LEICESTER, England, March 22 (UPI) -- Thousands of people turned out Sunday in Leicester, England, to see Richard III's coffin make its way to Leicester Cathedral, where the medieval king will be reburied, 530 years after his death.
The skeleton of Richard III, who died in 1485, was discovered in 2012 under a parking lot in Leicester. He had been buried quickly, and without ceremony, in an old church.
Sunday marked the beginning of a week of events surrounding Richard's reburial. The coffin will be available for public viewing at the cathedral until Thursday, when it will be reinterred.
Richard died in 1485 at the Battle of Bosworth Field, the last major battle of England's decades-long War of the Roses between the Houses of York and Lancaster.
Officials said the procession drew up to 35,000 people, some of whom threw white roses symbolizing Richard's House of York onto his casket.
"It was from Leicester in 1485 that Richard rode out to battle," said Leicester Mayor Peter Soulsby. "And it was to Leicester that he returned, defeated, slung ignominiously across the back of a horse."
"It's now our opportunity to put it right and to make sure this time that it's done with dignity and honour."
