Benedict Cumberbatch to Read Original Poem at Reinterment Service of King Richard III

The remains of England's King Richard III will be reburied in Leicester Cathedral in Leicestershire today, 530 years after his violent death in the Battle of Bosworth. The King's remains were recently found buried beneath a parking lot.

CNN reports that at the special "funeral", Oscar nominated actor Benedict Cumberbatch, who is believed to be a distant relative of the royal, will read a specially-written poem for the event. The 'Sherlock' star, who will soon portray Richard III in an upcoming adaptation for television, will read a poem which was written by Britain's poet laureate, Carol Ann Duffy.

Details of the 14-line verse, titled "Richard," will be kept secret until the service takes place, but organizers reveal it is a "meditation on the impact of [Richard's] finding and on the legacy of his story." They also shared that it contains the phrase "grant me the carving of my name," acknowledging the fact that Richard III's grave was missing for centuries, with no tombstone to mark its location.

In a statement, Duffy said it was "a privilege to be involved, in a small way" in the special event which honors the British monarch.

Cumberbatch received an Oscar nomination for hi portrayal of Alan Turing in "THE IMITATION GAME" He recently earned an Emmy for his role as SHERLOCK Holmes on the BBC/PBS hit Sherlock.

The actor first performed at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park in productions such as Love's Labour's Lost (2001), A Midsummer Night's Dream (2001), and ROMEO AND JULIET (2002). He also portrayed George Tesman inRichard Eyre's revival of Hedda Gabler in 2005 and since then has starred in the Royal National Theatre productions After the Dance (2010) and Frankenstein (2011).

Cumberbatch's television work includes appearances in Heartbeat (2000), Silent Witness (2002) and Fortysomething (2003) before starring as the title character in HAWKING in 2004. He has also starred in Tom Stoppard's adaptation of Parade's End (2012), as well as providing the voices of the British Prime Minister and Severus Snape on the animated series THE SIMPSONS (2013). He has played SHERLOCK Holmes in the series SHERLOCK since 2010.

His first film appearance was in To Kill a King (2003) and he went on to play William Pitt the Younger in Amazing Grace in 2006 and has since appeared in the films Atonement (2007), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), War Horse(2011), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), and 12 YEARS A SLAVE (2013). From 2012 to 2014, through voice and motion capture, he played the characters of Smaug and the Necromancer in The Hobbit film series.

Cumberbatch received two Olivier Award nominations, winning the Best Actor in a Play for Frankenstein, and has also received four BAFTA nominations, three Emmy Award nominations, winning Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for Sherlock, two SAG Award nominations and a Golden Globe nomination among others. In 2013, he was honoured by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts with a Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year for his "masterful performances in television, film and theatre." In 2014, Time magazine included him in its annual Time 100 as one of the "Most Influential People in the World."

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos