J. |author-link1= |last2=Johnson |first2=D. |author-link2= | last3=Johnson|first3=W.|author-link3= |last4=Langley|first4=P. |author-link4= |editor-last1=Carson |editor-first1=A.J. |date=2014 |title=Finding Richard III: The Official Account of Research by the Retrieval and Reburial Project |publisher=Imprimis Imprimatur |isbn=978-0957684027 |pages=25–27}}</ref>

[[File:Greyfriars, Leicester site.svg|thumb|300px|Site of [[Greyfriars, Leicester|Greyfriars Church]], Leicester, shown superimposed over a modern map of the area. The skeleton of Richard III was recovered in September 2012 from the centre of the choir, shown by a small blue dot.]]

The excavators found Greyfriars Church by 5 September 2012 and two days later announced that they had found Robert Herrick's garden, where the memorial to Richard III stood in the early 17th century.<ref name="parking-lot"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Greyfriars Project – Update, 7 September |url=http://www2.le.ac.uk/news/blog/2012/september/7sepupdate |publisher=[[University of Leicester]] |date=7 September 2012 |access-date=10 September 2012 |archive-date=8 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120908190452/http://www2.le.ac.uk/news/blog/2012/september/7sepupdate |url-status=dead }}</ref> A human skeleton was found beneath the Church's [[Choir (architecture)|choir]].<ref name=BBCLeicester>{{cite news |author=<!--no credited author--> |title=Richard III dig: 'Strong evidence' bones belong to king |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-19561018 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |location=London |date=12 September 2012 |access-date=12 September 2012}}</ref>

The excavators found the remains in the course of the first excavation at the [[car park]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Warzynski |first=Peter A. |date=3 February 2013 |title=Richard III dig: 'R' marks the spot where skeleton found in Leicester car park |url=http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Richard-III-dig-R-marks-spot-skeleton-Leicester/story-18030925-detail/story.html |newspaper=[[Leicester Mercury]] |publisher=Local World |location=<!--Leicester, England (omitted as given by newspaper name)--> |access-date=2 April 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141119012257/http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Richard-III-dig-R-marks-spot-skeleton-Leicester/story-18030925-detail/story.html |archive-date=19 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--no credited author--> |title=Burying Richard III: The hunch paid off |url=https://www.economist.com/news/britain/21647339-leicester-does-better-job-burying-plantagenet-king-second-attempt-hunch-paid |newspaper=[[The Economist]] |publisher=<!--Economist Group (omitted as substantially similar to newspaper name)--> |location=London |date=28 March 2015 |access-date=2 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Langley |first=Philippa J. |author-link=Philippa Langley |title=Looking for Richard Project |url=http://www.philippalangley.co.uk/looking-for-richard.html |access-date=7 December 2018}}</ref>

[[File:The King In The Car Park - Page 15 - Figure 12.png|thumb|Skeleton as discovered]]

On 12 September, it was announced that the skeleton might be that of Richard III. Several reasons were given: the body was of an adult male; it was buried beneath the choir of the church; and there was severe [[scoliosis]] of the spine, possibly making one shoulder<ref name="parking-lot">{{cite web |title=Search for Richard III Confirms that Remains Are the Long-Lost Church of the Grey Friars |url=http://www2.le.ac.uk/news/blog/2012/september/search-for-richard-iii-confirms-they-have-located-the-long-lost-church-of-the-grey-friars |publisher=[[University of Leicester]] |date=5 September 2012 |access-date=4 February 2013}}</ref> higher than the other. There was also what appeared to be an arrowhead embedded in the spine; and there were [[wikt:perimortem|perimortem]] injuries to the skull. These included a shallow orifice which was probably caused by a [[rondel dagger]], and a scooping depression to the skull that was probably inflicted by a sword.

