A SERVICE will be held to celebrate 800 years since a King's tomb has been in place at Worcester Cathedral.

King John's final resting place is in a central position before the high altar in the Cathedral.

He was buried there at his own request, stipulated in the will he wrote shortly before his death in October 1216. He was said to hold the city in great affection.

Worcester Cathedral is one of only a few places outside Westminster Abbey and Windsor that is home to the tomb of an English monarch since the Norman Conquest. It also still holds the original copy of King John's will.

All members of the public are invited to the service of commemoration, which will be held on Sunday, October 16 as it is the nearest Sunday to the date of the King's death.

The service will be attended by the High Sheriff, Sir Nicholas Lechmere, and Her Majesty’s judges, as well as the lord lieutenant for Worcestershire, Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Holcroft.

At the service, Professor Stephen Church, of the University of East Anglia, whose book on King John was published last year, will give an introductory address.

The cathedral choir will sing a specially-commissioned piece by young composer Piers Kennedy and the Bishop of Worcester will deliver a sermon.

There will also be an opportunity to lay flowers near John’s tomb.

The Dean of Worcester, Peter Atkinson, said: "This will be a historic occasion, not in order to glorify John, who was not a very glorious man.

"We shall, however, give him the remembrance due to his office as King of England; and we shall pray for the repose of his soul, which is the last duty we can give to any human soul, good or bad.

"And then, beginning next Tuesday, the Cathedral will ring with the words of Shakespeare in daily performances of his play King John, bringing those far off times to life.”

The service will be held at 4pm.

Shakespeare's King John will run from Tuesday, October 18 to Saturday, October 22.