From The Car Park To The Cathedral, Richard III's Remarkable Journey

In what is slowly becoming one of the most surreal stories of the year, experts are increasingly hopeful that the skeleton that has been unearthed under a Leicester City Centre car park will turn out to be the remains of the last Yorkist king of England, Richard III, whose reign lasted just two years from 1483 to 1485. His defeat at the Battle of Bosworth was effectively the end of the War of The Roses between the Yorkists and the Lancastrians.

Checking that my diary didn't show that it was April 1st, I have come across photographs of people who it turns out are direct descendants of the unfortunate monarch, sucking on what appear to be lollipops in order to provide DNA samples. One of the descendants is described as a sixteenth generation relative, which really puts the researchers for the TV programme “Who Do You Think You Are” in the shade.

In saying that, the experts are “increasingly hopeful”, giving us a big clue that we could be on to something here. It appears to be a well documented fact that Richard III had a hunchback condition, and it has been confirmed that the skeleton is of a man suffering from scoliosis or curvature of the spine. A barbed iron arrow head in the area of the spine is another interesting discovery, once again fitting in with well known historical facts.

In the event of all of this leading to a satisfactory conclusion, then it is likely that he will be buried in Leicester Cathedral, quite a coup for the local tourist industry. In a written reply to a question posed by Barnsley MP Dan Jarvis, Justice Minister Helen Grant said "My Department issued a licence to exhume human remains which could be those of Richard III.

“Remains have now been exhumed and archaeologists are currently carrying out tests to determine the identity of the remains. Should they be found to be those of Richard III, the current plan is for them to be re-interred in Leicester Cathedral."

Leicester Cathedral first dates back to 1086, with alterations taking place as late as 1867. It holds a Grade II listing and restoration of the tower and spire has taken place over the last ten years, with about a third of the money being donated by English Heritage. In a statement that is deemed to be no more than a formality, the Royal Family have confirmed that they are making no claim to the body, and should identification prove successful, and it looks as though Leicester Cathedral could be the king's final resting place.

If you know your history, you'll probably gather than Richard has had a bit of a bad press over the years, what with the suggestion that he was complicit in the murder of his nephews Edward V and Richard of York, the famous princes in the tower. Shakespeare also gave him a bit of a mauling in the play Richard III (great imagination there). There are however plans afoot to try and clear his bad name, all of which would represent a marvellous month for the much maligned monarch.

Finally, I was chuckling at a final point raised by Joe Ann Ricca, chief executive and founder of the Richard III foundation. "If his remains are really going to be buried in Leicester, we would hope he at least has a traditional Christian service," she said.

"But it's kind of a monstrous act when you know that the former king of England had expressed the desire and a wish to be buried at York Minster."

Anything is better than a car park surely!