Richard III returned to battlefield he fell on 500-years-ago

The mortal remains of Richard III have returned to Bosworth where he fell in battle 530 years ago.

King Richard III’s coffin arrives outside Leicester Cathedral in Leicester where he will be reburied. Image by Darren Staples/PA Wire

In a colourful ceremony heavy with symbolism atop Ambion Hill over-looking the site of the old Leicestershire battlefield thousands gathered to honour the dead king, some in period dress and battle armour.

Supporter Dr Phil Stone, chairman of the Richard III Society, told the crowd to “remember a man of integrity, who cared for subjects and had their trust”.

He urged them to look anew at the king whose “achievements in his short reign have been over-shadowed by historical myth and Shakespeare’s monster”.

Dr Stone added: “Let us remember King Richard III. The good king. The warrior king.”

King Richard III’s coffin arrives outside Leicester Cathedral – next to a statue of Richard III – where he will be reburied. Image by Darren Staples/PA Wire

After a moment of silence and reflection, a 21-gun salute thundered out bringing the smell of gunpowder to the windless field, as a banner bearing the old king’s white boar sigil hung limply from its flagstaff.

The weather obliged, as bright spring sunshine shone down in echo of the words of Shakespeare’s play Richard III, “now is the winter of our discontent, made glorious summer by this sun of York”.

The king’s grave site had been thought lost to history until archaeologists discovered his crook-backed skeleton in the remains of an old monastery beneath a Leicester City Council car park.

Yesterday also marked the moment Richard was formally transferred to the cathedral from the custody of University of Leicester, whose archaeologists and scientists identified the king’s remains.

It was at Bosworth, where in August 1485 Richard fell while fighting Lancastrian forces under the command of Henry Tudor – later Henry VII, bringing a decisive end to the Wars of the Roses.

Contemporary accounts after the battle told of how Richard’s remains were buried “without pompe or solemne funeral” in the Greyfriars monastery.

When archaeologists uncovered his skeleton in August 2012, they found evidence of a hasty burial, with a grave so short the king’s head was propped up against its side.

He had suffered eight wounds to his head, among them a brutal slash to the base of skull which cleaved away a large portion of bone.

Another piercing blow, possibly from a sword, had been driven 4ins through his skull.

In contrast to his violent end, Richard’s coffin will lie in repose following today’s service, where it can be viewed by the general public from tomorrow.

Then on Thursday, his remains will be lowered into a purpose-built tomb made of Yorkshire Swaledale stone, before visitors are allowed back inside the cathedral to see the completed memorial the following day.

His final rest has been delayed by months after distant relatives brought a legal challenge through the courts arguing he should be reburied in York.

However, judges ruled in favour of Leicester, paving the way for a week of events marking the king’s life and death, starting with the cortege today.

(Press Association)