Further, the bottom of the skull had a gaping hole, where a halberd had entered. Forensic pathologist Stuart Hamilton with APT, Matthew Rogers, said this injury would have left the man's brain visible and certainly would have killed him. Jo Appleby, the osteo-archaeologist who excavated the skeleton, said it was "a mortal battlefield wound in the back of the skull". The base of the skull had another fatal wound from a bladed weapon thrust, leaving a jagged hole. Inside the skull, there was evidence that the blade penetrated to a depth of {{convert|10.5|cm}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Skull |url=http://www.le.ac.uk/richardiii/science/osteologyskull.html |website=The Discovery of Richard III |publisher=[[University of Leicester]] |access-date=3 December 2014}}</ref>

In total, the skeleton had 10 wounds: four minor injuries on the top of the skull, one dagger blow on the cheekbone, one cut on the lower jaw, two fatal injuries on the base of the skull, one cut on a rib bone, and one final wound on the pelvis that was probably inflicted after death. It is generally accepted that Richard's naked corpse was tied to the back of a horse, with his arms slung over one side and his legs and buttocks over the other. The angle of the blow on the pelvis suggests that one of those present stabbed Richard's right buttock with substantial force, as the cut extends from the back to the front of the pelvic bone, an action intended to humiliate. It is also possible that Richard and his corpse suffered other injuries which left no trace on the skeleton.<ref>{{cite web |title=Osteology |url=http://www.le.ac.uk/richardiii/science/osteology.html |website=The Discovery of Richard III |publisher=[[University of Leicester]] |access-date=3 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title= Injuries to Body |url=http://www.le.ac.uk/richardiii/science/osteologybody.html |website=The Discovery of Richard III |publisher=[[University of Leicester]] |access-date=3 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Burns |first=John F. |author-link=John Fisher Burns |title=DNA could cleanse a king besmirched; tests of skeletal remains may bring re-evaluation of the reviled Richard III |url=https://www.questia.com/newspaper/1P2-36291789/dna-could-cleanse-a-king-besmirched-tests-of-skeletal |newspaper=[[International Herald Tribune]] |location=La Défense, France |date=24 September 2012 |via= |access-date=6 December 2018 |archive-date=19 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719024322/https://www.questia.com/newspaper/1P2-36291789/dna-could-cleanse-a-king-besmirched-tests-of-skeletal |url-status=dead }}</ref>

