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A facial reconstruction based on the skull of Richard III has revealed how the English king may have looked. The king's skeleton was found under a car park in Leicester during an archaeological dig. The reconstructed face has a slightly arched nose and prominent chin, similar to features shown in portraits of Richard III painted after his death. Historian and author John Ashdown-Hill said seeing it was "almost like being face to face with a real person". The development comes after archaeologists from the University of Leicester confirmed the skeleton found last year was the 15th Century king's, with DNA...

The body of a man killed in battle found beneath a social services office car park in Leicester is that of Richard III, DNA analysis confirmed today. Dr Turi King of the University of Leicester said that there was a DNA match between the maternal line of a descendant of the family of Richard III and the remains found beneath Grey Friars car park. Lead researcher Dr Richard Buckley added: 'It is the academic conclusion of the University of Leicester that beyond reasonable doubt the remains found in Leicester are that of Richard III, the last Plantagenet king of England.'...

Until it was discovered beneath a city parking lot last fall, the skeleton had lain unmarked, and unmourned, for more than 500 years. Friars fearful of the men who slew him... --snip-- Dr. King said tests conducted at three laboratories in England and France had found that the descendants’ mitochondrial DNA, a genetic element inherited through the maternal line of descent, matched that extracted from the parking lot skeleton. She said all three samples belonged to a type of mitochondrial DNA that is carried by only 1 to 2 percent of the English population, a rare enough group to satisfy...

The skeleton showing curvature of the spine (scoliosis) consistent with historical accounts © University of LeicesterThe mortal remains of England's warrior king Richard III have been found, bringing to a close a mystery that has puzzled scholars for centuries. Analytical tests on a skeleton found under a Leicester car park have confirmed the last resting place of the final king in the Plantagenet line.The announcement comes after months of feverish speculation. In September 2012, the University of Leicester announced that its detective work combing ancient texts had led its team to conclude that the King was buried at Greyfriars Monastery...

You thought there couldn’t be a law and religion angle to today’s news—fascinating for us history nerds—that archaeologists have discovered the mortal remains of Richard III beneath a parking lot in Leicester? Think again. Plans are underway to re-inter the bones in the city’s Anglican Cathedral. Not so fast, say some: the hunchback king wasn’t a Protestant, but a Catholic, and he requires a Catholic burial. In fact, as Shakespeare fans know, Richard died at Bosworth Field (“A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!”), defending his throne from Henry Tudor. Henry went on to reign as Henry VII;...

A facial reconstruction based on the skull of Richard III has revealed how the English king may have looked. A skeleton found under a car park in Leicester has been confirmed as that of the king. The reconstructed face has a slightly arched nose and prominent chin, similar to features shown in portraits of Richard III painted after his death. Historian and author John Ashdown-Hill said seeing it was "almost like being face to face with a real person". The development comes after archaeologists from the University of Leicester confirmed the skeleton found last year was the 15th Century king's,...

He wore the English crown, but he ended up defeated, humiliated and reviled. Now things are looking up for King Richard III. Scientists announced Monday that they had found the monarch's 500-year-old remains under a parking lot in the city of Leicester -- a discovery Richard's fans say will inspire new research into his maligned history. University of Leicester researchers say tests on a battle-scarred skeleton unearthed last year prove "beyond reasonable doubt" that it is the king, who died at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, and whose remains have been missing for centuries. "Richard III, the last...

LEICESTER, England (AP) - He wore the English crown, but he ended up defeated, humiliated and reviled. Now things are looking up for King Richard III. Scientists announced Monday that they had found the monarch's 528-year-old remains under a parking lot in the city of Leicester - a discovery that will move him from a pauper's grave to a royal tomb and that fans say could potentially restore the reputation of a much-maligned king.

