The final resting place of the last medieval king of England looks set to be in Leicester after the High Court on Friday rejected an attempt by distant relatives of Richard III to force a public consultation over where he should be buried.
After he was killed by soldiers loyal to Henry VII at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, Richard's corpse was taken to Leicester and buried at Grey Friars Church, where his grave lay unknown until being unearthed from a municipal car park in April 2012.
The discovery of Richard III's remains sparked media interest around the world. His death had brought to an end the Wars of the Roses, but until last year he remained the only English monarch since 1066 whose final resting place had not been known. He was the last king of England to die on the battlefield and his death heralded the Tudor dynasty and the beginning of the early modern period of English history.
Under an exhumation licence granted by Chris Grayling, justice secretary, the remains were to be reinterred in Leicester Cathedral following intensive forensic analysis by archaeologists.
However, the Plantagenet Alliance, a not-for-profit entity formed by remote descendants of the last ruler of the House of York, launched a campaign for the bones to be laid to rest in York Minster due to his ties to the House of York and earlier this year went to court to seek a public consultation over where he should be laid to rest.
On Friday, Lady Justice Hallett found that there was no public law grounds for the court interfering with the existing decisions and dismissed the judicial review application.
She noted that the dean of Leicester Cathedral had explained the efforts and expenditure invested by the city's cathedral to create a lasting burial as befits "an anointed king".
"Since Richard III's exhumation . . . passions have been roused and much ink has been split. Issues relating to his life and death and place of reinterment have been exhaustively examined and debated. We agree that it is time for Richard III to be given a dignified reburial and finally laid to rest," she said.
The hearing earlier this year had heard submissions from Gerard Clarke, the barrister representing the alliance, who argued to the court that there should be a public consultation over Richard's resting place. This should invite representations from the Crown, English Heritage, churches, public bodies and "those who claim a family relationship with the late king", he said.
Arguing that since the [burial] licence was granted at the time of exhumation - five months before the remains were officially confirmed as those of Richard - Mr Clarke said its terms should have been revisited and a public consultation sought on interment.
The government argued there was no duty in law for a public consultation. Leicester has already drawn up plans for a £4m visitor centre in a building overlooking the car park.
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