Places: Tomb of Richard III, Leicester Cathedral

On August 22, 1485, the last Plantagenet king of England, Richard III, died at the Battle of Bosworth, fighting for his life and his crown.  Sources from both sides indicate that, till the last, Richard did credit to his Plantagenet forebears by dying fighting.  When he was killed, most likely by one or more blows from a sword, halberd or other blunt force weapon to his head, his body was thrown over a horse and taken to the nearby town of Leicester.  There it was displayed for a time before being buried at the Greyfriars Church.  There it was interred, thrown face down in a hole too small, the arms possibly bound and the legs and head askew.  A rough fate for a king who died in a rough time.

Later, in 1495, Richard's opponent, now Henry VII, paid for a monument in Greyfriars Church.  However, the Church was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries c 1536.  Rumor held that Richard's remains were dug up then and thrown into the nearby Soar River.  The site where the church stood became a private garden and a memorial stone to the dead king was visible there as of 1612.  Later, a plaque to Richard's memory was erected in Leicester Cathedral, though he wasn't buried there--yet.  Centuries swept by, and the garden became a parking lot in Leicester.  Someone pained a large R for a reserved parking space over the spot, little guessing who was buried in the rubble beneath.  Finally, in 2012, the Richard III Society, the University of Leicester and the Leicester City Council among others, sponsored a project to track down Richard III's body, not only to find out how he'd died and counteract rumors that his body had been disposed of, but also to pay respect to a man who still must be considered innocent because he wasn't ever proved guilty of killing his two nephews. 

Researchers tracked down the site of the garden and the possible layout of the choir section of the old Greyfriars Church.  They chose the reserved parking space to begin digging and, in a lucky break, found a human skeleton.  It was a man who'd suffered from scoliosis during his life.  He'd died a violent death and been disposed of in haste, with little dignity.  Forensic scientists reconstructed his skull, which bore a resemblance to pictures of Richard III.  Other studies confirmed that he most likely died of wounds suffered in battle.  It wasn't until they tracked down descendants of Richard's sister Anne of York that they found the mitochondrial link.  Richard III, the last Plantagenet King of England, hadn't been destroyed at death.  Now it was time to give him an appropriate burial.

Debate ensued about whether he should be buried in York Minster or Leicester, but Leicester was ultimately chosen.  An appropriate tomb was designed with a unique touch.  A Canadian descendant of Anne's just happened to be carpenter and was designated to build Great-Uncle Richard's coffin, which would contain a lead-lined coffin with the King's bones inside it.  On March 26, 2015, he was given a religious burial service in Leicester Cathedral.  Present were descendants the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, and the Countess of Wessex, members of Anne's family and actor Benedict Cumberland, who also has Plantagenet descent.  Richard's name, dates and personal motto, Loyaulte Me Lie, or Loyalty Binds Me, are inscribed on the modern-designed raised tomb.  Richard's body lies at rest, the controversies of his life and reign go on.