THE day began dull and damp. The streets of Leicester were washed with rain, and gusts of wind whipped vestments and caused hats to be firmly clasped to the head. But the weather proved to match the dynamic of a service that was first solemn, and then joyful and uplifting.
The Public Orator of the University of Leicester, and one of the liturgists who worked on the service, Professor Gordon Campbell, told the story of Richard in his eulogy of this "son of the Midlands", whose posthumous reputation he described as "less than glorious", but who had the greatest following of all monarchs, excepting the present Queen. People had assembled today in a spirit of reconciliation, he said, and the purpose was "not to enter into argument about whether Richard was a good king, or even a good man".
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