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Richard III remains pass site of 1485 death ahead of burial

Descendants of Richard III, nephew 16 times removed Michael Ibsen, left, and his brother Jeff Ibsen, right, and niece 18 times removed Wendy Duldig place white roses on a coffin bearing the remains of Richard III outside the Fielding Johnson Building at the University of Leicester in preparation for his reinterment at Leicester Cathedral, Leicester, England, Sunday, March 22, 2015. The remains of King Richard III were discovered in 2012 in the foundations of Greyfriars Church, Leicester, 500 years after he was killed in the Battle of Bosworth Field. Richard III’s casket will lie inside Leicester Cathedral for public viewing for three days until 26 March when he will be reinterred during a service. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira) Descendants of Richard III, nephew 16 times removed Michael Ibsen, left, and his brother Jeff Ibsen, right, and niece 18 times removed Wendy Duldig place white roses on a coffin bearing the remains of Richard III outside the Fielding Johnson Building at the University of Leicester in preparation for his reinterment at Leicester Cathedral, Leicester, England, Sunday, March 22, 2015. The remains of King Richard III were discovered in 2012 in the foundations of Greyfriars Church, Leicester, 500 years after he was killed in the Battle of Bosworth Field. Richard III’s casket will lie inside Leicester Cathedral for public viewing for three days until 26 March when he will be reinterred during a service. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

By Associated Press March 22, 2015 1 min read

LONDON (AP) – The remains of Richard III, the medieval king whose bones were found under a parking lot, are being transferred to a cathedral in central England ahead of a proper burial ceremony more than 500 years after his death.

The monarch’s remains have been sealed inside an oak coffin. On Sunday a hearse is taking the coffin past many of Leicestershire’s landmarks, including the battlefield at Bosworth where the monarch was killed in 1485.

Richard, the last Plantagenet king, had been buried without a coffin in a church that was demolished long ago. His bones were not found until 2012, when archaeologists excavated them from a Leicester parking lot.

On Thursday organizers plan to lower the coffin into a tomb at Leicester Cathedral.