♛ King Richard III ♛

 
Surely, from the headline you will think me mad.
Where do I want to go with that question?
Of course he is human, you will say. Why do I even ask that.
His skeleton should sufficiently prove that.
 
Now, Shakespeare did a great deal, to show King Richard III as not entirely human, but the devil himself.
A monarch per se might also be seen as not entirely human. Normal laws and rules do not apply to him. Kings and queens may not be touched by normal ‘humans’, and lots of other regulations are and were invented to divide them from the ‘normal’ population and their subjects.
 
Human made regulations to set a king apart.
To make him the sole legitimate ruler over the fate of others.
[Admittedly, in King Richard III’s time we have not yet reached the absolute monarchic status of a king, but still, some setting apart was already in place in his time.
Though his fight to hold (some of) the nobility of England in check to define his royal position did not end well.]
 
So now, what human right does a king have?
What is a human right to define the procedure for a king’s burial?
 
You see that I have my problems with King Richard III’s burial being against ‘human rights’ in general,
and especially with the idea of being against the European Convention on Human Rights (1950 + later additions with 5 protocols).
 

Even if he killed his nephews, a parking lot is no place for a king.

(NBC reporter in video to:

• NBC News – Cosmic Log: For some, King Richard III’s resting place raises a human rights issue, by Alan Boyle, NBC News 26.03.2013)

 
That even historians think it somewhat proven that King Richard III did kill his nephews, the article about the discussion held by the University of Leicester on 6th June 2013 about “Richard III: Benevolent King or Murderous Tyrant?” shows.
 

• LeicesterExchanges.com: Live event catch up: Richard III: Benevolent King or Murderous Tyrant? (07.06.2013) – To some things history just can’t provide an easy answer, while this is a discussion which tries to. So do not be too upset by some of the extreme and biased statements.
   
  The University of Leicester made the discussion available online in an audio file on SoundCloud:
  

 
 
But human or not, even the necessity or the right legal procedure for a re-burial of King Richard III is under discussion.
See the following article by George Duncan:

• Mondaq.com: The Bones Of Richard III, by George Duncan, Charles Russell LLP [05.06.2013) – Was the car park consecrated ground and if, how long. Might it still be considered sufficiently consecrated ground at the time when King Richard III was found?

 
Perhaps we approach the whole question about King Richard III’s guilt about having killed his nephews and his ‘subsequent right’ for a decent or pompous burial all the wrong way. Might it have been his queen, Anne Neville, who did the deed? She would have had means, time, reason and access and was conveniently in London at the time the boys were last seen.
Read more about these interesting speculations by Amy Licence here:
 

• New Statesman: Passive Pawn or Lady Macbeth: Who was Richard III’s queen? Dead by the age of 28, Anne Neville didn’t leave much of a paper trail. Who was this woman who stood so close to the king, yet seems so distant today? By Amy Licence (11.06.2013) – Ms. Licence just published her research about Queen Anne Neville in her new book “Anne Neville: Richard III’s Tragic Queen” (Amazon.com Affiliate Link for you to read more about the book. – Eventual earnings go to Mr. Armitage’s recommended charities.)

• BBC News Leicester: Richard III head reconstruction set for national tour (10.06.2013) – The reconstruction of King Richard III’s head will be exhibited at London in the British Museum from January till March 2014!

 

• ThisIsGloucestershire.co.uk: King Richard III’s modelled head to visit Gloucester, by Emcfarnon (10.06.2013) – Announcing the tour dates of the reconstruction of King Richard III’s head:
  

  The national tour dates are as follows:
  Bosworth Battlefield: June 11 – July 16, 2013
  Yorkshire Museum: July 19 – October 13, 2013
  Northampton Museum and Art Gallery: October 19 – January 5, 2014
  The British Museum: January 11 – March 16, 2014
  Gloucester – venue TBC: March 2014