Plea over Richard III Order of Service eBay sales

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-32106029

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The sale of Orders of Service from Richard III's reinterment on the internet has prompted an appeal from church authorities.

The king's coffin was put into a vault in Leicester Cathedral during a reinterment service on Thursday, with the tomb unveiled the day after.

But now some service booklets have been offered for as much as £200 on eBay.

Cathedral officials said those wanting a memento could buy a set of all three booklets for just £12.50.

Richards's skeleton was found beneath a Leicester car park in August 2012.

Despite a legal challenge, it was reburied in the cathedral during a week of events.

There were three main services in the cathedral - one to receive the coffin, one of reinterment and one of Reveal, when the sealed tomb was unveiled.

Thursday's reinterment was attended by the Countess of Wessex and actor Benedict Cumberbatch.

On Saturday, the Diocese of Leicester took to social media to advise people against buying Orders of Service and the Dean, David Monteith, backed this up.

He said: "You can't deal with death without recognising the shadowy side of individuals, that's just how it is.

"But we were slightly ahead of the game, as we had more service booklets printed than we needed and all three can be bought from the cathedral.

"They cost £12.50 for three, with nobody exploited, just covering our costs and a little bit going back into the life of the cathedral."