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| Game of thrones in a Leicester car park | Game of thrones in a Leicester car park |
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| The way the cities of York and Leicester are fighting over the remains of Richard III does neither of them credit (Report, 6 February). York's principal argument, the much-vaunted Richard's love of the north and her love of him, is on shaky ground. Lest we forget that within a year of the battle of Bosworth, Lord Lovell failed in raising Yorkshire against Henry VII and in 1486 the new king was met by York's sheriff and escorted into York through crowds of adoring inhabitants. In 1487, the same city refused entry to John de la Pole (Richard's heir apparent after 1484) and Lambert Simnel, thereby making this Yorkist attempt to overthrow the new Tudor dynasty doomed. Richard spent much time in the north, but then again it was his job to spend time in the north and he was rewarded handsomely for it by his brother. This doesn't necessarily mean he enjoyed Middleham, York or Wensleydale cheese. | The way the cities of York and Leicester are fighting over the remains of Richard III does neither of them credit (Report, 6 February). York's principal argument, the much-vaunted Richard's love of the north and her love of him, is on shaky ground. Lest we forget that within a year of the battle of Bosworth, Lord Lovell failed in raising Yorkshire against Henry VII and in 1486 the new king was met by York's sheriff and escorted into York through crowds of adoring inhabitants. In 1487, the same city refused entry to John de la Pole (Richard's heir apparent after 1484) and Lambert Simnel, thereby making this Yorkist attempt to overthrow the new Tudor dynasty doomed. Richard spent much time in the north, but then again it was his job to spend time in the north and he was rewarded handsomely for it by his brother. This doesn't necessarily mean he enjoyed Middleham, York or Wensleydale cheese. |
| Moving onto Leicester. I cannot think of a less suitable place for Richard to lie. It seems that the mayor, university and council seem blissfully unaware or ignorant of the fact that Leicester was a Lancastrian town through and through. It has even been suggested by the University of Leicester, the same university that dug Richard up, that Leicester was the "Lancastrian capital", a fact born out by its heavy association with John of Gaunt, Henry Bolingbroke (later Henry IV) and Henry V. In the church of St Mary de Castro lie the remains of Mary de Bohun, the mother of Henry V and wife of Henry IV. | Moving onto Leicester. I cannot think of a less suitable place for Richard to lie. It seems that the mayor, university and council seem blissfully unaware or ignorant of the fact that Leicester was a Lancastrian town through and through. It has even been suggested by the University of Leicester, the same university that dug Richard up, that Leicester was the "Lancastrian capital", a fact born out by its heavy association with John of Gaunt, Henry Bolingbroke (later Henry IV) and Henry V. In the church of St Mary de Castro lie the remains of Mary de Bohun, the mother of Henry V and wife of Henry IV. |
| We should start showing some respect to the remains. Clearly, Richard being buried with his immediate family (father, brother etc) in Fotheringhay is the only morally correct choice. Anthony Shelmerdine Boskovic Manchester | We should start showing some respect to the remains. Clearly, Richard being buried with his immediate family (father, brother etc) in Fotheringhay is the only morally correct choice. Anthony Shelmerdine Boskovic Manchester |
| • Your correspondents lack a sense of history (Letters, 6 February). Richard Plantagenet was born at Fotheringhay Castle – a major stronghold of the Yorks. The last person who grappled with the question of how to treat the disinterred bones of princes of the House of York was Elizabeth I. On visiting Fotheringhay in 1566, years after the dissolution of the monasteries, she found the tombs of her York forebears exposed in the churchyard. At her direction, two catafalques were constructed within the surviving nave (now the parish church) to contain the bones (although I strongly doubt that they were placed there during a Catholic rite). He is commemorated by a plaque on the ruins of the castle placed by the Richard III Society – next to the plaque remembering Mary Queen of Scots placed by the Stuart Society. What better place for the skeletal reminder of a lost cause than Fotheringhay? | • Your correspondents lack a sense of history (Letters, 6 February). Richard Plantagenet was born at Fotheringhay Castle – a major stronghold of the Yorks. The last person who grappled with the question of how to treat the disinterred bones of princes of the House of York was Elizabeth I. On visiting Fotheringhay in 1566, years after the dissolution of the monasteries, she found the tombs of her York forebears exposed in the churchyard. At her direction, two catafalques were constructed within the surviving nave (now the parish church) to contain the bones (although I strongly doubt that they were placed there during a Catholic rite). He is commemorated by a plaque on the ruins of the castle placed by the Richard III Society – next to the plaque remembering Mary Queen of Scots placed by the Stuart Society. What better place for the skeletal reminder of a lost cause than Fotheringhay? |
