HAVING watched most of the TV coverage on Sunday of the lead up to the reburial of King Richard III, I was left bemused by all the baggage that seemed to go with the ceremony.

Having taken the poor king’s remains around half the county, they then proceeded to enter the city of Leicester accompanied by what sounded like Indian music and drumming; all very nice, I agree, but what did this have to do with this monarch who was around at the time of the Wars of the Roses? Just because Leicester is a thriving multi-cultured city it doesn’t mean that this music had to be included.

Then as the king’s remains were arriving at the Cathedral, people in the crowd felt the urge to throw white roses on to the coffin; one woman didn’t just throw the one single bloom, she just kept on throwing them, the whole thing felt to me unnecessary and almost like a “celebrity” event and not something I thought would be in keeping with this monarch.

I would think and hope that the funeral on Thursday will be more in the tradition of a burial of a King of England.

Sean Atkinson, Gillygate, York.