Richard III, reburied

Richard III, King of England, has been reburied in Leicester Cathedral in a solemn ceremony attended by the Countess of Wessex and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. The king's remains, found beneath a car park in Leicester in 2012, were reinterred in an oak coffin and will lie beneath a marble tomb. Almost 530 years after his death at the Battle of Bosworth, this king has been given a monarch's burial at last.

The coffin of Richard III ahead of its reburial at Leicester Cathedral on March 26th 2015

The king's remains were identified through DNA testing led by the University of Leicester. On March 22nd his coffin was taken from the college to Bosworth Field and other places of significance to the king before it was handed into the care of Leicester Cathedral. Tens of thousands queued to file past the casket and today the king was reinterred in the presence of royalty.

Richard III is laid to rest in Leicester Cathedral on March 26th 2015

(photo King Richard III in Leicester)

The Duke of Gloucester placed Richard III's Prayer Book on his coffin at the start of the ceremony and gave a reading as well. There was music from the choir of Leicester Cathedral, a eulogy from the university on Richard the man and a sermon from the Bishop of Leicester. And the Order of Service began with words from the Queen who described the reburial as an event of national and international significance. And at the end of the service, actor Benedict Cumberbatch read a poem especially written by the Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy.

Benedict Cumberbatch reads at the reburial service of Richard III at Leicester Cathedral

(photo @KRIII Twitter)

Richard's tomb will be revealed tomorrow and after that his final resting place will be open to the public to pay their respects on a regular basis. Those who organised his reinterrment said they wanted to give him the honour and dignity he had been denied in death. And today's solemn ceremony only underlined, that. The last of the Plantagenets has finally had a ceremony fit for a king.

Flowers in Leicester Cathedral for the reburial of Richard III

(photo @KRIII Twitter)