Tuesday 5 February 2013

Lost kings

Richard III
Where will the remains of Richard III be buried? There is a strong case for him to be laid to rest in York minster, where, in 1482 he made plans for a chantry, a place where masses could be sung for his soul, unfulfilled at the time of his death at the battle of Bosworth in 1485. He was the last Plantagent king of England. The Plantagenet kings used common broom (known as "planta genista" in Latin) as an emblem and took their name from it. It was originally the emblem of Geoffrey of Anjou, father of Henry II of England.  Crosby Hall, the town house of Richard II was moved from its original site in the city of London to Chelsea when it was threatened with demolion in the 1920's. For many years it was part of an ugly modern building occupied by the British Association of University Women and is now incorporated in a modern pastiche of a Tudor mansion - including a great hall containing the coat of arms of Richard III see http://www.christophermoran.org/news/building-the-past-country-life-feature-crosby-hall/

Another 'lost king' is Tsar Alexander I, elder brother of the grand duke who visited Moffat on Dec 28 1816. It is now widely believed that, far from dying from typhus in 1825, he slipped away to live a quiet life as a monk in Siberia, assisted by his Scottish doctor who connived in a false death certificate.

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