British historian John Ashdown-Hill had used [[genealogy|genealogical research]] in 2004 to trace [[matrilineal]] descendants of [[Anne of York, Duchess of Exeter]], Richard's elder sister.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kennedy |first=Maev |author-link=Maev Kennedy |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/feb/04/richard-iii-dna-bones-king |title=Richard III: DNA confirms twisted bones belong to king |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |publisher=<!--Guardian Media Group (omitted as substantially similar to newspaper name)--> |location=London |date=4 February 2013 |access-date=7 December 2014}}</ref><ref name="BBC DNA">{{cite news |author=<!--no credited author--> |title=Richard III dig: DNA confirms bones are king |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-21063882 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |location=London |date=4 February 2013 |access-date=4 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Fricker |first=Martin |date=5 February 2013 |title=Edinburgh-based writer reveals how her intuition led archaeologists to remains of King Richard III |url=http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/writer-reveals-intuition-led-archaeologists-1586462 |newspaper=[[Daily Record (Scotland)|Daily Record]] |publisher=Trinity Mirror |location=Glasgow |access-date=5 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Lines of Descent |url=http://www.le.ac.uk/richardiii/science/genealogy.html |website=The Discovery of Richard III |publisher=[[University of Leicester]] |access-date=7 February 2013}}</ref> A British-born woman who emigrated to Canada after the [[Second World War]], Joy Ibsen ({{née|Brown}}), was found to be a 16th-generation great-niece of the king in the same direct maternal line.<ref>{{cite web |title=Female-Line Family Tree |url=http://www.le.ac.uk/richardiii/science/familytree.html |website=The Discovery of Richard III |publisher=[[University of Leicester]] |access-date=4 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite episode |last1=Ashdown-Hill |first1=John |author1-link=John Ashdown-Hill |last2=Davis |first2=Evans |author2-link=Evan Davis |date=4 February 2013 |title=Richard III dig: 'It does look like him' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21319332 |medium=Radio programme |series=Today |series-link=Today (BBC Radio 4) |network=[[BBC Radio 4]] |location=London |access-date=7 February 2013 |via=[[BBC News Online|BBC News]]}}</ref> Her mitochondrial DNA was tested and belongs to [[Haplogroup J (mtDNA)|mitochondrial DNA haplogroup J]], which by deduction, should also be the mitochondrial DNA haplogroup of Richard III.{{sfnp|Ashdown-Hill|2013}}{{sfnp|King|Gonzalez Fortes|Balaresque|Thomas|2014}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=King |first1=Turi E. |last2=Fortes |first2=Gloria Gonzalez |last3=Balaresque |first3=Patricia |last4=Thomas |first4=Mark G. |last5=Balding |first5=David |last6=Delser |first6=Pierpaolo Maisano |last7=Neumann |first7=Rita |last8=Parson |first8=Walther |last9=Knapp |first9=Michael |last10=Walsh |first10=Susan |last11=Tonasso |first11=Laure |last12=Holt |first12=John |last13=Kayser |first13=Manfred |last14=Appleby |first14=Jo |last15=Forster |first15=Peter |date=2014-12-02 |title=Identification of the remains of King Richard III |journal=Nature Communications |language=en |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=5631 |doi=10.1038/ncomms6631 |pmid=25463651 |pmc=4268703 |bibcode=2014NatCo...5.5631K |issn=2041-1723|doi-access=free }}</ref> Joy Ibsen died in 2008. Her son [[Michael Ibsen]] gave a mouth-swab sample to the research team on 24 August 2012. His [[mitochondrial DNA#Female inheritance|mitochondrial DNA, passed down the direct maternal line]], was compared to samples from the human remains found at the excavation site and used to identify King Richard.<ref>{{cite news |last=Boswell |first=Randy |date=27 August 2012 |title=Canadian family holds genetic key to Richard III puzzle|url=http://www.canada.com/technology/Canadian+family+holds+genetic+Richard+puzzle/7151179/story.html |website=[[canada.com]] |location=Don Mills, Ontario |publisher=Postmedia News |access-date=30 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120831071828/http://www.canada.com/technology/Canadian+family+holds+genetic+Richard+puzzle/7151179/story.html |archive-date=31 August 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Results of the DNA Analysis |url=http://www.le.ac.uk/richardiii/science/resultsofdna.html |website=The Discovery of Richard III |publisher=[[University of Leicester]] |access-date=4 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Geneticist Dr Turi King and Genealogist Professor Kevin Schürer Give Key Evidence on the DNA Testing |url=http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/press/media-centre/richard-iii/press-conference-4-february/presentations-by-speakers-at-the-press-conference-monday-4-february-1/geneticist-dr-turi-king-and-genealogist-professor-kevin-schurer-give-key-evidence-on-the-dna-testing |publisher=[[University of Leicester]] |date=4 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130206181504/http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/press/media-centre/richard-iii/press-conference-4-february/presentations-by-speakers-at-the-press-conference-monday-4-february-1/geneticist-dr-turi-king-and-genealogist-professor-kevin-schurer-give-key-evidence-on-the-dna-testing |archive-date=6 February 2013 |access-date=5 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Burns |first=John F. |author-link=John Fisher Burns |date=4 February 2013 |title=Bones Under Parking Lot Belonged to Richard III |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/05/world/europe/richard-the-third-bones.html |url-access=limited |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=6 February 2013}}</ref>

