Richard the Third

[ardcarp]

I suppose it's bound to be 'ticket only' when you think about it. Despite biblical urgings that 'the first shall be last' etc., there is going to be a huge attendance by the Great and the Good, and I dare say there will be a lot of security too. Leicester Cathedral is quite small...just a glorified Parish Church really...so there will have to be limits.

[Anna]

The public ballot for tickets (only 200 for the great unwashed spread over the 3 services) took place nearly a year ago - but now I've looked further it seems BBM could pay his respects during the two and a half days of Richard lying in state (although I expect the queues will be horrendous, like when Saint Therese's relics came over not long ago). All details now on the Leicester Cathedral website: http://kingrichardinleicester.com/reburial-timetable/

[french frank]

Yes, so for the pious:

Monday 23rd:

17.00 Cardinal Nichols will celebrate Mass for the repose of the soul (a ‘Requiem Mass’) of Richard III in Holy Cross Church, the Catholic parish church and Dominican priory in Leicester city centre. The Choir from St Barnabas’ Cathedral, the Cathedral of the Diocese of Nottingham, will sing at this Mass, which will be open to the public.

The public en masse [] may still be shuffling round the coffin in the Cathedral until 5pm.

[BBMmk2]

Yes, so for the pious:

Monday 23rd:

17.00 Cardinal Nichols will celebrate Mass for the repose of the soul (a ‘Requiem Mass’) of Richard III in Holy Cross Church, the Catholic parish church and Dominican priory in Leicester city centre. The Choir from St Barnabas’ Cathedral, the Cathedral of the Diocese of Nottingham, will sing at this Mass, which will be open to the public.

The public en masse [] may still be shuffling round the coffin in the Cathedral until 5pm.

That be rather good to go to, The Requiem Mass. Here's hoping.

[jean]

Won't be a Sarum Rite requiem though.

Oh well, we tried.

[BBMmk2]

Won't be a Sarum Rite requiem though.

Oh well, we tried.

At least he'll be getting a Requiem Mass, which is something. Bless him

[Nick Armstrong]

The public ballot for tickets (only 200 for the great unwashed spread over the 3 services) took place nearly a year ago - but now I've looked further it seems BBM could pay his respects during the two and a half days of Richard lying in state (although I expect the queues will be horrendous, like when Saint Therese's relics came over not long ago). All details now on the Leicester Cathedral website: http://kingrichardinleicester.com/reburial-timetable/

All credit to Channel 4 which will devote 3 hours to screening the morning's proceedings live on the 26th, with further 'highlights' coverage in the evening.

Richard III: The Burial of the King from 10am to 1pm on Thursday 26 March on Channel 4
Jon Snow will host the exclusive live coverage of Richard III's reburial service, attended by members of the royal family, as the king is formally reinterred by the Archbishop of Canterbury at the east end of Leicester Cathedral.

Richard III: The King Laid to Rest at 8pm on Thursday 26 March on Channel 4
This final programme in Channel 4's exclusive coverage of Richard III's reburial shows highlights of his burial service and a last moment of intimate ceremonial, in which his descendants, and those who led the campaign to find Richard, gather to bid the king a final farewell.

The recorder will be set...

Unusually, I caught "In Tune" this evening, mercifully Rafferty-free, and there was rather an interesting interview with Judith Bingham, who said that as soon as she heard they were even going to dig in the carpark in the hope of finding His Late Majesty, she pitched the idea of contributing music to any ceremony which might ensue... and in due course, she was able to do so. She described the processional piece for choir and organ which she has composed.

[ardcarp]

...see post #763

[Nick Armstrong]

...see post #763

[Anna]

Apart from the burial coverage as posted by Caliban above there are three other programmes this weekend which may be of interest, although the first two are repeats:-

Richard III: The King in the Car Park on Saturday 21 March at 10pm on More4
When a skeleton was reported found under a Leicester council car park in September 2012, the news broke around the world. Channel 4 had the full inside story of the body in the car park and the hunt for Richard III.

Richard III: The Unseen Story on Sunday 22 March at 8pm on More 4
After the discovery of the skeletal remains, the project team, which involved dozens of specialists in the fields of archaeology, osteology, history, forensic pathology, genealogy and DNA analysis, announced their results, they had found the body of England's most notorious monarch, Richard III.

Richard III: The Princes in the Tower on Saturday 21 March at 9pm on Channel 4
It's one of the darkest murder mysteries in British history: did Richard III really kill his nephews in order to make himself king? Is he the greatest villain in English history, or the victim of centuries of grotesquely unfair Tudor propaganda? This new one-off drama documentary assembles a cast of experts, including David Starkey and Philippa Gregory, to examine all the available evidence.

[BBMmk2]

Thanks for the heads up on these programmes, Cali and anna. Been waiting to see what Channel 4 were were going to do. I am glad that members of the royal family will be in attendance and that RIII will be given a burial that would be suitable for his status. See what happens when these people dig up bones in a car park!!

[Conchis]

I still can't get my head around the awful decision to bury England's 'last' medieval king in Leicester. It is certainly NOT the place he would have chosen (as a Yorkshireman - albeit one born in Northants - he would have wanted to be buried in his own county, preferably in York, in the part of England that was always loyal to him). The argument that Leicester 'needs' more tourist attractions cuts little ice with me: they've had Cardinal Wolsey buried there for the last half-millennium and have done sod-all about making his grave presentable or locatable.

[Nick Armstrong]

I still can't get my head around the awful decision to bury England's 'last' medieval king in Leicester. It is certainly NOT the place he would have chosen (as a Yorkshireman - albeit one born in Northants - he would have wanted to be buried in his own county, preferably in York, in the part of England that was always loyal to him). The argument that Leicester 'needs' more tourist attractions cuts little ice with me: they've had Cardinal Wolsey buried there for the last half-millennium and have done sod-all about making his grave presentable or locatable.

I completely agree, Conchis

[aeolium]

I can't get my head around the fuss made over the reburial of any king, particularly one who in all probability was a child-killer. As Mark Twain has it, "All kings is mostly rapscallions", and this one was no exception.

[vinteuil]

... it does indeed seem an extraordinary fuss over nothing. I am surprised at the interest the meeja and this Forum have shewn...