‘Regal and respectful’ claim over tomb plan for Richard

The tomb would be carved out of finely worked Swaledale fossil limestone and feature a deep carved cross.

The limestone is quarried in Swaledale, near to Middleham, where Richard III underwent his boyhood training in knighthood and later made his home.

Set within the cathedral’s chancel, the £1.3m plan would see the tomb placed on a floor inlaid with a large Yorkist white rose.

The name of the King, his date of birth and death, along with his personal motto Loyaulte me Lie (Loyalty binds Me) and his boar badge would also be carved into a dark circular band around the tomb.

However, it is far from certain the plan will go ahead as campaigners continue to press their case that Richard should be laid to rest in Yorkshire.

They have applied to the High Court for a judicial review 
into the decision to grant the 
city cathedral licence as the final resting place for the King’s remains.

Richard’s remains were discovered by archaeologists from the University of Leicester after a dig in a city centre car park.

The Dean of Leicester, the Very Rev David Monteith, said: “We fully respect the process of the Judicial Review which will ensure the procedure leading to the re-interment is correct.

“While this takes its course, we must, as would any cathedral in this position, seek planning permission for the detailed and costly changes which need to be made to the building.

“The overall concept is regal and respectful in its elegant simplicity, as befits the final resting place of a King of England.

“By placing the tomb in our chancel, we are giving King Richard the same honour as did those friars more than 500 years ago.”

The Cathedral Fabric Commission for England is expected to consider the plans later this month.

King Richard III died at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, bringing to a close the period known as the Wars of the Roses.