On 4 February 2013, the University of Leicester confirmed that the skeleton was beyond reasonable doubt that of King Richard III. This conclusion was based on mitochondrial DNA evidence,<ref name="LU-results-announced"/> soil analysis, and dental tests (there were some molars missing as a result of [[Dental caries|caries]]), as well as physical characteristics of the skeleton which are highly consistent with contemporary accounts of Richard's appearance.<ref>{{cite web |title=What the Bones Can and Can't Tell Us |url=http://www.le.ac.uk/richardiii/science/whattheonesdontsay.html |website=The Discovery of Richard III |publisher=[[University of Leicester]] |access-date=6 December 2018}}</ref> The team announced that the "arrowhead" discovered with the body was a Roman-era nail, probably disturbed when the body was first interred. However, there were numerous perimortem wounds on the body, and part of the skull had been sliced off with a bladed weapon;<ref name="mackintosh-20130204"/> this would have caused rapid death. The team concluded that it is unlikely the king was wearing a helmet in his last moments. Soil taken from the remains was found to contain microscopic [[Ascaris lumbricoides|roundworm]] eggs. Several eggs were found in samples taken from the pelvis, where the king's intestines were, but not from the skull, and only very small numbers were identified in soil surrounding the grave. The findings suggest that the higher concentration of eggs in the pelvic area probably arose from a roundworm infection the king suffered in his life, rather than from human waste dumped in the area at a later date, researchers said. The mayor of Leicester announced that the king's skeleton would be re-interred at [[Leicester Cathedral]] in early 2014, but a judicial review of that decision delayed the reinterment for a year.<ref>{{cite news |last=Warzynski |first=Peter A. |date=23 May 2014 |title=Richard III: Leicester wins the battle of the bones |url=http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Richard-III-Leicester-win-battle-bones/story-21132993-detail/story.html |newspaper=[[Leicester Mercury]] |publisher=Local World |location=<!--Leicester, England (omitted as given by newspaper name)--> |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140524043912/http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Richard-III-Leicester-win-battle-bones/story-21132993-detail/story.html |archive-date=24 May 2014 |url-status=dead |access-date=23 May 2014}}</ref> [[King Richard III Visitor Centre|A museum to Richard III]] was opened in July 2014 in the Victorian school buildings next to the Greyfriars grave site.<ref name="BBC DNA"/><ref name="LU-results-announced">{{cite web|title=Richard III DNA results announced – Leicester University reveals identity of human remains found in car park|url=http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/LIVE-UPDATES-Richard-III-DNA-results-announced/story-18041484-detail/story.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130421124125/http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/LIVE-UPDATES-Richard-III-DNA-results-announced/story-18041484-detail/story.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 April 2013|work=[[Leicester Mercury]] |location=<!--Leicester, England (omitted as given by newspaper name)--> |access-date=4 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://kriii.com/january-opening/ |title=News: January Opening |publisher=King Richard III Visitor Centre |date=29 December 2014 |access-date=4 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150204215709/http://kriii.com/january-opening/ |archive-date=4 February 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

On 5 February 2013 [[Caroline Wilkinson]] of the [[University of Dundee]] conducted a [[forensic facial reconstruction|facial reconstruction]] of Richard III, commissioned by the Richard III Society, based on 3D mappings of his skull.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title= Richard III: Facial reconstruction shows king's features |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-21328380 |work= [[BBC News Online]]|date= 5 February 2013 |access-date=12 April 2019 }}</ref> The face is described as "warm, young, earnest and rather serious".<ref name="Dundee">{{cite press release |title=Dundee experts reconstruct face of Richard III 528 years after his death |url=http://www.dundee.ac.uk/pressreleases/2013/february13/richard.htm |publisher=[[University of Dundee]] |date=5 February 2013 |access-date=7 February 2013 |archive-date=8 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130208170446/http://www.dundee.ac.uk/pressreleases/2013/february13/richard.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> On 11 February 2014 the University of Leicester announced the project to sequence the entire genome of Richard III and one of his living relatives, Michael Ibsen, whose mitochondrial DNA confirmed the identification of the excavated remains. Richard III thus became the first ancient person of known historical identity whose genome has been sequenced.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Genomes of Richard III and his proven relative to be sequenced |url=http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/press/press-releases/2014/february/genomes-of-richard-iii-and-his-proven-relative-to-be-sequenced |publisher=[[University of Leicester]], [[Wellcome Trust]] and [[Leverhulme Trust]] |date=11 February 2014 |access-date=16 March 2014 |archive-date=22 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210722232620/https://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/press/press-releases/2014/february/genomes-of-richard-iii-and-his-proven-relative-to-be-sequenced/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In November 2014, the results of the DNA testing were published, confirming that the maternal side was as previously thought.{{sfnp|King|Gonzalez Fortes|Balaresque|Thomas|2014}} The paternal side, however, demonstrated some variance from what had been expected, with the DNA showing no links between Richard and [[Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort]], a purported descendant of Richard's great-great-grandfather [[Edward III of England]]. This could be the result of covert [[illegitimacy]] that does not reflect the accepted genealogies between Edward III and either Richard III or the 5th Duke of Beaufort.{{sfnp|King|Gonzalez Fortes|Balaresque|Thomas|2014}}<ref name="infidelity">{{cite news |last=Rincon |first=Paul |author-link=Paul Rincon |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30281333 |title=Richard III's DNA throws up infidelity surprise |publisher=[[BBC News]] |location=London |date=2 December 2014 |access-date=3 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=<!--no credited author--> |title=Richard III DNA study raises doubts about royal claims of centuries of British monarchs, researchers say |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-03/richard-iii-dna-study-uncovers-illegitmate-child-mystery/5935892 |publisher=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]] |location=Sydney |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=2 December 2014 |access-date=3 December 2014 }}</ref>
<!-- NOTE: could editors please use Exhumation of Richard III of England to add further material rather than increasing the length of this section. Thanks! -->

