Handy to know about skeleton

May I offer my congratulations to the University of Leicester and the archeological team, diggers and researchers.

It is astonishing that the university, through which Sir Alec Jeffreys developed his wonderful discovery of DNA and its uses, should be involved in the finding of the much maligned Richard III by using this very method.

It transpires that the locality of the grave was not just a "stab in the dark".

Many sources made this claim, including a stone monument to this effect, several centuries ago. Without being pernickety, may I make one query after studying the skeleton displayed in the Mercury on February 5.

When a body lays prone, whether face down or up, the thumbs are on the inside of the body. The photograph suggests that either Richard III had two right hands or the skeleton is wrongly assembled.

William Shakespeare has much to blame to carry for his portrayal of Richard III as a monster, responsible for the disappearance of his brother's two young sons, heirs to the throne in the Tower.

True, their absence helped Richard III in his pursuit of the crown but, equally, it was just as advantageous to Henry Tudor. Could he not have been responsible?

Finally, regarding the attempt by the authorities in York to hijack the skeleton and credit, by very flimsy argument, I would suggest they were better occupied in chasing the claim made by many people that the mythical Robin Hood is merely part of folklore.

Every nation has its legendary hero who defies evil authority, takes from the rich and gives to the poor and downtrodden.

He is actually from York. There is no resting place nor any other tangible connection with Nottingham. Why is Robin Hood's Bay in Yorkshire so named?

John Brian Hill, Birstall.

I still remember some lines from a poem I learned at school about 80 years ago, entitled: "The Levelling Dust" (James Shirley 1596-1666).

"The glories of our blood and state

Are shadows not substantial things

There is no armour against fate

Death lays his icy hands on kings

Sceptre and crown

Must tumble down

And in the dust be equal made

With the poor crooked scythe and spade"

So, let us stop arguing about where Richard's bones should lie.

Fully document his discovery, and then cremate his remains and scatter them where he fell on Bosworth Field.

Confine him not within a stony tomb, set free his spirit along with those who fell beside him and on his behalf.

Jim Carter, Hinckley.

I am a Leicester-born person and throughout my life have visited the cathedral and attended Bosworth Field reenactments and am so delighted with the news of Richard III's bones being discovered.

It is so strange that during the number of times I had placed white roses on his tomb, I had always felt he was around.

Leicester has always honoured him and never allowed him to be forgotten.

He has been with you for more than 500 years now, he should stay with you, don't let him go.

Congratulations to Philippa Langley. Well done!

Susan Warner, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.

From 1977 to 1980, I was chairman of Leicestershire County Council, while, nearly 40 years ago, I was chairman of the Countryside Committee.

In this capacity, I was a prime mover in the Battlefield of Bosworth interactive centre.

On the quincentenary of the battle I had the honour of explaining to Prince Charles how Richard charged to kill Henry Tudor.

However, Stanley's Chesire horsemen entered the battle on Henry's side, Richard was unhorsed and killed. This short poem expresses my point of view:

The spot where he was buried can be protected with iron bollards, so that cars don't park over his head!

So they've found Richard's mortal remains, among the city's bricks and drains

You can't rewrite the history book however at his bones you look.

In the car park let him stay, he has been 500 years this way

With pomp and pantomime, don't bury him a second time.

George Farnham, Dorchester.

With reference to a recent First Person article, I think the author might be interested to read The Daughter of Time, by Josephine Tey.

This book, written in the form of a detective novel, gives a scholarly exposition of the reasons why Richard III was not responsible for the disappearance and subsequent murder of the Princes in the Tower.

On the subject of the Blue Boar Inn, another novel, The King's Bed, by Margaret Campbell Barnes, provides an interesting reason why Richard might have stayed there before Bosworth Field, rather than at Leicester Castle.

What a shame that progress has resulted in the demolition of the Blue Boar, along with so much of Leicester's interesting heritage.

Margaret Greaves, Wigston.

Last August, I wrote to you saying I should be surprised if the remains of Richard III were found, as so many royal tombs were destroyed and the bones lost at the dissolution of the monasteries.

I am still surprised they were discovered but, as this is a matter of local and national interest, I am glad to have been proved wrong!

Terence Cocks, Leicester.

Why isn't the body of the last Plantagenet monarch being buried among his peers in Westminster Abbey? He deserves no less, after all this time.

Could tourism be blamed for choosing Leicester Cathedral, which didn't exist in King Richard's time?

D V Madden, Oadby.

In view of Leicestershire's regal connections, may I suggest that East Midlands Airport be re-named in honour of Richard III? Would that lead to civil war with Nottinghamshire?

John Haynes, Welford, Northamptonshire.