Court battle over where to bury Richard III begins

The powers that be -- the Ministry of Justice, Leicester University and Leicester City Council -- want the remains of King Richard III entombed at Leicester Cathedral.

But distant relatives are challenging in court the plans to reinter the king, claiming he should take his eternal rest in York, England.

To the shock of a nation, the remains of the former King of England -- who in 1485 became the last English king to be killed in battle -- were discovered by archaeologists under a parking lot in Leicester in 2012.

His relatives, including his 16th great-niece Vanessa Roe, say 'finders-keepers' isn't a fair strategy for deciding his final resting place.

"York has very strong connections with Richard," Roe told The York Press. "This is where he grew up, his family is from the north of England."

"He only spent nine days in Leicester, which was a Lancastrian place. It has no connections with him whatsoever."

Philippa Langley, of the Richard the Third Society -- and the woman who led the seven-year search for the king's remains -- just wants a speedy solution.

"I think we are all just hoping this is going to sort everything, the judges' decision will be a hot knife through butter and everything will be clarified and we will be back on track," she told BBC News. "It has been very frustrating for everybody."

England's High Court will decide whether the license granted for Richard's Leicester burial should be reviewed.

[The York Press] [BBC News]