Richard III's head goes on tour

MP for Leicester South, Jon Ashworth, has confidently stated that the remains of King Richard III will be buried in Leicester Cathedral, instead of York, where its MPs are campaigning to have him buried.

Jon Ashworth MP says he's pleased with today's outcome and welcomes York to 'come and visit' when the medieval king in reinterred.

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The Acting-Dean of Leicester Cathedral, Canon Barry Naylor, has disapproved of the abusive letters sent to the the Dean of York Cathedral, the Very Reverend Vivienne Faull – the former Dean of Leicester.

Canon Barry Naylor says, despite political intervention regarding the reburial of Richard III, the cathedral is a place of worship.

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An MP from York has laid out the city's claim to the body of Richard III in Parliament today.

The monarch's remains are due to be reinterred at Leicester Cathedral, but campaigners in the former King's home of York, want him buried there.

Hugh Bayley MP for York Central, claims burying the king in York would reconcile the north and south of the country.

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A York MP has appealed for calm in the debate over where the remains of King Richard III should be buried after the Dean of York had to refer hate mail to the police.

Hugh Bayley MP says the Government needs to appoint an independent panel to rule on where the remains should be re-interred.

The debate appeared good-natured at first but, according to Mr Bayley, it has now taken a more sinister turn after the Dean of York, the Very Rev Vivienne Faull, until recently the Dean of Leicester, received such abusive letters she had to pass them to the police.

I received many letters and emails from members of the public about this, supporting burial in York.

Most are thoughtful and well argued and based on scientific facts but some are frankly inflammatory and talking yesterday to the Dean of York, some that she has received at the minster are so extreme that she has referred the correspondence to the police.

I would say to everybody: calm down. Let's all respect the memory of a former king of our country. Let's discuss where his remains should be put to rest in a dignified and sober way. We don't want to reignite the Wars of the Roses.

Nine of the monarch's descendants have called on the Government to return the remains of the king to York for a "formal and ceremonial" burial, while a petition calling for his remains to be transferred to the northern city has been signed by more than 23,000 people.

Mr Bayley said:

The decision should be taken on independent national advice and not delegated to archaeologists from Leicester who clearly support the Leicester cause. They would find it outrageous if the decision was delegated to people from York. We need the decision to be taken nationally, in the national interest by people who are independent of the vested interests of either York or Leicester.

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The final resting place for Richard III's remains will be argued in Parliament today.

The remains of the monarch were discovered in a car park in Leicester last year.

He is due be re-interred at Leicester Cathedral next year despite campaigns to have him buried in York.

King Richard III did a lot for York and the North of England and during his life made arrangements to be buried here. He was not well treated in Leicester after his death and I think his soul would rest in peace back in York.

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Auditions are taking place this weekend at Leicester Cathedral for choristers to sing at King Richard III's reinterment.

The cathedral already has a prestigious choir but they are on the search for new recruits to boost their numbers.

The body of the King is due to be reinterred in Leicester next spring, although campaigners in York are keen for him to be buried in their city.

Director of Music at Leicester Cathedral, Chris Johns, said the response from young children and parents has been overwhelming.

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Auditions are taking place today for a choir to sing at King Richard III's reinterment in Leicester. The cathedral already has a prestigious choir, but they need to boost their numbers before the ceremony next spring.

ITV News Central went to see the current members in rehearsal.

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Auditions are taking place today at Leicester Cathedral for choristers to sing at King Richard III's reinterment.

The cathedral already has a prestigious choir but they are on the search for new recruits to boost their numbers.

The body of the King is due to be reinterred in Leicester next spring, although campaigners in York are keen for him to be buried in their city.

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Psychologists at the University of Leicester say that depictions of the former king as a psychopath are unfounded.

They say they hoped to "flesh out the bones" to get to the character of the man that was found in a car park in Leicester.

Professor Mark Lansdale, head of the University's School of Psychology, and forensic psychologist Dr Julian Boon examined the depiction that King Richard was a murderous psychopath.

They found few signs of the traits psychologists would use to identify psychopaths today. However, they believe the monarch did have a common psychological syndrome known as an intolerance to uncertainty which may have manifested in 'control freak' tendencies.

"This syndrome is associated with a need to seek security following an insecure childhood, as Richard had."

"We believe this is an interesting perspective on Richard's character."

Professor Lansdale.

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1000 soldiers who died with King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth have been remembered in a ceremony. It comes one month after scientists confirmed that a body found in Leicester was that of King Richard. Jane Hesketh was at today's commemoration.

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