The Resurrection of Richard III?

The discovery of a skeleton which could be the remains of Richard III (picture from here) is incredibly exciting. A team of archaeologists from the University of Leicester conducted a dig in a Council car park which was thought to be the site of the Greyfriars church where Richard’s body was buried after the Battle of Bosworth in August 1485. Amazingly, the archaeologists found not only the church but the choir where Richard was said to have been buried. Then, they found a male skeleton with wounds to the head & scoliosis of the spine. It’s almost too good to be true. DNA testing will be carried out as a descendant of Richard’s sister, Anne, has been traced thanks to the research of  historian John Ashdown-Hill.

The Richard III Society has been instrumental in making the dig a reality with members carrying out extensive research & convincing the University team that there was enough evidence to prove or disprove the stories about the Greyfriars church which was destroyed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1530s.

The Richard III Society website has a very informative article on the news here (click on What’s New & scroll down a little for the press release). There’s also news of a Channel 4 documentary to be shown later this year. Fingers crossed it’s shown here as well. Richard is one of the few Kings of England whose burial site is unknown (not counting Edward V which is another story altogether!) but maybe this discovery will change that. More information on the discovery & links to other articles can be found here. I’ve been fascinated by Richard since I first read Josephine Tey’s novel, The Daughter of Time, at high school. I’m a member of the Richard III Society & I’ve read countless books, both fiction & non-fiction, on the period & the personalities. I can’t wait for the next instalment!