| They also lack a sense of science. The bones were identified as those of Richard Plantagenet using the techniques pioneered in Leicester by Sir Alec Jeffreys. His work has contributed enormously to the welfare of humanity by (among other things) enabling the perpetrators of many thousands of crimes of violence to be brought to justice. With this in mind, perhaps the bones of this bloody monarch would be best preserved in a museum in Leicester exploring the enormous contribution Sir Alec has made to the reduction in violence by his work. Chris Hughes Chair, National DNA database ethics group | They also lack a sense of science. The bones were identified as those of Richard Plantagenet using the techniques pioneered in Leicester by Sir Alec Jeffreys. His work has contributed enormously to the welfare of humanity by (among other things) enabling the perpetrators of many thousands of crimes of violence to be brought to justice. With this in mind, perhaps the bones of this bloody monarch would be best preserved in a museum in Leicester exploring the enormous contribution Sir Alec has made to the reduction in violence by his work. Chris Hughes Chair, National DNA database ethics group |
| • I didn't think it would take long for papal claims to rear their head, but in reply to Terence Morris, Richard III was a member of the English Church, then in communion with Rome, but now no longer so. Leicester Cathedral will do fine. Very Revd Richard Giles Tynemouth | • I didn't think it would take long for papal claims to rear their head, but in reply to Terence Morris, Richard III was a member of the English Church, then in communion with Rome, but now no longer so. Leicester Cathedral will do fine. Very Revd Richard Giles Tynemouth |
| • I'm puzzled scientists have had to seek a DNA link with a 17th-generation descendant in Canada for Richard III's mitochondrial DNA when there is a link much closer to home in our own queen. Richard's mother was also mother to Edward IV, who fathered Elizabeth of York. She married Henry VII and had a daughter, Margaret, from whom came the Stuart line which then passed on their DNA to the Hanoverians who are in direct line to the House of Windsor. Surely that would be an easier route and the Queen could then decide the appropriate resting place for the last Plantagenet in her family tree. Dinah Tuck Hatfield, Hertfordshire | • I'm puzzled scientists have had to seek a DNA link with a 17th-generation descendant in Canada for Richard III's mitochondrial DNA when there is a link much closer to home in our own queen. Richard's mother was also mother to Edward IV, who fathered Elizabeth of York. She married Henry VII and had a daughter, Margaret, from whom came the Stuart line which then passed on their DNA to the Hanoverians who are in direct line to the House of Windsor. Surely that would be an easier route and the Queen could then decide the appropriate resting place for the last Plantagenet in her family tree. Dinah Tuck Hatfield, Hertfordshire |
| • The bones of "the princes in the Tower" (Letters, 5 February) were in fact examined in the last century. On 6 July 1933 their urn was unsealed in the presence of the dean of the abbey and others, including Lawrence Tanner, keeper of the abbey archives, and Prof William Wright. Their report was read to the Society of Antiquaries on 30 November 1933. They found the bones of two children, one about 13, the other aged between nine and 11. | • The bones of "the princes in the Tower" (Letters, 5 February) were in fact examined in the last century. On 6 July 1933 their urn was unsealed in the presence of the dean of the abbey and others, including Lawrence Tanner, keeper of the abbey archives, and Prof William Wright. Their report was read to the Society of Antiquaries on 30 November 1933. They found the bones of two children, one about 13, the other aged between nine and 11. |
| Anatomical and dental features suggested consanguinity, while a stain on the facial skeleton of one pointed to death by suffocation. The age of the two boys convinced Tanner and Wright that "by no possibility could either, or both, have been alive on the 22 August 1485, the date of Henry VII's accession". If the urn could be opened once, perhaps it is time to have another look? Elizabeth Nussbaum London | Anatomical and dental features suggested consanguinity, while a stain on the facial skeleton of one pointed to death by suffocation. The age of the two boys convinced Tanner and Wright that "by no possibility could either, or both, have been alive on the 22 August 1485, the date of Henry VII's accession". If the urn could be opened once, perhaps it is time to have another look? Elizabeth Nussbaum London |
| • Richard III was the last king of a royal house (the House of York) whose claim to the throne depended on female descent. His historical reputation has generally since his death been appalling, but the discovery of his body has aired, and in some respects occasioned, positive evaluations of his kingship and, next year, dignity for his remains. | • Richard III was the last king of a royal house (the House of York) whose claim to the throne depended on female descent. His historical reputation has generally since his death been appalling, but the discovery of his body has aired, and in some respects occasioned, positive evaluations of his kingship and, next year, dignity for his remains. |
| How provident that, 527 years on, this should occur at the very moment in our history when female rights to the throne are again being asserted. Hugh Young London | How provident that, 527 years on, this should occur at the very moment in our history when female rights to the throne are again being asserted. Hugh Young London |
| • It might have been much less complicated if someone had given Richard III a horse that day at Bosworth Field. Pete Stephens Newnham, Gloucestershire | • It might have been much less complicated if someone had given Richard III a horse that day at Bosworth Field. Pete Stephens Newnham, Gloucestershire |
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