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Richard III Reburial Row Goes To Court


Waspie_Dwarf

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Richard III: King's reburial row goes to judicial review

Distant relatives of Richard III have been granted permission for a judicial review of the decision to rebury the king's remains in Leicester.

The Plantagenet Alliance launched a legal challenge to the decision made by the Ministry of Justice in May.

The group, including 15 of Richard III's relatives, wants a York burial claiming it was King Richard's wish.

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I'm uncomfortable with the idea of archaeologists having more say in this than the man's family. It just seems wrong, unless of course the family happen to be crazy. (Only my opinion, please don't shout at me).

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Maybe because it's King Richard III then it changes things from being a 'normal' man?

Impressive that he does have some distant relatives around though.

And I'm guessing that King Richard III did not have a will?

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Maybe because it's King Richard III then it changes things from being a 'normal' man?

Impressive that he does have some distant relatives around though.

And I'm guessing that King Richard III did not have a will?

Family is family, king or not.

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Family is family, king or not.

Half a millennium after the man died?

These people may be Richard III's family but after 528 years they are so distantly related that for all I know I could be a relative somewhere along the line. With so many generations having passed the Plantagenet Alliance almost certainly represent only a tiny fraction of Richard's living relatives. Why should only a vocal few have a say? What about the rest of his living relatives?

Ultimately though it's not really a case of archaeologists versus family, it's a case of tradition versus a King's wishes.

Traditionally when a body is reburied it is buried in a church near to where the body was found. In this case, befitting a King, it would be Leicester Cathedral.

However it was known that Richard's own preference was to be buried in York.

I firmly sit on the fence where this is concerned. I can see pros and cons with both arguments.

If the Plantagenet Alliance win will it open the flood gates to reburials of other dead aristocrats on the say of some distant relative half a millennium later?

On the other hand should the known wishes of a King of England be ignored?

I'm glad I don't have to make the decision.

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I'm glad I don't have to make the decision.

If he was your forebear, would you still be sitting on the fence or would you shout that his wishes should be respected?

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Here in the States, tribal wishes superceed all else, when dealing with ancient remains - even if the remains are from a far earlier period than the tribe is known to have lived in the area...

There are - of course - exceptions, such as Geronimo's Grave... But even there, the tribe is split about relocating his remains...

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If he was your forebear, would you still be sitting on the fence or would you shout that his wishes should be respected?

Since I'm not in that position I really don't know the answer.

However although I'm proud of my Scottish (and Welsh) roots I don't feel in anyway ashamed or responsible for the Campbell's massacre of the MacDonalds at Glencoe. Should I do? My family were originally Clan Campbell and the event was only 321 years ago, two centuries more recently than the death of Richard III. Should I feel a personal connection then? Should I feel the need to apologise to every MacDonald I meet? Should the MacDonald's expect an apology from me? I think that would be unreasonable. This is, after all, ancient history

But if history is history then maybe the same priciple should work both ways. Just as the events of 3 centuries ago should have no bearing on the descendants 3 centuries later I'm not convinced that the descendants 5 centuries later should have any bearing on what happens to an ancestor. I am not convinced it is their decision to make.

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Who should have control over the remains--I suppose that's why there will always be a tug of war between archaeologists and family/tribe/whatever.

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Since I'm not in that position I really don't know the answer.

However although I'm proud of my Scottish (and Welsh) roots I don't feel in anyway ashamed or responsible for the Campbell's massacre of the MacDonalds at Glencoe. Should I do?.....

But if history is history then maybe the same priciple should work both ways. Just as the events of 3 centuries ago should have no bearing on the descendants 3 centuries later I'm not convinced that the descendants 5 centuries later should have any bearing on what happens to an ancestor. I am not convinced it is their decision to make.

I hear what you're saying, but disagree.

btw... My mother is a Campbell and Campbell is my middle name. We could be distantly related! (Related 'through drink' as my granny used to say.) Ain't that a nice thought? lol

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This is so petty and not respectful of the dead, especially of a king. His wishes were to be buried in York and it seems that the university want him in Leicester to attract money for tourism. Perhaps the war of the roses hasn't ended a bitter row.

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Do we know for sure that he expressed a wish to be buried at York?

Under English Common Law, a body found in unconsecrated ground is buried in the nearest consecrated ground, unless a will is found. Leicester Cathedral is just a stone's through from where he was found.

Another point that needs to be raised is this. Just because he was a Christian, he is accorded the dignity of a reburial. But bodies of Pagans are regularly dug up from earlier periods and displayed in museums.

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Seems to me the minute they definitely identified his remains as Richard Plantagenet then burying him in York would be the thing to do, he was a Yorkish prince. Course the people kicking up the most fuss arent really his family, its the Richard III society that is determined to whitewash him and make out that he wasnt all that bad for a medieval king

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Family is family, king or not.

Genghis Khan supposedly has 16,000,000 desendants today. If his tomb is ever found that should be interesting
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Genghis Khan supposedly has 16,000,000 desendants today. If his tomb is ever found that should be interesting

Or even better Charlemagne - arent we all supposed to be related to him?

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