Scientists have ruled with 99.999 percentage probability that a skeleton in the closet found under a parking luck in Leicester , England , in 2012 is that of King Richard III . Richard III , the last of the Plantagenet line ( the House of York ) , was kill in the Battle of Bosworth Field by Henry Tudor in 1485 . His remains were then buried without ceremony at Greyfriars Abbey , which , sometime between when thefriary was dissolved in 1538and 2012 , was turn into a parking batch ( or “ car park , ” as they say in Britain ) .
harmonise to theBBC , the skeleton discovered in 2012 was believe to belong to Richard III in large part due to the extreme curve of its spine — as historian and Shakespeare reader live , Richard III was trust to have had a hunchback . But a team of scientists , contribute by Leicester University ’s Dr. Turi King , were able to finally confirm the skeleton ’s identity with DNA tests this fall and published their findings in the journalNature Communicationson Tuesday .
While the real Richard III , we know now , did have a curving spine , beyond that he did n’t much resemble the humans depicted in 16th century portraits ( no contemporary portraits of Richard III exist — harmonize toCNN , the earliest have a go at it works post - date his decease by 25 to 30 old age ) . deoxyribonucleic acid evidence suggests that , far from being the saturnine and brooding human body paint by Shakespeare and 16th century artists , Richard III was blond - haired and blue - eyed ( although researchers concede that Richard III may have been blond in puerility but had his hair darken with age ) .
The skull of King Richard III , found in Leicester , England , in 2012 . ( Photo by Dan Kitwood / Getty Images )
Even more surprising than Richard III ’s physical visual aspect is that the DNA reveals a breakout in the royal lineage . According to the BBC , this could couch doubtfulness on the Tudor line or Richard III ’s title to the commode .
The BBC andNature Communicationsdelve deep into all the nitty - gritty biological reasons for this , but to summarise quickly : scientist were capable to play off the maternal side of Richard III ’s DNA ( the disco biscuit chromosome ) to two living relatives of Richard ’s firstborn sister , Anne of York . Both Michael Ibsen and Wendy Dulig , 14th cousin-german and descendants of the House of York , have the same super rarefied genetic ancestry as the skeleton in the cupboard found in the parking batch .
The male side ( the Y chromosome ) is where things get tricky . The skeleton in the closet ’s deoxyribonucleic acid does not match the Y chromosomes of living heritor of the fifth Duke of Beaufort , a descendant of John of Gaunt ( all the aforementioned men are descendants of Edward III — you’re able to discover a helpful class treehere ) . The Tudors also descend from John of Gaunt . The want of Y chromosome consistency between the DNA in the skeleton in the closet and of the Duke of Beaufort ’s successor means that , somewhere down the line between Edward III and Richard III , there was a “ false paternity event”—aka , an bit unfaithfulness . If this event happened along either the Richard III or Henry Tudor ( later sleep with as Henry VII ) arm of Edward III ’s family tree , their lineage ’s call to the throne could be fake .
If that ’s confusing , family tree expert Kevin Shürer may be able to clear things up . “ There are some well - known and important people on that chain [ from Edward III to his descendent ] , " he told CNN . " You have two monarchs , Richard and Edward III ; if the break occur on the Yorkist line … then that might call down questions about the legitimacy of the Yorkists ' claim to the toilet . ” As for the Tudors , “ The Lancastrian line comes through John of Gaunt ’s side of the kinsfolk … so if the interruption were on that side , it raises question about the legitimacy of the Lancastrian monarchs , and because there was a Tudor link to that line as well , also the Tudors , ” he says .
So , what does this mean for the current Queen of England , Elizabeth II , and her kinsperson ? plainly nothing . “ We ’re certainly not saying the House of Windsor has no legitimate claim to the pot , far from it , " Shürer told CNN . " imperial succession does n’t make for like that . There is no linear successiveness line between Edward III and Elizabeth II . Yes , they are related , but the whole point of monarchy is that over several centuries it takes various wind and turns … Monarchy is about opportunity and chance as much as it is about bloodline . ”