===Reburial and tomb===
[[File:Picture of Richard III's new tomb (cropped).jpg|thumb|Tomb of Richard III in [[Leicester Cathedral]], with his motto ''Loyaulte me lie'' (loyalty binds me) at right]]
[[File:Memorial stone dedicated to Richard III.jpg|thumb|The ledger stone memorial from Leicester Cathedral now resides in the [[King Richard III Visitor Centre]].]]
After his death in battle in 1485, Richard III's body was buried in Greyfriars Church in Leicester.{{sfnp|Horrox|2013}} Following the discoveries of Richard's remains in 2012, it was decided that they should be reburied at Leicester Cathedral,<ref name="bbcnews-20180322">{{cite news |author=<!--no credited author--> |title=Richard III: Leicester welcomes king's remains |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-31990721 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811163142/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-31990721 |archive-date=11 August 2018 |url-status=live |date=22 March 2015 |access-date=5 December 2018}}</ref> despite feelings in some quarters that he should have been reburied in York Minster.<ref name="bbcnews-20130207">{{cite news |author=<!--no credited author--> |title=York Minster says Richard III should be buried in Leicester |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-21373538 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |location=London |date=7 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110142632/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-21373538 |archive-date=10 November 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=5 December 2018}}</ref> Those who challenged the decision included fifteen "collateral [non-direct] descendants of Richard III",<ref name="bbcnews-plantagenetalliance">{{cite news |last=Watson |first=Greig |date=13 September 2013 |title=The Plantagenet Alliance: Who do they think they are? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-23929989 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |location=London |access-date=11 December 2018}}</ref> represented by the [[Plantagenet Alliance]], who believed that the body should be reburied in York, as they claim the king wished.<ref name="bbcnews-reburialrow">{{cite news |author=<!--no credited author--> |title=Richard III: King's reburial row goes to judicial review |date=16 August 2013 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-23726011 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |location=London |access-date=19 September 2013}}</ref> In August 2013, they filed a court case in order to contest Leicester's claim to re-inter the body within its cathedral, and propose the body be buried in York instead. However, Michael Ibsen, who gave the DNA sample that identified the king, gave his support to Leicester's claim to re-inter the body in their cathedral.<ref name="bbcnews-reburialrow" /> On 20 August, a judge ruled that the opponents had the legal standing to contest his burial in Leicester Cathedral, despite a clause in the contract which had authorized the excavations requiring his burial there. He urged the parties, though, to settle out of court in order to "avoid embarking on the Wars of the Roses, Part Two".<ref name="[2013]EWHCB13(Admin)"/><ref>{{cite episode |last1=Greene |first1=David |author1-link=David Greene (journalist) |last2=Montagne | first2=Renée |author2-link=Renée Montagne |title=English Debate What To Do With Richard III's Remains |url=https://www.npr.org/2013/08/20/213728243/english-debate-what-to-do-with-richard-iiis-remains |medium=Radio programme, with transcript |series=[[Morning Edition]] |network=[[National Public Radio]] |location=Washington, DC |date=20 August 2013 |access-date=6 December 2018}}</ref> The Plantagenet Alliance, and the supporting fifteen collateral descendants, also faced the challenge that "Basic maths shows Richard, who had no surviving children but five siblings, could have millions of 'collateral' descendants"<ref name="bbcnews-plantagenetalliance"/> undermining the group's claim to represent "the only people who can speak on behalf of him".<ref name="bbcnews-plantagenetalliance"/> A ruling in May 2014 decreed that there are "no public law grounds for the Court interfering with the decisions in question".<ref name="[2014]EWHC1662(QB)"/> The remains were taken to Leicester Cathedral on 22 March 2015 and reinterred on 26 March.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--no credited author--> |title=Richard III reburial court bid fails |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-27537836 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |location=London |date=23 May 2014 |access-date=23 May 2014}}</ref>

