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| King Richard III's re-interment carries pomp and grandeur of state funeral | King Richard III's re-interment carries pomp and grandeur of state funeral |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| It was not a funeral, the Dean of Leicester, David Monteith, reminded the congregation of his cathedral, which had been transformed into a grove of foliage and white roses – and the reminder about Richard III was very much needed. | It was not a funeral, the Dean of Leicester, David Monteith, reminded the congregation of his cathedral, which had been transformed into a grove of foliage and white roses – and the reminder about Richard III was very much needed. |
| Every pew was filled with guests in military uniforms, black or navy suits, academic gowns, decorations and honours, chains of office, silver white boar badges, white rose brooches and fabulous hats. | Every pew was filled with guests in military uniforms, black or navy suits, academic gowns, decorations and honours, chains of office, silver white boar badges, white rose brooches and fabulous hats. |
| The guests included the Duke of Gloucester, Sophie Countess of Wessex, and the Duke of Norfolk, whose responsibilities include royal funerals. The music included a fanfare and new setting of the national anthem by the master of the Queen’s music, Judith Weir. The Oscar-nominated actor Benedict Cumberbatch left his place beside fellow actor Robert Lindsay – respectively the next to tackle the role and a notable former interpreter of Shakespeare’s Richard III – to read a searing new poem by the laureate, Carol Ann Duffy. | The guests included the Duke of Gloucester, Sophie Countess of Wessex, and the Duke of Norfolk, whose responsibilities include royal funerals. The music included a fanfare and new setting of the national anthem by the master of the Queen’s music, Judith Weir. The Oscar-nominated actor Benedict Cumberbatch left his place beside fellow actor Robert Lindsay – respectively the next to tackle the role and a notable former interpreter of Shakespeare’s Richard III – to read a searing new poem by the laureate, Carol Ann Duffy. |
| Two yeoman warders in their medieval tunics, who had come from London with the Constable of the Tower of London, Lord Dannatt, guarded the southern door of the cathedral, as if the Lancastrians might try to break in at any moment. | Two yeoman warders in their medieval tunics, who had come from London with the Constable of the Tower of London, Lord Dannatt, guarded the southern door of the cathedral, as if the Lancastrians might try to break in at any moment. |
| As six army veterans carried the coffin to its new resting place, Wendy Duldig, the 17th great niece of Richard III, and Philipa Langley, who launched the hunt for his remains, could be seen blinking back tears, and Richard Buckley, leader of the archaeology team, swallowed hard. And with the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, censing and sprinkling holy water over the coffin, without Monteith’s reminder it might have looked like the grandest state funeral in living memory. | As six army veterans carried the coffin to its new resting place, Wendy Duldig, the 17th great niece of Richard III, and Philipa Langley, who launched the hunt for his remains, could be seen blinking back tears, and Richard Buckley, leader of the archaeology team, swallowed hard. And with the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, censing and sprinkling holy water over the coffin, without Monteith’s reminder it might have looked like the grandest state funeral in living memory. |
| The opening address was not by a priest but by the historian Professor Gordon Campbell, whose butterscotch voice has won him the magnificent title of public orator of the University of Leicester. “Now we must return his bones to the earth,” he said. “We have assembled today in a spirit of reconciliation, not to argue whether Richard was a good king, or even a good man.” | The opening address was not by a priest but by the historian Professor Gordon Campbell, whose butterscotch voice has won him the magnificent title of public orator of the University of Leicester. “Now we must return his bones to the earth,” he said. “We have assembled today in a spirit of reconciliation, not to argue whether Richard was a good king, or even a good man.” |
| In that spirit, the guests included “the Bosworth Peers” who were listed as “supporters of the House of York”, and “supporters of the House of Lancaster”. That latter group included Edward Stanley, 19th Earl of Derby, descendant of Thomas Stanley, who went to the battle as a supporter of Richard, loitered on the edges until he saw which way the wind was blowing, and then threw his forces in on Henry Tudor’s side. There were probably a few people in the church wearing white boar badges who would have liked a little chat with him about the events of that day. | In that spirit, the guests included “the Bosworth Peers” who were listed as “supporters of the House of York”, and “supporters of the House of Lancaster”. That latter group included Edward Stanley, 19th Earl of Derby, descendant of Thomas Stanley, who went to the battle as a supporter of Richard, loitered on the edges until he saw which way the wind was blowing, and then threw his forces in on Henry Tudor’s side. There were probably a few people in the church wearing white boar badges who would have liked a little chat with him about the events of that day. |
| The service included a hymn by GK Chesterton, a devout Roman Catholic best known as the creator of the Catholic priest and detective Father Brown, set to music by Ralph Vaughan Williams. | The service included a hymn by GK Chesterton, a devout Roman Catholic best known as the creator of the Catholic priest and detective Father Brown, set to music by Ralph Vaughan Williams. |
| Lancastrians, Yorkists and others in the congregation agreed unanimously, it had been a magnificent funeral. Or rather re-interment. | Lancastrians, Yorkists and others in the congregation agreed unanimously, it had been a magnificent funeral. Or rather re-interment. |
| “It was absolutely wonderful, the cathedral has done Leicester and Leicestershire proud,” Carl Vivian, a local man who had got closer to the remains of the king than almost anyone else in the cathedral. As the university videographer and photographer, his unforgettable images of the fragile bones were beamed around the world, lit so they glowed like medieval ivories. | “It was absolutely wonderful, the cathedral has done Leicester and Leicestershire proud,” Carl Vivian, a local man who had got closer to the remains of the king than almost anyone else in the cathedral. As the university videographer and photographer, his unforgettable images of the fragile bones were beamed around the world, lit so they glowed like medieval ivories. |
| Vivian hadn’t actually managed to get a ticket for the service, but managed to sneak in at the back just as the coffin was being carried to the grave, and was still overwhelmed by the emotion of the moment. | Vivian hadn’t actually managed to get a ticket for the service, but managed to sneak in at the back just as the coffin was being carried to the grave, and was still overwhelmed by the emotion of the moment. |
| As the service ended, the crowds opposite the cathedral, many of whom had been in rain-soaked place since 8am, were still gathered 10-deep. | As the service ended, the crowds opposite the cathedral, many of whom had been in rain-soaked place since 8am, were still gathered 10-deep. |
| The royals and other VIPs marched off to a grand lunch in the guildhall, and the lesser mortals scattered to the nearby pubs, cafes and restaurants, whose owners have also been giving devout thanks for the return of a king. | The royals and other VIPs marched off to a grand lunch in the guildhall, and the lesser mortals scattered to the nearby pubs, cafes and restaurants, whose owners have also been giving devout thanks for the return of a king. |
| The cathedral doors were closed and locked, and behind them the most delicate part of the whole day began: the anxious lifting into place of the great slab of Swaledale stone, weighing more than 2.3 tonnes, taken from a quarry on land once owned by Richard, which will seal his tomb for ever. |