A WIRRAL couple have been watching the reburial of Richard III in Leicester with great interest, having their own part to play in the week-long festivities.
Julie and David Dean, from West Kirby, were chosen to produce the official Richard III audio trail app for Visit Leicester.
The idea was that the app, which traces the last days of the former King’s life, can be followed by downloading it onto a smartphone before a visit or by scanning a QR code while on site.
The Deans, who formed Audio Guide Productions Ltd back in 2006 after being inspired by David’s dyslexia, have produced tours for both local heritage and nature sites and nationally, working with local groups and organisations.
Julie said: “We were pretty amazed to find that it had been accessed on location more than 1,000 times already.
“We don’t know whether Richard III came to Wirral or not, but we are beginning to feel a real affinity with him.
“It’s a great way to tell his story – it has been really exciting to see the project unfold.”
The app has received so many hits that the couple have had enquiries about producing similar audio tours in Wirral.
David and Julie Dean.
They would really love to choose an unusual heritage story that catches people’s interest in the same way that the story of Richard III has.
Thousands of people have been queuing this week for a glimpse of Richard III’s coffin 530 years after he fell in battle.
Richard fell at Bosworth on August 22, 1485 while fighting Lancastrian forces under the command of Henry Tudor - later Henry VII - bringing the Wars of the Roses to a decisive end.
His grave site had been thought lost to history until archaeologists discovered his skeleton in the remains of an old monastery beneath a Leicester City Council car park.
Archaeologists found evidence of a hasty burial, with a grave so short the king's head was propped up against its side.
He had suffered eight wounds to his head, among them a brutal slash to the base of his skull which cleaved away a large portion of bone. Another piercing blow, possibly from a sword, had been driven four inches through his skull.
His remains, packed in wool inside a lead-lined coffin, were formally transferred to Leicester Cathedral from the custody of University of Leicester on Sunday.
Julie and David's 13-year-old son Alex, who attends Hilbre High School, tests out the app at Bosworth Field.
On Thursday, his remains will be lowered into a purpose-built tomb, before visitors are allowed back inside the cathedral to see the completed memorial the following day.
A week of events are taking place marking the king’s life and death.
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