It wasn’t so long ago that we dug up ol’ Richard III in a car park but his discovery is still causing quite the stir!
By now I assume you’ve all heard about this and if you haven’t, have you been living under a rock? It appears as though now we have a body, we have something to argue over: Where should he be buried? A court case which has been going on for months is naming it the War of the Roses 2….a bit dramatic don’t you think? Still nevertheless the argument continues!
There are those who think he should be buried in Leicester because that’s where we found him, those who worked on him were based in Leicester so it’s just seems appropriate, right? No. Some think because Richard belonged to the House of York during the War of the Roses (also known as the Cousins’ War), he should be buried there in his childhood castle. Yet there are also those who think he should be buried in London because he was a King, and all King and Queens ruled from London. So the argument continues!
So who exactly was Richard III? He was the last Plantagenet King, who took over from his brother Edward IV and had locked his two nephews, the princes in the Tower of London. They were never to be seen again, thus Richard could take the crown for himself. Despite Shakespeare’s depiction of Richard, he was quite loyal to his brother, during every war he was at his brothers aid and even went overseas with him when he was banished from London during an uprising caused by his other brother George! Though he did not particularly like his sister-in-law, he did not stand in his brothers way and supported the marriage. It was only after his brother’s death in 1483 that his character began to change, and it was a shock to the kingdom. Many suspected he wanted the throne for himself, others believe he was being led astray by his wife Anne, who wanted the throne and hated Edward IV’s wife even more, Queen Elizabeth Woodville. She didn’t like the idea of having one of her sons on the throne and many believed that it was her doing that the princes were never had their coronation. Still, despite being loyal and having a wife for love it appears the only thing people remember him for, is wanting to marry his niece, while his wife was dying before dying himself in the Battle of Bosworth!
The current plans before the court hearing today, will see the last Plantaganet King buried in Leicester Cathedral. However it seems that the Plantagenet Alliance is appealing to have him placed in the York Minister because having a York King buried in a place which belonged to the Lancaster would be disrespectful!
Personally I think he should be buried in London. As much as the history geek inside of me would love to be at the burial of the last Plantagenet King, he belongs in London. He was a King, regardless of Tudor propaganda or the History books. He wasn’t King for long and he didn’t do much other than cause one of the greatest historical mysteries to date but he should still be buried with the rest of our monarchy. He should be buried with his brother King Edward IV in Windsor Castle. He has a family and a home, he does not belong to any city. He was a King and I believe that he should be buried in London with the rest, that would truly give him respect and not fight over him like a rag doll, but hey what do we know?
We’re just uni students right?