We deserve to be able to see Richard

I would like to comment on your article "Coffin debate closed", (Mercury, February 8).

I totally disagree that the remains of King Richard III should not be put on display for a short period for the public to see.

Why can't we, the taxpayers, (who funded the excavation of the remains) be allowed to see our king?

Liz Hudson, along with the University of Leicester, keep stating the remains are being handled with the upmost respect.

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However, I, along with more than 2,000,000 viewers, saw on the Channel 4 documentary that he was brought from his grave in a cardboard storage box.

There was drilling into his bones in aid of DNA, and again being carried in the same cardboard box to make a visit to Leicester Royal Infirmary for a scan of his bones.

I must not have been the only one who, upon reading the article and looking back at the documentary, must have been thinking that something is a bit amiss.

Myself and everyone else are aware they are mortal remains, but what Liz Hudson should also realise is that 500 years ago Richard was our king.

Obviously she has had the privilege to see his remains and, no doubt, she has even touched him, along with all the specialists at the university.

We, as tax-payers, are not asking to touch him, but to be able to look at the remains for a short period.

I again refer to the comment that they should be treated with respect and that near the end of your article, Sarah Tarlow said she would like to make an agreement with Leicester Cathedral "that he remains accessible should archaeologists in future need to carry out tests".

Again, is this not disrespectful?

So, basically, what Liz Hudson and Sarah Tarlow are saying to us tax-paying peasants is "thank you for funding the dig and helping tourism, but that's it, you can make do with a computer-animated screen of his remains and be thankful".

Lynette Watson, Leicestershire.