April 1: Fate of Richard III must not be end of the story for Yorkshire

IT has been most interesting to follow the recent happenings following the discovery of the body of Richard III, yet sad to see how little Yorkshire has been involved in these proceedings.

As a proud Lancastrian, the Wars of the Roses have always been interesting for me. I have been saddened at the treatment of Yorkshire by those with Leicester connections.

Several times on television I have noticed the lack of empathy and sensitivity towards the county, which Richard and his family called home, as clergy, officials and many of the general public have light heartedly dismissed the claims for Richard to be buried in York Minster.

We found him, so we keep him, seems to have been central to their thinking, with little thought given to the feelings and history of Yorkshire folk.

Our present monarch would never be buried at the place she died, if that ever happened whilst she was away from home, so why should Richard be?

I heard little or no mention of the House of Lancaster at Thurday’s service (The Yorkshire Post, March 27) and precious little of Yorkshire.

It seemed that Leicester was determined to be central to that service and I feel that Yorkshire folk and to a lesser degree, Lancashire folk, were not treated with the respect that they deserved and their claims were lightly dismissed.

It seems that financial gain for Leicester from a subsequent tourist boom, was central to their planning, but surely the Battlefield of Bosworth 
was sufficient for this to prosper?

The story of Richard is not yet over. We have much to thank Philippa Langley for.

Her initial vision, interest, research and consistent persistence in initiating the digs at the place where Richard was buried, were vital and outstanding, but we are saddened by the dismissive way Yorkshire has been treated by those who then made Richard central to their own plans in Leicester.

The wounds that have been opened by recent events may or may not heal, but I am sure that I speak for all Lancastrians, when we wish you well in your future deliberations and research on behalf of Richard.

The House of Lancaster may have won this last significant War of the Roses, but we are right behind you, supporting you, in this wounding episode of our respective county histories.

This surely must not be the end of the story for Yorkshire, because finders cannot be keepers.