Richard III's Remains To Stay In Leicester

The battle over where Richard III's remains will end up has been won - by the city where his body was found under a car park.

Leicester has ended up being the final destination for the king's remains after York, the other contender, gave up the fight.

York Minster announced that it believed the King's remains should be commended "to Leicester's care".

Support for York as a final resting place had been growing with 11,000 people signing a petition calling for his remains to be brought to the city.

As a member of the House of York, Richard III would have regarded York as the centre of his support.

But people in Leicester had been equally keen for his remains stay in the city. He was buried there for more than 500 years since being taken to the city following his death at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.

It was confirmed only this week that Richard III's remains had been rediscovered when experts from the University of Leicester revealed a body they had dug up was indeed his.

In a statement on York Minster's website, the Chapter of York, which governs the Minster, said: "The Chapter of York understands the strong feeling of some people in York and Yorkshire that Richard III is significant to the history of the county and that therefore his body ought to be returned.

"However, the recent verification of the identity of his remains follows a significant period in which Leicester and Leicestershire gained a sense of Richard belonging there, at least in death.

"It was Leicester Franciscans who gave him burial, and the cathedral has a major memorial to his memory at its heart.

"When the possibility of an excavation of the Greyfriars site began, it was agreed from the start that any remains found would be re-interred in Leicester.

"When the archaeologists found an intact body, the Ministry of Justice licence was drawn up in those terms and explicitly named Leicester Cathedral.

"Since the news of the finding last year, local people, like the people of York, have expressed a very strong wish that Richard, who has been with them since 1485, should stay in their keeping.

"The Chapter supports the terms of the Ministry of Justice licence and the wish of Chapter of Leicester that Richard should be re-interred in Leicester Cathedral.

"The Chapter of York commends Richard to Leicester's care and to the cathedral community's prayers."