Good morning, everybody. Welcome to the Cathedral. It's very good to
see you on this lovely summer's day. Today we've announced three things.
We've announced the date of King Richard III's reinterment on 26th March 2015. We've announced
that His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester is going to be patron for the Leicester Cathedral
fundraising appeal. And the third thing we've announced is that our builders have come on
site and have started work to reconstruct the Cathedral to make ready for the king.
When King Richard III will be finally laid to rest here in Leicester
Cathedral will be Thursday 26th March 2015. The date of the main service of reinterment
is Thursday 26th March but it's part of a seven-day program. We start on Sunday 22nd March,
when the King's remains will leave the University and be brought to Bosworth,
where there'll be a ceremony. And then the cortege will come in through the villages
particularly associated with his story and be brought back into the city, received by the city,
and then received by me here at the Cathedral in a service in the early evening. Then we have
three days when he's going to lie in repose here in the Cathedral for people to pay respects,
to come and pray and make preparation for his re-burial. Thursday’s the main service. Thursday
morning, when he will be brought to the place of burial, placed in the grave, surrounded by the
prayers of the church – and the nation watching, because that service will be broadcast live
on national television. Then we're going to have to close the building for a little while whilst
the builders come back in and finish their work. The great stone slab will be placed on the grave
and sealed in place forever. And then there'll be a great service of reveal, a service of the
character of thanksgiving that all is complete and the next stage of our history emerges.
We're delighted to be able to say today that His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester
has agreed to be patron of our Cathedral appeal so that gives us solid support from
royalty for the appeal to raise the money. Obviously he's also the patron
of the Richard III Society so that brings together two strands of this amazing story.
His Royal Highness has been here to visit us. He knows what we're up to very well,
and of course he himself is patron of the Richard III Society so that's a lovely tie-in with us.
But also Richard III himself was Duke of Gloucester, and so, you know, it couldn't be
a better royal patron as far as we're concerned. We do have to raise two and a half million pounds.
That's not just obviously for the building work, although that'll be the best part of a
million pounds, but all the work around the whole project in the Cathedral and what we intend to do.
It's going really well. We've got just about a million pounds of the two and a half million
and we're not at this point going out to the public. We're talking to trusts, to individuals,
we’ve had help from the Diocese of Leicester. But yes, we've got a big job to do and a lot
of people helping us and now His Royal Highness is the patron I'm sure we'll be well on the way.
Now work begins in earnest. Just behind us over here the people have started putting up the
hoardings to shield off the part of the Cathedral where work begins. Over the next six months or so,
we'll completely transform the east end of the Cathedral. We'll create
the space where the tomb is going. It's called the ambulatory – technical cathedral term. We'll be
clearing under the crossing, under the tower, to make a new centre for worship for the cathedral.
We'll be creating a new chapel in the far east end where the high
altar used to be. In fact the whole cathedral not only will be the right place for King Richard but
it will be a much better place as a cathedral for the people of Leicester and Leicestershire.
To do this with dignity and honour is absolutely at the heart of what we've always been about here.
It's not always been portrayed in that way, particularly by those who
aren't always happy that he's going to be buried here in Leicester.
But if we just think that at the heart of all of these events is human remains in a coffin,
that actually then sets in train the tone for everything that we will do.
We wish to see the King's remains treated with honour, dignity, solemnity. Let us give him what
he didn't get in 1485. And from what I have seen so far, with the plans that the cathedral are
putting forward, there's every chance that we will get that and I look forward to it.