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King Richard III's re-interment carries pomp and grandeur of state funeral King Richard III's reinterment carries pomp and grandeur of state funeral
(about 2 hours 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 but a reinterment, the Dean of Leicester David Monteith reminded his congregation, because in 1485 Richard III did have a funeral, albeit hasty and improvised.
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 cathedral had been transformed into a grove of white roses, and foliage including sweet scented broom, the “planta genista” emblem of the Plantagenets. Every seat was filled with well-dressed guests in, variously, military uniforms, black or navy suits, academic gowns,, chains of office, white rose brooches and flamboyant 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 poet laureate, Carol Ann Duffy, with the line “Grant me the carving of my name”.
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 medieval tunics, who had come from London with the Constable of the Tower of London, Lord Dannatt, stood with their backs to the south door of the cathedral, as if the Tudors or 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. The Queen, whose family might never have ascended the throne if Richard had kept his, sent a special message, saying she had fond memories of Leicester from her visit in 2012. She wrote: “The reinterment of King Richard III is an event of great national and international significance. Today we recognise a King who lived through turbulent times and whose Christian faith sustained him in life and death.”
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 Duke of Gloucester, the Queen’s cousin, and the present holder of Richard’s title before he became king, carried an extraordinary book to lay near the foot of the coffin. On loan from Lambeth Palace for the day, it was Richard’s own prayer book, found in his tent after the battle of Bosworth Field where he was killed.
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. As six army veterans carried the coffin to its new resting place, both Wendy Duldig, 17th great niece of Richard III, and Philippa Langley who launched the hunt for his remains, could be seen blinking back tears, while Richard Buckley, leader of the archaeology team, swallowed hard. The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby censed the coffin and sprinkled holy water over it. Without the reminder this was a reinternment, it might have looked like the grandest state funeral in living memory.
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. After a week of golden weather, it had rained most of the night, soaking the white roses now heaped around the statue of Richard, which was re-sited to stand half way between his new grave in the cathedral, and the roughly dug hole where he laid for so long, under the council car park.
Lancastrians, Yorkists and others in the congregation agreed unanimously, it had been a magnificent funeral. Or rather re-interment. Every ticket for the service was allocated months ago, and the barriers opposite the cathedral were lined with people by 8am, more than three hours before the service was due to start. They included Pauline Carroll, wearing a wreath of white roses, and Kim Sidwell-Smith, who both worked on the excavation. “The weather feels quite fitting actually,” Carroll said staunchly, “this is a more solemn day, a chance to say a last goodbye to Richard.”
“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. Both felt, as the Bishop of Leicester Tim Stevens would say in his sermon, that after the excavation, Richard stepped back from the pages of history and became a real human being again. Both were among thousands from all over the world who were unsuccessful in the ballot for the few hundred public places at the service, but Sidwell-Smith had joined the estimated 35,000 people who queued for hours to see the coffin. “I found it very moving,” she said, “an extraordinary period in our lives too that is now coming to an end.”
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. The opening address was not by a priest but by a historian, Professor Gordon Campbell, whose academic distinction and butterscotch voice have won him the 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 reconcilation, not to argue whether Richard was a good king, or even a good man.”
In that spirit of reconciliation, 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, hung about on the edges until he saw which way the wind was blowing, and then threw his forces in on Henry Tudor’s side. .
The service included a hymn by G K Chesterton, devout Roman Catholic and best known as the creator of the Catholic priest and detective Father Brown, set to music by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
It had been, Lancastrians and Yorkists and others in the congregation unanimously agreed, a magnificent funeral. Or rather reinterment.
“It was absolutely wonderful, the cathedral has done Leicester and Leicestershire proud,” Carl Vivian, a local man who has got closer to the remains of the king than almost anyone else in the cathedral, said. He works as the university video maker and photographer, and it was his unforgettable images of the fragile bones which went round the world, lit so they glowed like medieval ivories. Vivian hadn’t actually managed to get a ticket for the service, but he 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.
Langley, tears dried, said the history books would have to be rewritten: “We now know where King Richard is buried.”
The royals and other VIPs marched off to a grand lunch in the Guildhall, and the lesser mortals scattered to the pubs, cafes and restaurants of Leicester, whose owners are also giving devout thanks for the return of a king.
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 crowds are expected back when the cathedral doors reopen on Friday for the first view of the tomb. Overnight the most delicate part of the whole week 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 grave this time, perhaps, for ever. A dawn photocall has been organised, with the ominous rider “subject to the tomb being completed by this time”.
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. The most extraordinary week in the afterlife of Richard III is not quite over yet.