His remains were carried in procession to the cathedral on 22 March 2015, and reburied on 26 March 2015<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title= Richard III: Leicester Cathedral reburial service for king |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-32052800 |work= [[BBC News Online]]|date= 26 March 2015 |access-date= 12 April 2019}}</ref> at a religious re-burial service at which both [[Tim Stevens]], the [[Bishop of Leicester]], and [[Justin Welby]], the Archbishop of Canterbury, officiated. Also present at the ceremony was [[Archbishop of Westminster]] and Roman Catholic Primate of England, Cardinal [[Vincent Nichols]], as Richard III professed Catholicism.<ref>[https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/when-was-a-catholic-monarch-last-buried-in-england "When Was a Catholic Monarch Last Buried in England?"] (13 September 2022). ''[[The Pillar]]''. Retrieved 10 July 2023.</ref> The [[British royal family]] was represented by the [[Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester|Duke]] and [[Birgitte, Duchess of Gloucester|Duchess of Gloucester]] and the [[Sophie, Countess of Wessex|Countess of Wessex]]. The actor [[Benedict Cumberbatch]], who later portrayed him in ''[[The Hollow Crown (TV series)|The Hollow Crown]]'' television series, read a poem by [[Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom|poet laureate]] [[Carol Ann Duffy]].<ref name="guardian-cumberbatchproves"/><ref name="guardian-20150326">{{cite news |last=Duffy |first=Carol Ann |author-link1=Carol Ann Duffy |date=26 March 2015 |title=Richard by Carol Ann Duffy |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/mar/26/richard-iii-by-carol-ann-duffy |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |publisher=<!--Guardian Media Group (omitted as substantially similar to newspaper name)--> |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116111612/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/mar/26/richard-iii-by-carol-ann-duffy |archive-date=16 November 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=10 November 2015}}</ref>

