Uneasy Lies the Head that Wore a Crown Quiz

Answer: Leicester Cathedral

Richard III (1452-85) was actually reburied in 2015, because his bones (verified by DNA testing) were discovered during an archaeological dig a few years earlier. He had originally been buried in Greyfriars Priory Church in Leicester (following his death at the Battle of Bosworth in Leicestershire), but the church was dissolved in 1538 and the ruins eventually paved over with a parking lot.

After the discovery, he was reburied in Leicester Cathedral, although some people thought he should be reburied in York Minster, on the grounds of his being a member of the "Yorkist" dynasty during the "Wars of the Roses".

Answer: St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle is the burial site of most of the recent kings and queens of England, including most of the Georges (III-VI), as well as some of the more famous ones such as Henry VIII and Charles I. The current royal family is also likely to be buried here.

Answer: Henry VII Lady Chapel, Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey contains the most tombs of English monarchs, and the Henry VII Lady Chapel itself has most of the House of Tudor and Stuart. Elizabeth herself is buried in a shared tomb with her half-sister and predecessor, Queen "Bloody" Mary.

Answer: Royal Mausoleum, Frogmore, Windsor

Because she lived for so long after the early death of her husband, Prince Albert, Queen Victoria had time to build a special mausoleum for herself and her husband in her estate at Frogmore. Unlike many of the other burial sites listed here, the mausoleum only contains these two bodies and no other royalty.

Answer: Fontevraud Abbey, Chinon, France

When Richard I was king, most of his lands were in present-day France, and England was merely a northern extension of his kingdom. He actually only was in England for six months of his 10-year reign, and his queen never set foot there. When he died on campaign in France, he was buried in Fontevraud Abbey next to his family.

Unfortunately, during the French Revolution, the tombs were raided and now the only extant remaining part of his body is his heart in Rouen Cathedral.

Answer: Gloucester Cathedral

Edward II was overthrown by his wife and her lover and he apparently died in captivity shortly thereafter. Consequently, most abbeys did not wish to take the King's body and he was buried at nearby Gloucester Abbey (now Cathedral). The monument is well worth seeing; it is large and imposing given that there are no other royal graves nearby.

Answer: St Peter ad Vincula, Tower of London

Lady Jane Grey, the nine days' queen, was proclaimed Queen by the will of her cousin Edward VI. However, that will bypassed the "rightful" heir, his half-sister Mary, who managed to persuade the Privy Council to support her. Jane was placed in confinement at the Tower of London.

While Mary saw Jane as a pawn, Mary eventually chose to execute her when Jane's father led a rebellion to remove Mary from the throne. Consequently, she was buried at the chapel in the Tower along with the remains of other executed prisoners such as Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, two of the wives of Henry VIII.

Answer: Abbaye-aux-Hommes, Caen, France

Although he conquered England in the famous year of 1066, William the Conqueror was originally from Normandy and died there in 1087. Apparently, his corpse had bloated from gas produced by internal bacteria during the lengthy time it took to transport him to Caen and bury him.

The body couldn't fit into the space provided and it burst open during the funeral, showering the spectators with his innards. Many centuries later, the body was scattered during the French Revolution and only a plaque remains to commemorate the resting place of one of England's most influential kings.

Answer: Winchester Cathedral

Winchester was one of the most important cities of Anglo-Saxon England and Alfred, the only English king with the appellation "the Great", was originally buried here along with many other Anglo-Saxon kings. In addition to being one of the largest cathedrals in Europe, Winchester Cathedral is the only burial site on this list to have a #1 hit song named after it (by The New Vaudeville Band).

Answer: Canterbury Cathedral

Unlike most English kings, Henry IV chose to be buried in Canterbury Cathedral, next to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket. He only became king by overthrowing his cousin, so he sought legitimacy by associating himself with the righteous saint known for contesting unjust royal authority.

He is also the king who, in Shakespeare's play, makes the famous observation: "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown".