Mystery of King Richard III solved

(Vatican Radio) Scientists have confirmed that the 500-year-old remains of an individual found under a car park in the city of Leicester, formerly the site of a Franciscan church, are those of England's King Richard III.

The search for Britain’s lost King, Richard III is over and this is how it was announced to the world. “Ladies and Gentlemen, it is the academic conclusion of the University of Leicester that beyond reasonable doubt the individual exhumed at Grey Friars in September 2012 is indeed Richard III the last Plantagenet King of England.”

The much anticipated announcement by Richard Buckley, the lead archaeologist on the project on Monday followed months of detailed tests to determine if a skeleton found under a municipal parking lot in central England, which had been the site of a Franciscan church, belonged to 15th-century King Richard III, who is said to have died at the Battle of Bosworth age 32 in 1485.

The search for Richard was led by archaeologists from the University of Leicester who dug up the skeleton of an adult male. What they found were signs of trauma to the skull. Another indication that these remains might be those of the Monarch were signs of scoliosis, which is a form of spinal curvature, consistent with contemporary accounts of Richard's appearance, such as in Shakespeare’s play which paints a dark picture of the British King as a murderous villain.
Solving the mystery was also based on DNA tests which came from samples from descendants of Richard.
So what now that the lost King has been found. Well some historians are hoping that this discovery will go some way to rehabilitating the reputation of one of Shakespeare’s most notorious villains.
Listen to Lydia O’Kane’s report