Date is set for the reburial of Richard III in cathedral

His remains will be transferred into a lead-lined coffin at Leicester University on March 22 and will travel by hearse to Bosworth for a day of events marking the king’s final movements. The journey will see the hearse travel through villages that were significant to the monarch’s final days ahead of a service in Bosworth.

King Richard, who reigned from 1483, was killed at the Battle of Bosworth in August 1485.

His coffin will then return to Leicester Cathedral in the early evening where a service of reception will be attended by guests invited by David Monteith, the Dean of Leicester.

The monarch’s remains will then lie in repose, his coffin covered with a commissioned pall, for three days to allow for members of the public to pay their respects.

On March 26, the reinterment service, which will be invitation only, will take place, with events following on the Friday and Saturday. The reinterment service will be broadcast live on Channel 4.

The Bishop of Leicester, the Rt Revd Tim Stevens said: “Our cathedral has been consistently committed to providing a fitting, dignified and memorable ceremony for the reinterment of King Richard.

“We can now see how this works out in detail and our city and county look forward to all the events of next spring.”

The king’s remains were unearthed from a council car park in Leicester in 2012 by archaeologists from Leicester University.

Descendents of the monarch launched a campaign to have the monarch reburied in York. The group, called The Plantagenet Alliance, had called for a consultation and were granted a judicial review.

They lost their battle in May this year when judges at the High Court ruled that there was “no duty to consult” over the monarch’s final resting place.