Richard III's descendant makes a coffin fit for a king

I've often been asked whether I feel sort of a personal feeling, you know, a connection with Richard III, or a feeling about him being an uncle, albeit 17 times removed. And at first I was pretty sceptical, I have to say, you know, but I've had two years, almost three years now, to think more about it and being involved with the making of The Coffin, of course. And I have to say that I think I feel a closer link with him now than I did before, because I feel like I've, in a way, lived with him. We all, I think, in school hear something about Richard III, and I was no exception even in Canada, where I grew up, but you don't really dwell on it, it sort of recedes into memory and becomes part of what you did at school. And I think what this has done is to bring it all into focus for me, and it's forced me in a delightful way to go and do some research, to read some books, find out more about him, and it's been quite interesting, I must say. Being asked to make The Coffin was, of course, a great honour and a unique privilege. I mean, basically, history is coming alive in front of me and I'm standing in the middle of it, involved in it. And it's been quite an extraordinary experience. I think at first I was not overly, shall I say, excited about it. I don't mean that in a negative way, but it wasn't constantly preying on my mind. But the more I thought about it and worked through the designs and then began the work, visiting the sawmill, all that sort of thing, the more it became something very special to me. And, of course, I've never made A Coffin before, but this has been an absolutely unique experience and I'm very much glad I've had the opportunity to be part of it. Regardless of Richard III's reputation, he was an anointed King of England, and as such, I think he deserves the dignity and the honour that's been given him over the next week. You only have to think of some of the other monarchs. You compare him with Henry VIII, Henry VII, Elizabeth I, I mean, they were not the most benign of rulers completely and absolutely, but they still are considered somewhat different than Richard III. I don't see any reason why he shouldn't get the sort of send-off, re-send-off, that he's been given.