by The Laird o’Thistle
August 17 2013

There has been a lot of royal re-burying going on in recent years. First there were the Romanovs in Russia, then just recently the Karadordevics in Serbia, and currently there is the planned reburial of Richard III in England… which has hit a slight snag. Within the last few day The Plantagenet Alliance, made up of some of the descendants of Richard III’s extended family (he himself having no issue who produced heirs), have won the right to ask Britain’s High Court to institute a judicial review of the plan to re-inter the remains of the last Plantagenet monarch in Leicester Cathedral. The Plantagenet Alliance prefers that the remains be interred instead at York Minster.

It all seems a bit surreal and absurd… as if some fifteenth- or twentieth-generation descendant of Richard III’s sister had any truly valid personal interest in what happened to Uncle Dickie’s poor old bones. But between two cathedrals, two towns, two tourist sites vying for a new attraction… aye, there’s the rub! So, as noted by Mr. Justice Haddon-Cave, who approved the appeal, the scene now shifts to the Temple in London where, ironically, John Beaufort of Lancaster and Richard Plantagenet of York supposedly began the conflict of the Wars of the Roses in 1455.

Sensibly, Mr. Justice Haddon-Cave also noted that the royal family, the state, and the church also need to be involved in deciding about the disposition of Richard III’s remains, not just the many-times-removed grandnieces and grandnephews of The Plantagenet Alliance. His recommendation is that there be an independent advisory group of experts and members of the Privy Council set up to decide the issue, and that is good, so far as it goes.

My own thought is that here, if ever or anywhere, a good case can be made for the direct intervention of the Queen. Elizabeth II is not only Richard III’s successor as Head of State, but she is also herself a many-times removed grandniece (being a sixteenth generation descendant of Elizabeth of York, a daughter of Edward IV and the wife of Henry VII). If Mr. Justice Haddon-Cave’s worthy advice is adopted, then let the independent commission be appointed to advise not some judicial or governmental entity, but the Sovereign. Then there can be no doubt that whatever decision is made is final, by “Command of the Queen!”

Personally, I think Richard III’s bones should rest, in honor, in Leicester. That is where they have been for five hundred and twenty-eight years already, and that accords with the understanding by which the archaeological dig was permitted in the first place, and with the archaeological “best practice” of reinterring human remains close by where they were discovered. Plans have been made for the creation of a dignified raised tomb in an appropriate setting within Leicester Cathedral. That surely suffices.

Once the decision is finally and truly made, the reburial can proceed in a timely fashion. It is providential that the hereditary Earl Marshal of England (the Duke of Norfolk), who oversees royal funerals among other things, happens to be a Roman Catholic. For it does seem fitting that representatives of that faith should be involved in the rites accompanying the entombment of a king who lived and died more than a generation before the Reformation, and whose first burial was within the precincts of a house of the Greyfriars (Franciscans). On the Anglican side, perhaps the Archbishop of York might diplomatically join the Bishop of Leicester in dedicating the new tomb.

It would also seem appropriate, on the “state” side of the occasion, for the current Prince Richard, HRH the Duke of Gloucester, to be involved in the ceremonies for the previous Richard, Duke of Gloucester. He would be the ideal person to be the Queen’s personal representative on the day. That, plus a few heralds from the College of Arms, and a berobed Knight of the Garter or two would be just enough to lend appropriate dignity without being too far “over the top.”

Such is what I would do with what is left of Richard III, were I in charge. I’m not, of course. Whatever unfolds, however, my most sincere hope is that the enthusiasts will not manage to usurp the occasion. Richard III is long since dead, and his poor bones should be allowed to rest again in peace.

Yours Aye,
Ken Cuthbertson

P.S. Following up on last month’s column, I was gratified to have gotten at least one of wee Prince George’s names right. On the other two names, the choice of Louis is not a huge surprise, as a nod to the Mountbatten lineage. Alexander, however, is a very interesting choice. Some have suggested that it is a nod to the Queen, whose second name (of three) is Alexandra. Perhaps. The only current Alexander in the extended royal family is the Duke of Gloucester’s son, the Earl of Ulster. The Gloucesters were neighbors to the Wales family at Kensington Palace when William was young, and Prince William is said to have been named in honor of the current Duke’s elder brother who died in an air crash. So perhaps there is a tie. It will be interesting to see if Alexander, Earl of Ulster, shows up among the godparents at the christening.