Come Sunday March 22 the eyes of the world will turn to the borough of Hinckley and Bosworth to watch a funeral procession for a king being made in the glare of the world’s media spotlight
This is it. The final countdown.
Come Sunday March 22 the eyes of the world will turn to the borough of Hinckley and Bosworth to watch a funeral procession for a king being made in the glare of the world’s media spotlight.
It would be a red letter day in any age but the fact that the funeral is for a medieval monarch slaughtered 530 years ago makes it little short of an historical miracle.
When Richard III was felled at Bosworth Field in 1485, his body was mutilated and transported ignominiously to Leicester where his mortal remains were given a discreet and hasty burial by Franciscan monks.
On Sunday, the journey will be repeated, this time with the dignity and honour befitting a king and culminating in a reburial service to be attended by royalty and presided over by the most senior minister of the Church of England.
Bosworth's king will then be at the centre of events in the city of Leicester after his coffin is handed into the care of the cathedral at the weekend.
Starting with three days of calm repose, leading up to the solemn service of reinterment and finishing with celebrations that will light up the night sky, it will be a week to remember and history will be made.
The mortal remains of a medieval monarch will be given a 21st Century funeral in the presence of the most senior clergyman of a church order which would not even have been imagined when he was alive.
Leicester Cathedral has been determined to commemorate the king’s final and formal laying to rest “with dignity and honour” and the services and public visiting opportunities on offer have been drawn up with that in mind. The mood will lift at the end of the week, allowing a respectful public the chance to let loose and celebrate as beacons are lit across the city centre and fireworks fly from the cathedral roof.
Itinerary
Monday March 23
9am to 12.30pm Leicester Cathedral will be open to the public to view the coffin of King Richard III.
1pm Leicester Cathedral. The regular daily communion service will be celebrated by the Bishop of Leicester the Rt Reverend Tim Stevens. Open to the public as an act of worship this will not be an opportunity to view the coffin.
2pm to 5pm Leicester Cathedral will be open to the public to view the coffin of King Richard III.
5pm Holy Cross Church. Leicester’s Roman Catholic parish church and Dominican priory will host a ticket-only mass celebrated by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, with the choir from St Barnabas Cathedral, Nottingham.
Tuesday March 24
9am to 12.30pm Leicester Cathedral will be open to the public to view the coffin of King Richard III.
1pm Leicester Cathedral. Daily communion will be celebrated by the Assistant Bishop of Leicester the Rt Reverend Christopher Boyle. Open to the public as an act of worship this will not be an opportunity to view the coffin.
2pm to 5pm Leicester Cathedral will be open to the public to view the coffin of King Richard III.
5.30pm Leicester Cathedral. Dominican friars will sing vespers, a Roman Catholic evening service.
Wednesday March 25
9am to 12.30pm Leicester Cathedral will be open to the public to view the coffin of King Richard III.
1pm Leicester Cathedral. Father David Rocks OP, the parish priest of Leicester’s Roman Catholic parish church of Holy Cross, will preach at the lunchtime communion service which will be celebrated by Sister Beverley, a Franciscan Anglican priest.
Leicester Cathedral will be closed during the afternoon for preparations for the service of reinterment.
Thursday March 26
10.30am Leicester Guildhall. Signifcant guests gather to process to Leicester Cathedral.
11.30am Leicester Cathedral. Service of reinterment of the remains of King Richard III with an invited congregation and in the presence of the Most Rt Reverend Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, senior clergy from Anglican and other Christian denominations and representatives of other world faiths, Her Royal Highness Sophie Countess of Wessex, and their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.
The service will be broadcast live on Channel 4. Service guests will join presenter Jon Snow in the studio before and afterwards and a series of short films will offer glimpses of the preparations for the event and explore the debates surrounding it.
The cathedral will be closed during the afernoon and evening for the completion of the king’s tomb.
A highlights programme will be broadcast on Channel 4 during the evening with footage from the day’s service and live coverage of those who led the search for the king and his descendants gathering to pay a final farewell.
Friday March 27
Noon Leicester Cathedral. Service of reveal of the tomb and celebration for King Richard III with an invited congregation from across Leicester and Leicestershire, after which the cathedral will be open to the public to see the tomb.
5.30pm Leicester Cathedral. Regular service of evening prayer.
6pm to 10pm Jubilee Square and Leicester Cathedral Gardens. A free public celebration culminating with fireworks from the cathedral roof.
Saturday March 28
Leicester Cathedral will be open to the public as normal to view the sealed tomb of King Richard III.
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