May They Do The Right Thing!

It would be unthinkable if anyone killed in an accident had to be buried where he/she died. Great lengths are gone to to have the bodies of soldiers killed overseas repatriated and yet Richard III, England’s last Plantagenet king is to be buried in Leicester?

 

Today the High Court will decide on that ruling and I trust the right thing will be done and the case for Richard to be buried in York will be re-opened.

 

1.  Richard was Lord of the North.

2   He lived, loved and was loved in Yorkshire.

3   York remained loyal to him to the end.

4   He paid for chapels/chantries in York..a sure sign he wished to be buried there.

5   His beloved son is buried in Yorkshire

6   His present day descendants wish him to be buried here.

6   The decision to inter him in Leicester was reached by secret agreement but Richard was King of England and the people of England have a right to make the decision. Secret agreements, after all, led to the First World War and host of other evils!

7    Richard belongs to Yorkshire and had no ties with Leicester where his body was mutilated after death. 

Please Return Richard to York!

It’s absolutely understandable that Leicester wishes to keep the body of Richard III since so much effort went into his recovery there but, all things considered, it is surely only right that his last resting place should be in the north of England – in fact in Yorkshire at either York Minster, or in Sheriff Hutton.

Richard loved this place and was (and has remained) loved here. As the Richard III Society demonstrates, the City of York mourned his passing and recognised the loss of ‘Good King Richard’, ' … king Richard late mercifully reigning upon us was thrugh grete treason of the duc of Northfolk [sic] and many other that turned ayenst hyme, with many other lordes and nobilles of this north parties was piteously slane murdred to the grete hevynesse of this citie …'

for they had found him a great supporter of the rights of the people of Yorkshire.

From the Mayor and the Council of the city of York (1476) for his support:

'The saide day and tyme by the forsaide Maire and Counsaile it was holie agreed and assented that the Duk of Gloucestre shall for his grete labour of now late made unto the kinges good grace for the conservacion of the liberties of this Citie, that he shalbe presented at his commyng to the citie with vj swannes and vj pikes'.

A petition, created by Mark Cousins, is currently underway, which absolutely ‘nails’ the argument for his return to Yorkshire:

“He was the last King of the House of York and it is recorded that he was popular in and fond of the North and York in particular where he was regarded with much love and affection. It will also place him geographically closer to the remains of his son, Edward the Prince of Wales, whose remains lie in Sherriff Hutton church.”

I hope that a good many people will sign this petition and Richard will be laid to rest in the city that loved him.

Please click here and consider signing the petition!

The Queen in York

How wonderful that after yesterday’s storm, the snow had gone today and the sun shone to welcome the Queen to Yorkshire where she handed out the traditional Maundy money in York! (The picture is from the BBC North website) It was a double celebration in Jubilee Year, since this year is also the 800th anniversary of York’s status as a ‘free city’. An interesting ceremony is associated with that status: when the Queen arrives at the city gates she must ask permission to enter the city – permission which was granted by the Lord Mayor, to rapturous applause. What a wonderful continuation of history!

Another interesting aspect of the Maundy Money tradition is that, as it is practised today, it stems from a suggestion from one of the least assuming and most charming of Queen Victoria’s granddaughters – Princess Marie Louise. The tradition obviously originally comes from Jesus’ example at the Last Supper, where he washed the disciples' feet. Long ago, monarchs went out on this day and washed the feet of the poor and gave alms but by the end of the 17th Century that custom had faded. Money was still distributed on behalf of the monarch but the monarch did not attend the ceremony until Princess Marie Louise suggested resuming the tradition to her cousin George V.

Usually this practice has been carried out in London or the South so it is quite lovely that, in the year of her Jubilee, the Queen should choose York for today’s ceremony. York is truly a fascinating city and one which positively abounds with history and the history of this country! I don’t work for the Tourist Board but, to anyone who lives abroad and is considering visiting Britain, please remember that England doesn’t end in the Home Counties! Yorkshire and the North in general boast some of the most beautiful landscapes, castles and sites of historical interest in the country. Sadly, we have a bad press as the ‘industrial North’ and are frequently presented as rather stupid people who wear flat caps and keep whippets! Interesting that this is the home of the Brontes, J. B. Priestly, Alan Bennett, Andrew Marvell, Judi Dench, John Atkinson Grimshaw...to name but a few!