Hundreds of seats will be available to the public for Richard III reinterment, Leicester Cathedral has announced today.
On Friday 12 December, 100 days before the reinterment of King Richard III, Leicester Cathedral will open an online ballot, so members of the public can apply for seats to attend the services.
One third of all the seating in the Cathedral is available and anyone, anywhere in the world can apply.
Names will be selected at random, although half of the invitations will be allocated to people who live in Leicestershire and Rutland, and half to the rest of the UK and the world.
The Very Revd David Monteith, Dean of Leicester spoke of his delight, “I’m so pleased we are able to invite the public to the Cathedral services.”
“Through our ballot hundreds of people will be able to share directly in these services, along with many who will gather in Leicester and watch on giant screens, and many more who will watch on television. This unprecedented occasion requires unprecedented access of the public and we are endeavouring to ensure this as much as is practically possible.”
King Richard III’s remains were discovered under a council car park in Leicester city in 2012.
The services included in the ballot for invitations are Sunday 22 March 6.00pm, Thursday 26 March 11.30am, and Friday 27 March 12.00 noon. The Cathedral will also be open to the public from Monday to Wednesday to pay respects to Richard lll and to pray.
The ballot will be live from 8:00 am on Friday 12 December, and will be found online at www.leicestercathedral.org/ballot.
It will close at midday on 31st December and it is expected that letters will be sent out to all those to be invited in the week beginning 12th January. There are 200 seats available for each service and names will be drawn using a random selection process.
