Britons should get a say on car park king’s remains: judge

LONDON (AFP) ― The British public should be consulted on the final resting place of Richard III, the 15th-century king whose skeleton was found under a car park, a judge said on Friday.

The bones of Richard, a controversial monarch demonized by Shakespeare, were dug up last year outside a municipal building in Leicester, central England.

The University of Leicester, whose archaeologists found the site, have claimed the remains as their own and planned to rebury them at Leicester Cathedral, a decision endorsed by the government.

However, descendants of the king and other campaigners want him buried in York, the northern city which formed his power base and gave its name to Richard‘s family.

More than 27,400 people have signed a petition calling for Richard’s remains to be re-interred at York Minster, while more than 8,000 signed one urging him to stay in Leicester.

In a ruling on Friday, High Court Judge Charles Haddon-Cave gave the relatives permission to challenge the burial plans, saying they should have been put out to public consultation.

“The archaeological discovery of the mortal remains of a former king of England after 500 years is without precedent,” he said in a written ruling.

“In my judgement, 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.

“I grant permission to the claimant to bring judicial review proceedings against the Secretary of State for Justice and the University of Leicester on all grounds.”