<p>He wore the English crown, but he ended up defeated, humiliated and reviled.</p> <p>Now things are looking up for King Richard III. Scientists announced Monday that they had found the monarch's 528-year-old remains under a parking lot in the city of Leicester—a discovery that will move him from a pauper's grave to a royal tomb and that fans say could potentially restore the reputation of a much-maligned king. "We could end up rewriting a little bit of history in a big way," said Lin Foxhall, head of the school of archaeology at the University of Leicester, which conducted the research. On Monday the researchers announced that tests on a battle-scarred skeleton unearthed in the central England city last year prove "beyond reasonable doubt" that it is the king, who died at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, and whose remains have been missing for centuries. "Richard III, the last Plantagenet King of England, has been found," said the university's deputy registrar, Richard Taylor, describing the find as "truly astonishing."</p>

LONDON - Archaeologists will reveal next week whether a skeleton with a cleaved skull and a curved spine entombed under a municipal parking lot is that of Richard III, the last English king to die in battle, more than five centuries ago. The grey, concrete parking lot with its red-brick walls and a payment hut in Leicester, central England, contrasts sharply with the grandeur of traditional sepulchres for English kings and queens such as Windsor Castle and Westminster Abbey. The defeated Richard’s lost grave has proved to be as elusive as the reputation of the monarch, portrayed by Shakespeare as...

Search for infamous monarch’s remains is the latest in the rush to dig up the dead and famousFor centuries, William Shakespeare seemed to have the last word. His Richard III glowered and leered from the stage, a monster in human form and a character so repugnant "that dogs bark at me as I halt by them." In Shakespeare's famous play, the hunchbacked king claws his way to the throne and methodically murders most of his immediate family—his wife, older brother, and two young nephews—until he suffers defeat and death on the battlefield at the hands of a young Tudor hero,...

The background Archeologists from Leicester University have uncovered an intact skeleton which they believe is that of Richard III, the king whose reputation as a ruthless hunchback comes from William Shakespeare’s play. The skeleton has a deformed spine, and is at the site of Grey Friars church, where Richard was thought to have been buried after the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, where he was defeated by Henry Tudor. His grave is now underneath a council car park in Leicester. DNA tests will reveal whether he’s really the king or not – it’s an adult male, with spinal abnormalities that...

(Reuters) - Archaeologists searching for the body of England's King Richard III under a city centre parking lot said on Wednesday they had found remains which could be those of the monarch depicted by Shakespeare as an evil, deformed, child-murdering monster.

Archeologists at the University of Leicester in central England say they have discovered a human skeleton with battle wounds and a curved spine that could be the remains of King Richard III.

Archaeologists may have solved the puzzle of where the English king Richard III, immortalized by Shakespeare in his play is buried as they have started digging a car park in Leicester for his lost remains. The University of Leicester, Leicester City Council and the Richard III Society have joined forces to search for the grave of Richard III, thought to be under a parking lot for city council offices. The team will use ground-penetrating radar to search for the ideal spots to dig. "This archaeological work offers a golden opportunity to learn more about medieval Leicester as well as about...

The true site of one of the most decisive battles in English history has been revealed. Bosworth, fought in 1485, which saw the death of Richard III, was believed to have taken place on Ambion Hill, near Sutton Cheney in Leicestershire. But a study of original documents and archaeological survey of the area has now pinpointed a site in fields more than a mile to the south west. A new trail will lead from the current visitor centre to the new location... The traditional site has a flag at the crest of the hill, a stone to mark the spot...

Dorothy Mitchell, who died on February 3 aged 80, founded the Society of Friends of King Richard III, a group dedicated to challenging Tudor propaganda about the unfortunate monarch and celebrating his life and works.Based in York, of which Richard was patron, the society, founded in 1978, holds meetings, publishes booklets and a quarterly magazine, organises lectures and tours, and promotes exhibitions, fairs, and medieval feasts. Among its achievements, it has promoted an annual mass for Richard in York Minster and raised money for a commemorative window, unveiled in 1997, to mark the 545th anniversary of Richard’s birth.Dorothy Mitchell herself...

In her historical mystery, "The Daughter of Time," Josephine Tey (a pen name of Elizabeth MacKintosh) has Scotland Yard Inspector Alan Grant, while confined to his hospital bed, solve the 15th century murder of the two York princes in the Tower of London. The princes were murdered by Henry VII, and the crime was blamed on Richard III in order to justify the upstart Tudor's violent seizure of the English throne. Tey makes the point that if a 20th century mystery writer can detect the truth about a 15th century murder, historians have no excuse to persist in writing in...