Damaged glazing over Richard III grave to be mended

Repairs are to be made to cracked glazing over the original grave of King Richard III in Leicester.

The last Plantagenet king of England's remains were discovered under a council car park in 2012 and are now part of a visitor centre run by Leicester City Council.

Thick glass allows visitors to walk above the area and view it, but the council said it was accidentally damaged.

Officials said the repairs would begin on Wednesday and take three days to complete.

Visitors will not be able to access the burial site during the work but the rest of the visitor centre will be open as normal, the council said.

Assistant city mayor Vi Dempster apologised for the inconvenience but said: "These essential works will ensure that the historic grave site of King Richard III continues to be protected to the very highest standards, while allowing visitors to experience this globally important heritage site."

The council said the glazed panel was accidentally damaged in 2024 but specialists are due to remove the damaged glass and replace it with a new triple-glazed panel.

It added they would work carefully to protect the archaeology underneath and preserve the scheduled ancient monument.

Repairs will cost nearly £29,830, most of which has been covered by an insurance claim.

The medieval monarch was killed at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 when Henry Tudor took the English crown.

For centuries it was believed his body had been thrown into the River Soar in Leicester.

However, the Richard III Society and University of Leicester archaeologists decided to investigate suggestions the king had actually been buried in the former Greyfriars friary in the city.

They uncovered his skeleton in 2012 and the remains, with Richard III's famous curved spine, were later interred at Leicester Cathedral.

Listen to BBC Radio Leicester on Sounds and follow BBC Leicester on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.