DAVID ADAMS looks at King Richard III – in life and death…
Last week, the bones of former English King Richard III were finally laid to rest in Leicester Cathedral, having been found three years before buried beneath a carpark in the city. We take a quick look at the life of this somewhat notorious king and the rediscovery of his remains…
A portrait of King Richard III PICTURE: © The Dean and Chapter of Leicester (via University of Leicester)
• Richard III was born on 2nd October, 1542, the 12th of 13 children of Richard Plantagenet, third Duke of York, and Cecily Neville. He lived during the period known as the Wars of Roses when his family, the House of York, vied with the House of Lancaster for the English crown.
• His eldest brother, King Edward IV, was the first Yorkist king and reigned from 4th March, 1461, until deposed on 3rd October, 1470, and again from 11th April, 1471, until his death in 1483. His brother created Richard Duke of Gloucester the year he was crowned.
• Following the death of King Edward IV, Richard was made Lord Protector of Edward’s son (and his nephew), Edward V (who was never crowned and only ruled for 86 days). Twelve-year-old Edward V and his younger brother Richard, Duke of York, were known as the “Princes in the Tower” and disappeared after they were taken to the Tower of London. Their deaths have been widely attributed to Richard III although their fate remains a matter of debate.
• The last king of the House of York, Richard III ruled for slightly than two years, from 26nd June, 1483, to 22nd August, 1485.
• Richard’s short and stormy reign came to an end at the Battle of Bosworth when he was defeated by Henry Tudor (the future King Henry VII). Richard – the last English king to be killed in battle – was killed in the fighting and buried in Greyfriars Church in Leicester. The exact site of the burial was lost over time.
• The king’s bones were discovered beneath a Leicester carpark, former site of Greyfriars Church, in August 2012, by archaeologists from the University of Leicester in a dig conducted with the support of the Richard III Society and Leicester City Council. The university confirmed the remains were his in February the following year following DNA testing involving two descendants of Richard III’s sister, Anne of York.
• The remains revealed the king had sustained 11 wounds near or at the time of his death, nine of them to the skull, and two to the body which may have been caused after his death. The findings suggested the king was killed by blows to the head after his helmet was knocked off.
• The king was also found to have a curved spine thanks to a condition known as “idiopathic adolescent onset scoliosis” which may have meant his right shoulder was noticeably higher than his left.
• The image of Richard III as a hunchback tyrant with a withered arm who died calling for a horse after being knocked from his mount in the Battle of Bosworth was popularised by William Shakespeare in his play, Richard III.
• The remains of the king were buried in Leicester Cathedral on 26th March, 2015, following an unsuccessful court challenge by some of his descendents to have him buried in York.
Sources: University of Leicester, The British Monarchy, King Richard in Leicester, BBC – ‘Richard III reburial court bid fails’, BBC – ‘Richard III: Leicester Cathedral reburial service for king’, Britannica – ‘Richard III’, Richard III Society
