Conor Byrne digs deeper into the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the body of Richard III.
Earlier this month, at the University of Leicester it was announced to a highly excited Britain that the body unearthed the previous autumn in a city council car park at Greyfriars, Leicester, was indeed that of the late medieval king Richard III. Scientific analysis indicated that the king had most likely been killed either by a blow from a large bladed weapon which cut off the back off his skull, or by a halberd thrust which gruesomely penetrated his brain. The bones of the body were found to be in a good condition, apart from the fact that the corpse’s feet were missing.
Archaeologists and scientists confirmed that the spine was severely curved, bearing out contemporary sources which held the king to be a hunchback. It is likely that this curvature made one shoulder visibly higher than the other, although this may not have meant that Richard was unable to partake in an active lifestyle. The bones were found to be those of a male in his late twenties to early thirties, which further confirms that the body was Richard’s, who was aged 32 at his death. Richard Buckley announced this Monday: “it is the academic conclusion of the University of Leicester that beyond reasonable doubt, the individual exhumed at Greyfriars in September 2012 is indeed Richard III, the last Plantagenet King of England”. Mitochondrial DNA evidence, soil analysis, and dental tests further confirmed the identification. The Mayor of Leicester, Sir Peter Soulsby, has stated that Richard will be buried at Leicester Cathedral in early 2014, although others proposed that the king should be buried in Westminster Abbey due to his royal status (which Queen Elizabeth, apparently discreetly, opposed), while others argued that the former king should be interred in York Minster, apparently Richard’s preferred place of burial.
Probably the most controversial king in English history, Richard was the youngest son born to Richard, duke of York and his wife Cecily Neville in 1452. Following his brother Edward’s successful usurpation of the English throne in 1461, Richard became Duke of Gloucester and acquired substantial power and influence in the north, where he was much liked and respected. He later married Anne Neville, the daughter of the 16th Earl of Warwick and former Princess of Wales. Edward’s premature death in 1483 created a serious power vacuum at court, with many arguing that Richard feared the hostility of the queen’s family, the Woodvilles, and their desire to exclude Richard from power. In view of this, Richard seized control of the new child king, Edward V, and his younger brother Richard, and installed them in the Tower of London, before executing his political rival Hastings and others of Queen Elizabeth’s family.
What happened is a matter of fierce debate and considerable controversy. Richard’s loyal supporters fiercely deny this, but it seems most likely that it was on Richard’s orders that his nephews, the Princes in the Tower as they hauntingly became known, were murdered, so that he could himself become king of England. As far as facts go, the two boys were last seen in the autumn of 1483, before conspicuously disappearing forevermore. Those who believe that Richard was innocent of their deaths have failed to answer one simple question: if Richard never ordered the boys’ murders, then why did he never produce them and show them to the public, to counter these malicious claims? The fact that he never did so, and remained silent on this issue, strongly suggests that he was indeed responsible for his nephews’ murders. Richard seized the crown in June 1483 and was crowned King of England. His wife, Anne, became queen.
Richard was never a popular king, largely because he was both a usurper and because he was believed to be responsible for the murders of the popular princes. The death of his queen in suspicious circumstances in 1485, amidst rumours that Richard poisoned her in order to marry again, further blackened his reputation. Facing rebellion in 1483, and further troubles from his political rival Henry Tudor, Richard finally faced Henry in battle at Bosworth in 1485. The transfer of support of the Stanley family, who had previously supported the king, in battle proved decisive, weakening Richard’s army and eventually leading to the king’s death, deserted by his men in the face of a vicious onslaught from Henry’s army.
During Richard’s reign, the king had attracted praise from some writers, but his reputation was mercilessly destroyed by Shakespeare who depicted him as deformed, evil, and a murderer. In an age which identified deformity with evil, other Tudor writers enthusiastically exploited Richard’s outward deformities as a sign of his inner evil. The works of the Richard III Society have earnestly tried to salvage Richard’s reputation. Whatever his true character, the news this month has proved highly exciting for all lovers of medieval history.
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