There was some unusual royal news in Britain yesterday, as a 600-year-old skeleton was found to be the remains of King Richard III. The University of Leicester led the project to find the lost bones and eventually narrowed them down to the most royal of settings- a nearby car park.
Richard III became king of England in 1483, but his reign was tumultuous and short-lived, and he was killed in battle just two years later in 1485. The skeleton shows the extent of the injuries that killed him, with 10 in total found, including eight injuries to the skull. On top of that, the spine has also been found to be badly curved, confirming reports from Tudor historians that Richard had a severely hunched back.
On the Trail of Richard's Body
For a team of historians, scientists and archaeologists this marks the successful end to the search for Richard's body that's been going on for years. They started armed simply with the knowledge that he had been buried underneath the church of Greyfriars in the centre of Leicester. After being demolished in the 16th century, the exact location of the church had been forgotten, but the team was able to gradually narrow it down to a probable area.
