Richard III petition progress

Three MPs from Leicestershire and Loughborough have handed in a petition with 40,000 signatures calling for Richard III's bones to be kept in Leicester.

An online petition to keep the remains of Richard III in Leicester will be officially handed in at 10 Downing Street this afternoon, following a six-week campaign which gained over 34,000 signatures.

The declarations of support will be presented by county MPs, who have backed Leicester Cathedral as the final resting place for the last Plantagenet King.

An e-petition campaigning for the monarch's reburial in York also closed last month, with the final number of signatures standing at 31,340.

Read more: Richard III tomb designs

An online petition to have the remains of Richard III re-buried in Leicester has closed, with the final figure standing at 34,322.

The petition will now be handed in to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

The petition was set up after a row broke out regarding the location of the reinterment of the last Plantagenet King. Some people believe Richard III should be reburied in York, nearer to the remains of his son. Others want him reburied in Leicester Cathedral.

An e-petition campaigning for his reburial in York also began. It closed last month, with the number of signatures standing at 31,340.

Read more: Richard III tomb plans

An online petition for the body of Richard III to be laid to rest in Leicester is due to close this afternoon.

So far, more than 34,000 people have signed the document calling for the last Plantagenet King to be re-interred in the city, where he was originally buried.

Once closed, the petition will be submitted to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

The leader of Leicestershire County Council is pleased that the Leicester online petition to keep King Richard III in the city has overtaken the petition of York.

An online petition to keep Richard III's remains in Leicester has overtaken its opposition online petition to have the last Plantagenet King re-interred in York.

The number of signatories to have signed in favour of burying the King in a tomb at Leicester Cathedral is now 31,639, compared to York's total of 31,337. Leicester's petition is still open, however York's closed last month.

Signatories of the York petition want the remains of Richard III to be buried in York Minster, in order to place him geographically closer to the remains of his son, Edward the Prince of Wales, whose remains lie in Sherriff Hutton church.

Read more: Richard III tomb plans