Richard III’s remains to stay in Leicester

The heavily scarred skeleton of the last Plantagenet and Yorkist king of England – who is also the last monarch to have died in battle – was found under a car park in Leicester in September 2012.

The government granted an exhumation licence to the University of Leicester, and plans were made to re-inter the king in Leicester Cathedral.

But a group called the Plantagenet Alliance, representing Richard’s distant descendants, called for a public consultation, saying Richard of York would have preferred to buried at York Minster.

The group launched a legal challenge after the Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling, refused to hold a consultation. Today, the high court said it was time for the king “to be given a dignified reburial, and finally laid to rest” in Leicester Cathedral.

Government anger

A judge previously ruled that the Plantagenet Alliance would not have to pay the government’s legal costs if their judicial review failed, leaving the taxpayer with an estimated bill of more than £80,000.

Mr Grayling said: “I have been very clear from the start that the decision to grant an exhumation licence for Richard III was taken correctly and in line with the law. I am pleased the court has reached the same conclusion and comprehensively rejected all of the claimant’s arguments.

“I am, however, frustrated and angry that the Plantagenet Alliance – a group with tenuous claims to being relatives of Richard III – have taken up so much time and public money.

“This case, brought by a shell company set up by the Alliance to avoid paying legal costs, is an example of exactly why the Government is bringing forward a package of reforms to the judicial review process.”

A lawyer acting for the group said Richard’s distant relatives were considering an appeal but would not make a statement today.

Matthew Howarth, partner at Yorkshire law firm Gordons, said: “We obviously respect and accept today’s verdict, and are grateful to have had the opportunity to raise this matter before the courts, but are naturally disappointed at the decision, which we regard as highly regrettable.”

He said there were “no regrets about fighting the case, which we can look back on with pride”, adding: “My client is a not-for-profit entity and many people were amazed that we got as far as we did.”

Applause at cathedral

There was applause at Leicester Cathedral as Bishop of Leicester Tim Stevens read out the high court decision to a crowd of supporters on Friday morning.

Bishop Stevens said: “We are, of course, delighted. Here in the cathedral, in the diocese, in the city, in the county, we’ve waited a long time for this.”

Wendy Moorhen, deputy chairman of the Richard III Society, said: “This judgment will be a disappointment to some – particularly the Plantagenet Alliance and their supporters – and we acknowledge the sincerity of their case.

“However, we hope that, now a clear ruling has been given, we can all focus on ensuring that King Richard III receives an honourable and dignified reburial.”

Last year, an online petition calling for the bones to remain in Leicester attracted 34,477 signatures, 3,000 more than a rival bid to have the remains moved to York.

Finding Richard

Richard III’s remains were sensationally discovered under a council-run car park in Leicester in September 2012.

Catastrophic head injuries fitted with accounts of Richard’s death at the Battle of Bosworth Fields in 1485 – the clash that ended the Wars of the Roses.

Despite Shakespeare’s famous portrayal of Richard seeking to flee the battle, shouting: “A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!”, contemporary accounts agree that he died bravely in the thick of the fighting.

A pronounced scoliosis or curvature of the spine chimed with contemporary descriptions of the king having one shoulder higher than the other, and proved that Shakespeare’s depiction of Richard as a hunchback was not just artistic licence.

Researchers at the University of Leicester compared mitochondrial DNA taken from the remains with Michael Ibsen, an 18th-generation descendant of Richard’s mother Cecily Neville.

Supporters of the victorious Henry Tudor – subsequently crowned King Henry VII – had carried his corpse from the battlefield to Greyfriars Church in Leicester for an unceremonious burial.

Greyfriars was subsequently destroyed in the Reformation and the precise location was lost in subsequent centuries of development in the city.