The mortal remains of Richard III have returned to Bosworth where he fell in battle 530 years ago.

In a colourful ceremony heavy with symbolism atop Ambion Hill overlooking the site of the old Leicestershire battlefield, thousands gathered to honour the dead king, some in period dress and battle armour. Supporter Dr Phil Stone, chairman of the Richard III Society, told the crowd to “remember a man of integrity, who cared for subjects and had their trust”.

He urged them to look anew at the king whose “achievements in his short reign have been overshadowed by historical myth and Shakespeare’s monster”.

Dr Stone added: “Let us remember King Richard III. The good king. The warrior king.”

Father and son take off for first time

A father and son pilot duo have taken to the skies together for the first time. John and Luke Sharples, who both fly for Monarch Airlines, took their first flight together from Birmingham airport to Turin.

Dad John, who has worked for Monarch for 29 years, told how almost 25 years ago to the day he was flying a Monarch 757 from Madrid to Gatwick when his wife went into labour with their son, Luke.

Mr Sharples, 56, explained how a call from operations asking what time the aircraft would be landing alerted him to the fact that something was up.

Allure of 140-year-old ballot box

A ballot box used in the first secret voting election more than 140 years ago survives in honourable retirement in Pontefract, West Yorkshire.

Voters in the town turned out on August 15, 1872, for a landmark poll in which they made their choice with an X against a candidates’ name – away from prying eyes – for the first time not only in the UK but also the Northern Hemisphere.

One of the wooden ballot boxes used is on display in Pontefract Museum, still marked with the wax seals to ensure votes were not tampered with. The seal was made using a liquorice stamp from a local factory.

Fun slide in heart of city centre

Thrill-seekers have had the chance to ride down a 100 metre water slide in the heart of a city centre.

The RNLI organised the Slipway Slide in Brighton which gave 360 winners the opportunity to enjoy the slide while raising money for the charity. Places were allocated to people who had took part in a mobile phone ballot costing £1.50 to enter.

Jade Cohen, a Brighton RNLI lifeboat volunteer who had a go on the slide, said: “It was so much fun sliding along one of the busiest shopping streets in Brighton with everyone cheering us on.

The Slipway Slide is such a fun and exciting way of getting people involved with the RNLI and has enabled us to raise vital funds for our crew.”

Whiff of scented Whopper burger

For hamburger aficionados who cannot get enough, Burger King has an answer: a grilled burger-scented fragrance.

Burger King said the Whopper grilled beefburger-scented cologne will be sold only on April 1, and only in Japan. It’s not an April Fools’ Day joke – the date marks the Whopper burger day for the company.

The limited Flame Grilled fragrance can be purchased at £28 per purchase of the burger, but there will be only 1,000 units.

Wrong man in marriage muddle

We heard of wedding crashers, but Joey DiJulio is a stag party crasher – of sorts. For weeks, the Seattle man found himself getting e-mails from people he did not know about a bachelor party in Philadelphia and a groom he did not know. It turned out he had been mistaken for a friend of the groom with a similar last name.

When he told the group their mistake, groom Jeff Minetti figured why not still invite him. The Philadelphia estate agent asked him to the stag party on March 28 and even the wedding on May 2.

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