Richard's cathedral tomb was designed by the architects [[van Heyningen and Haward]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Withstandley |first=Kate |date=27 March 2015 |title=Our Tomb for Richard III is Revealed |url=http://www.vhh.co.uk/news-press/richard-iii-tomb-revealed |publisher=[[van Heyningen and Haward Architects]] |access-date=10 December 2018}}</ref> The tombstone is deeply incised with a cross, and consists of a rectangular block of white [[Swaledale]] fossil stone, quarried in [[North Yorkshire]]. It sits on a low plinth made of dark [[Kilkenny marble]], incised with Richard's name, dates and motto (''Loyaulte me lie'' – loyalty binds me). The plinth also carries his coat of arms in [[pietra dura]].<ref name=tomb>{{cite web |title=Richard III Tomb and Burial |url=http://leicestercathedral.org/learn/richard-iii/richard-iii-tomb-and-burial/ |publisher=[[Leicester Cathedral]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206203705/http://leicestercathedral.org/learn/richard-iii/richard-iii-tomb-and-burial/ |archive-date=6 December 2018 |access-date=6 December 2018}}</ref> On top is a funeral crown commissioned specifically for the reinterment, and made by George Easton.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Film and Heritage |url=https://www.danegeld.co.uk/film-and-heritage.html |access-date=7 October 2022 |website=Viking, Saxon and Medieval jewellery reproductions from Danegeld |language=en}}</ref> The remains of Richard III are in a lead-lined inner casket,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-31911490|title=Richard III's remains sealed inside coffin at Leicester University|date=16 March 2015|publisher=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> inside an outer [[English oak]] coffin crafted by Michael Ibsen, a direct descendant of Richard's sister Anne, and laid in a brick-lined vault below the floor, and below the plinth and tombstone.<ref name=tomb/> The original 2010 raised tomb design had been proposed by Langley's "Looking For Richard Project" and fully funded by members of the Richard III Society. The proposal was publicly launched by the Society on 13 February 2013 but rejected by Leicester Cathedral in favour of a memorial slab.<ref name="bbcnews-20130213">{{cite news |last=Hubball |first=Louise |date=13 February 2013 |title=A tomb fit for a king has been designed for Richard III |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21447210 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023234117/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-21447210/a-tomb-fit-for-a-king-has-been-designed-for-richard-iii |archive-date=23 October 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=24 April 2016}}</ref><ref name="telegraph-20130313">{{cite news |last=Britten |first=Nick |date=13 March 2013 |title=Cathedral criticised for being 'out of touch' over King Richard III's resting place |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/9927564/Cathedral-criticised-for-being-out-of-touch-over-King-Richard-IIIs-resting-place.html |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |publisher=<!--Telegraph Media Group (omitted as substantially similar to newspaper name)--> |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206200956/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/9927564/Cathedral-criticised-for-being-out-of-touch-over-King-Richard-IIIs-resting-place.html |archive-date=6 December 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=6 December 2018}}</ref><ref name="leicestermercury-20130314-slab">{{cite news |last=Warzynski |first=Peter A. |date=14 March 2013 |title=Richard III: Stone slab to mark final resting place of king, says Leicester Cathedral |url=http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Richard-III-Stone-slab-mark-final-resting-place/story-18402860-detail/story.html |newspaper=[[Leicester Mercury]] |publisher=Local World |location=<!--Leicester, England (omitted as given by newspaper name)--> |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328221916/http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Richard-III-Stone-slab-mark-final-resting-place/story-18402860-detail/story.html |archive-date=28 March 2014 |url-status=dead |access-date=24 April 2016}}</ref> However, following a public outcry, the Cathedral changed its position and on 18 July 2013 announced its agreement to give King Richard III a raised tomb monument.<ref name="leicestermercury-20130314-poll">{{cite news |author=<!--no credited author--> |title=Richard III: Give king tomb, not slab, says online poll |url=http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Richard-III-king-tomb-slab-says-online-poll/story-18422157-detail/story.html |newspaper=[[Leicester Mercury]] |publisher=Local World |location=<!--Leicester, England (omitted as given by newspaper name)--> |date=14 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329090420/http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Richard-III-king-tomb-slab-says-online-poll/story-18422157-detail/story.html |archive-date=29 March 2014 |url-status=dead |access-date=29 May 2016 }}</ref><ref name="leicestermercury-20130718">{{cite news |last=Warzynski |first=Peter A. |date=18 July 2013 |title=Richard III will be buried in a raised tomb not slab, says Leicester Cathedral |url=http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Richard-III-buried-tomb-says-Leicester-Cathedral/story-19536774-detail/story.html |newspaper=[[Leicester Mercury]] |publisher=Local World |location=<!--Leicester, England (omitted as given by newspaper name)--> |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130721071924/http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Richard-III-buried-tomb-says-Leicester-Cathedral/story-19536774-detail/story.html |archive-date=21 July 2013 |url-status=dead |access-date=18 July 2013}}</ref>