To think that the people queing yesterday to see Richard III's coffin are seriously weird?

[ssd]

the whole thing is way weirder than just liking the royal family, one old guy nearly 80 said its the most important thing to happen in his lifetime

WTAF???

whats wrong with some people??

I do find it vaguely interesting - but surely they could've just done a Time Team special rather than all this fuss?

I went with my Husband, 3 year old and baby and had a fab day. Interesting, great atmosphere and everyone was happy and polite.

I think it was mooted as a Time Team special at one point, but no one actually seriously expected to find and identify R III's bones, as the site has been so comprehensively built over down the centuries since the Dissolution. Most of it is now under streets or subsequent buildings.

Certainly the U of Leicester's archaeology people didn't seriously expect to, as is very obvious in the C4 'King in the Car Park' documentary which C4 started filming essentially as a 'study of a loon' (Philippa Langley) with no serious historical intent - it was going to be 'look at this crazy lady and her mad, fruitless quest!' until the bones actually appeared and it was pretty clear they were R III. After which they found themselves having to re-edit and make a rather different documentary.

And then, once you've identified the bones fairly convincingly as that of a controversial monarch, you end up having to do something with them afterwards, rather than keep them in a box at the university.

I heart Simon Farnaby.

But I think he was a little out of his depth when Philippa Langley got all emotional because it turned out RIII had a curve spine after all...

He 's there stuttering 'well, of course, just because his he had scoliosis doesn't mean he was a bad person....'

The look on the bone experts face was priceless.

I have heard that Phillipa Langley is quite hard work as she is rather detached from reality. And clearly that Simon guy (never heard of him before or since) was there to do a piss take. He was completely out of his depth when he had to do it seriously.

The Duke of Gloucester was there because he is president of the Richard III society and is very interested in the whole thing. He wasn't just wheeled out as the token Royal.

I'm really interested in everything to do with RIII and the identification of his remains etc, but agree the funeral stuff seems really weird to me and not that dignified.

I was planning on taking the kids but was put off by the queues. However, I am about 45 minutes down the road, flying halfway across the world is a step too far imo!

I think it was mooted as a Time Team special at one point, but no one actually seriously expected to find and identify R III's bones, as the site has been so comprehensively built over down the centuries since the Dissolution. Most of it is now under streets or subsequent buildings.

First thing I said when they dug him up was "I bet Tony Robinson is kicking himself!" But you just dont dig up dead Kings in archeology, it simply never happens......except that it did!

Simon Farnaby is in Horrible Histories. He's Stupid Death. And I'm a bit in love with him. And Matthew Baynton. All of them actually.

I also heard some the Leicester Uni archeologists on the radio. One of them had apparently said, "I'll eat my hat if she finds anything in that carpark'.

They made him a hat shaped cake to eat

I still can't believe that when they uncovered the skeleton, they managed to crack open his skull with the digger! You'd think they'd have been more careful!

Thats my absolute favourite bit of the original documentary! The bone specialist that dug him up was asked by Simon about the hole and she cheerfully said "Oh thats been there about ten minutes..." and pointed out the pick she had stoved his head in with, and Phillipa Langleys face! She looked murderous at the fact that her beloved had had his head caved in :o

Also, his head wasnt expected to be in that position, they thought it would be lower down. When he was put in the grave it was too small so his head was higher than it should have been, which is why the pick caught it.

The King in The Carpark is still on 4OD - I rewatched it the other day.

I still can't get over the fact that they actually found him.

Is there any outside chance at all that it isn't him? I ask that and i even watched the car park programme.

On Sunday eve Channel 4 interviewed people who'd flown in from Brazil to be there. shock

I thought 'no tourists come to this country just because of the monarchy'???

He had the mitochondrial DNA of that line, sparkling. The maternal line - they traced a descendant of the family line, and the dna was a match. It was a very rare DNA too, So chances of it not being him are astronomically against. does that even make sense? I don't really understand it either

Phew Sabrinna, so if they find him somewhere else in the future it's probably not him then?

I think they're pretty convinced it's him.

I haven't read all comments but you underestimate the love for Richard III out there. There is a fan club, people re in act the battle of bosworth, still actively dispute the whole Princes in the tower thing. I know somebody who is obsessed with him. Actually obsessed. Tshirts, badges, books ,pictures. Will have nothing to do with anything Shakespeare as It was propergander and I seen her have full blown arguments with strangers on how he is wrongly portrait in history. It's not for me but it floats her boat.

I quite like the ParKing one

No, in TV archaeology they don't dig up royals regularly, usually just a potsherd, a post hole and a whole load of conjecture to fill an hour's programme!

What time does the actual funeral start tomorrow? I know the coverage starts around 11ish but my Mother has booked a Dr's appointment and I want to try and rush back

If they had dug him up in a field you would have called 'TV stunt' straight away. The fact that they dug up years' old tarmac where a ditsy lady had a 'feeling', and with the first shovel load they uncover his bones, well, you can't quite believe it. As the archaeologists said, if they had started 50cms away the story would have been totally different. The bones would still be there undisturbed.

And it's great to see archaeologists without Tony Robinson annoying them.

That's Sir Tony to you Doc. Was there no geo fizz?