THE bones of the last Plantagenet King of England will be reburied in a Herefordshire oak coffin today.

Richard III’s descendant, Michael Ibsen, whose DNA confirmed the identity of a 530-year-old skeleton discovered by archaeologists beneath a Leicester car park, wanted the best oak when he was commissioned to make his ancestor’s coffin.

So the Canadian-born carpenter visited the county to select timber from a 150-year-old tree which came from Duchy of Cornwall woodland at Harewood End.

He then fashioned it into the impressive inscribed coffin which takes centre stage at today’s interment at Leicester Cathedral, five centuries after the warrior king was killed in battle at Bosworth Field.

Ledbury Reporter:

Michael Ibsen

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MILLIONS from all over the world have been watching history as Leicester Cathedral has prepared for today’s re-interment of Richard III’s remains.

And, at the centre of it all, has been an oak coffin sourced for a king from Herefordshire woodland.

Richard III’s descendant, Michael Ibsen, whose DNA confirmed the identity of a 530-year-old skeleton discovered by archaeologists beneath a car park in 2012, wanted the best oak when he was commissioned to make his ancestor’s coffin.

Last autumn, the Canadian- born carpenter visited the county where he selected lengths of sawn wood from a 150-year-old tree deemed fit for the last warrior king’s casket.

He was already aware of what he described this week as “good Herefordshire oak”.

As a cabinet maker based at a workshop in London, he has previously sourced oak from Whitney Sawmills.

The wood selected for the coffin of controversial King Richard III, killed at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, came from Duchy of Cornwall woodland at Harewood End.

Ledbury Reporter:

King Richard III will be buried in a Herefordshire oak coffin today.

Last autumn, Mr Ibsen, who has been pitched into a frenzy of publicity over the discovery of his controversial ancestor and the subsequent high-profile reburial today, was taken on a tour of the Duchy of Cornwall’s 700 acres of woodland in Herefordshire by head forester, Geraint Richards.

Mr Ibsen told the Hereford Times he was delighted at the “wonderful symmetry” of his search.

Through his dealings with Whitney Sawmills, he was introduced to Mr Richards, and was shown the area of woodland where the oak tree in question was felled some years ago. Since then the oak has been milled and the boards air-dried at Whitney-on-Wye.

“Basically, I love using timber from Will Bullough’s sawmills because he uses the best Herefordshire oak which you can grasp with a firm hand,” said Mr Ibsen.

“There has been a wonderful symmetry with Will, who like me was born in Canada, and with Geraint.”

“Herefordshire oak is the best in the country because of the heavy soil.

“It’s wonderful timber,” added Mr Ibsen.

“It has a beautiful grain, and it is so easy to work with.”

Mr Richards said the project had been a “really nice story”.

Mr Ibsen, has lived in the UK for over 30 years.

He shares the royal link with his brother and sister, as well as a cousin in New Zealand.