Introduction

King Richard III – The legend and places to visit

Angela Youngman

 

Copyright Angela Youngman

Illustrations copyright Karis Youngman

 

Was Richard a hero or villain ?

Where can you go to see places connected to this king?

Why was the body in the car park important?

There are recent discoveries and new permanent exhibitions,.

This book is an up to date guide of the history , arguments, and where you can visit.

 

 

 

THE KING IN THE CAR PARK

1485 has always been regarded as a turning point in English history, marking the end of the Wars of the Roses and the arrival of the Tudors. Linked to this event are dramatic stories relating to the question over the Princes in the tower, the way in which Richard III came to the throne and subsequently lost it in battle. History has portrayed him as an evil, hunchback tyrant – an image mainly due to Shakespeare’s play. It is a viewpoint that many writers have criticised as being too simplistic, and that Richard had the potential to be a very good king.

 

When news broke in 2012 that a skeleton had been found in a Leicester Council car park, it immediately attracted worldwide attention. For this was no ordinary skeleton – there was a very strong possibility that it could be that of Richard III; one of the most controversial English kings and the last English king to die in battle.

 

Painstaking research had identified the car park as being the former site of the Greyfriars church. Fifteenth century manuscripts indicated that Richard III’s body had been buried in the church following the Battle of Bosworth. Philippa Longley of the Richard III Society persuaded the University of Leicester to undertake an excavation. At the time, the University of Leicester believed that there was a ‘one in a million chance of finding Richard III’ and that it was a ‘seemingly bonkers project’. The archeologist in charge, Richard Buckley, said that ‘the idea of finding a named individual, especially Richard III was a very slim possibility.’ Despite this attitude, the Richard III society insisted and paid for the excavation.

 

A large trench was dug across the car park, which included a car park space marked as R. On the first day of the excavation, leg bones were found in the section marked as R. Other artefacts were found nearby indicating that the skeleton had been buried within the choir of the church building. This was a location where the friars would have buried important people. All the signs indicated that the body had been buried in a hurry, and had been naked within its shroud.

 

When archaeologists investigated the spot marked R in more detail during the dig, they discovered the body of a hunchback with a head injury. Archaeologist Richard Buckley said that, “I would be lying if I didn’t say the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end when I looked in the hole.” Philippa Buckley of the Richard III Society who was on the scene simply ‘went into shock’. Initial examination indicated the skeleton was male. It had been buried just as contemporary reports had indicated. Archaeologists commented that, “we may have just pulled it off by sheer fluke. We had put the trench in the right place and it was the first thing we found.’

 

The bones were quickly covered with plastic to protect any remaining DNA. A royal banner with his royal insignia was used to cover the box.

 

Over the next few months, the skeleton was subjected to a variety of tests designed to identify its age, how the man died and DNA testing. A Canadian descendent of Richard’s sister was identified and supplied DNA for comparison.

 

The results of the test indicated that the body was that of a man who had lived during the late fifteenth century, and that he had suffered from a curvature of the spine. One shoulder would have been higher than the other. Despite this, the curvature would not have been noticeable when the man was dressed. Nor would it have been sufficiently severe to prevent him fighting or wearing armour. The man had died as a result of severe wounds experienced during the course of a battle when fighting in a melee on foot. He had been hit on the head, and then stabbed after he had died.

 

All this fitted perfectly into the known events of the Battle of Bosworth, which took place not far from Leicester. Richard III, the last Plantagenet king, had died during a melee. He had been unhorsed and was fighting for his life. Contemporary accounts such as the ballad s ‘Battle of Bosworth Field’ indicated that Richard died when he was hit on the head with a poleaxe. The victorious Henry VII ordered that the body be stripped, and taken to Leicester for burial.

 

A computer generated facial reconstruction based on the skull resulted in a face, which was very similar to the image portrayed in the portrait of Richard III in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

 

The final proof of identity was provided by the DNA tests. The DNA taken from the skeleton matched that of Canadians Jay and Michael Ibsen, as well as Wendy Duldig, the direct descendents of Richard III’s sister, Anne of York. Several genetic markers were used for identification, including the complete mitochondrial genomes inherited through the matriarchal line, and Y-chromosomal markers from the paternal line taken from living relatives descended from Henry Somerset, 5th Duke of Beaufort. The results showed that the skeleton was definitely that of Richard III.

 

Interestingly, the DNA testing revealed that the Y chromosome markings were not a match, showing that somewhere in the line between Richard III and Henry Somerset there was a ‘false paternity’ event. Dr Turi King, University of Leicester says “There are one or more breaks in the chain from Richard III to Henry, 5th Duke of Beaufort. There are 19 links in that chain, so there is an equal probability of any one of those 19 being broken. There are five links in that chain between Richard, up through Edward III, and then to John of Gaunt. And then the remaining majority of the links are down through the Somerset’s and the Beaufort line.”

 

Wendy Duldig is Richard III’s grandniece 18 times removed, and Michael Ibsen, grandnephew of Richard III, 16 times removed. Wendy and Michael are 14th cousins twice removed.

 

Investigations revealed that Richard III was about 5’ 8” tall and had suffered from scoliosis of the spine causing to it to become curved. During the battle of Bosworth he had experienced five wounds to the front of the skull, 3 on the back of the skull, 1 one on the ribs and pelvis. Many of these are thought to have been made after his death. The evidence indicates that his hands may have been tied when he was buried, but there is no solid proof of this. The grave was uneven, and too small for the body. As a result, the skeleton was squashed up in the hole.

 

The researchers were also able to identify the hair and eye colour of Richard III. He had blond hair and blue eyes.

 

WHO WAS RICHARD?

Richard was born at Fotheringhay Castle, Northamptonshire on 2nd October 1452. He was eleventh child of Richard, Duke of York and Cecily Neville. Only four of the children survived to become adults – Edward (who later became Edward IV), George (Duke of Clarence), Richard and his sister Anne.

 

Questions as to who should inherit the crown had been underway for some years. This was the period known to history as the Wars of the Roses – the continued battle for the throne between the houses of Lancaster and York when descendents of Edward III competed for the throne.

 

Henry VI and his queen Margaret of Anjou had no children for many years. In 1453, Margaret gave birth to a son who was given the title Prince of Wales. Until that point, Richard Duke of York had been the heir apparent. Continual ill feeling between Richard, Henry and Margaret of Anjou led eventually to civil war. In October 1459, at the Battle of Ludlow Bridge in Shropshire; the army of Richard of York, accompanied by Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick was defeated. They were forced into exile.

 

Duchess Cecily and her sons Richard and George were captured and imprisoned. They were not released until 1460 when the Yorkists returned to power.

 

Richard, Duke of York, returned to England with an army and declared himself king. He claimed that he had a better right to the throne than Henry VI. This was because Richard was descended from the eldest son of King Edward III via the female line, whereas Henry VI had inherited via a younger son on the male line. A compromise was eventually brokered by the Earl of Warwick, which disinherited the Prince of Wales. It was stated that when Henry VI eventually died, the Duke of York would ascend the throne – not the Prince of Wales. This situation did not please the Queen.

 

More fighting resulted, and the Yorkists were overwhelmed. During the fighting, Richard of

Impressum

Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 22.03.2015
ISBN: 978-3-7368-8498-4

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