Richard’s descendants in legal victory over fight for York burial in York

A group of relatives of the medieval monarch has been granted the right to launch judicial review proceedings against opponents who wish to bury his skeleton in Leicester, where it was unearthed under a council car park last year.

The Plantagenet Alliance, which includes 15 of the king’s distant relatives, believe he should be buried at York Minster in accordance with what they claim were his own wishes.

Richard III, who grew up in Yorkshire and was the last king of the House of York, was killed at the battle of Bosworth in 1485.

His body was hurriedly buried in the church of the Greyfriars in Leicester, which was later lost during redevelopment.

His remains were dug up from Greyfriars car park by archaeologists from the University of Leicester in September and confirmed as his by a team of experts from the institution in February.

The licence to carry out the excavation, granted by the Ministry of Justice, gave the university the authority to decide where to rebury the king, who is now set to be laid to rest at Leicester Cathedral.

The Plantagenet Alliance launched a legal challenge to the decision in May, arguing that the MoJ failed to consult them over the terms of the burial licence.

Members claim Justice Secretary Chris Grayling had a duty to take into account the wishes of UK citizens, including the king’s descendants, who have an “interest in the fate of the rediscovered body of a historically important anointed former monarch of the realm”, as well as the wishes of Richard III himself “in so far as they can be ascertained of inferred”.

Granting permission for a hearing later in the year, Mr Justice Haddon-Cave said: “The archaeological discovery of the mortal remains of a former King of England after 500 years is without precedent. In my judgment, it is plainly arguable that there was a duty at common law to consult widely as to how and where Richard III’s remains should appropriately be re-interred.”

The judge said he hoped the dispute could be settled without the need for an “unseemly, undignified and unedifying” legal tussle, urging the parties to avoid embarking on a legal “War of the Roses part two”.

“This would not be appropriate, or in the country’s interests,” he said, recommending that an independent advisory panel should be set up to carry out a consultation to help resolve the matter.

Acknowledging the “strong public feeling” raised by the issue, particularly in York and Leicester, Mr Justice Haddon-Cave said the matter “touches upon our history, heritage and identity”.

Some 26,553 people have signed a petition that the remains should be reburied at York Minster compared with 8,115 people who have signed one calling for them to be reinterred at Leicester.

A significant tourism boost is anticipated for whichever location is eventually chosen, with footfall at Leicester Cathedral said to have increased 20-fold since the discovery.

“The benefit in terms of prestige and increased tourism to the city or place or institution which eventually secures these royal remains is obvious,” said the judge.

In a statement following the ruling, the University of Leicester said the Plantagenet Alliance’s claim was “without merit” and maintained that Leicester Cathedral was an “entirely proper and fitting” resting place.

Adding that “statistically, it is expected there will be at least a million relatives of Richard III alive today”, it said it had received messages of support from a number of descendants including Michael Ibsen, whose DNA was key to identifying the remains.