In The News

Remains found beneath carpark are those of King Richard III

Remains found beneath carpark are those of King Richard III

EXPERTS have confirmed that remains found beneath a carpark in Leicester are those of King Richard III.

The discovery had been made in the summer of 2012 by archaeologists from the University of Leicester.

The site had been identified as the location where the Franciscan friary of Greyfriars had stood and where the King’s body had been buried after he had died at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.

Descendants of the monarch had been traced to Canada and this had enabled DNA tests to be carried out on the remains. Carbon dating had been carried out and this had established the bones dated from 1455 to 1540.

At a press conference, experts from the University of Leicester said the DNA tests had proven “beyond reasonable doubt” that the bones they had recovered were those of the King, who was the last of the Plantagenets.

The skull showed clear signs the King had suffered extreme injuries, which was consistent with the accounts of his death.

Richard, who reigned from 1483 to 1485 and was 32 at the time of his death, was buried in the Friary, although it was believed his remains had been removed at a later date. 

He had been defeated by Henry Tudor, who became Henry VII — the first of the Tudor dynasty.

The remains will eventually be reinterred at Leicester Cathedral. It is not clear when this will take place or the type of service which will be conducted. There had been suggestions that he should be given a state funeral. There were also questions over whether a Roman Catholic service should be held, in keeping with the former monarch’s faith.

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