In the teeth of the evidence

Here, a little-known television journalist-historian named Dominic Selwood disputes the identity of Richard III’s remains, despite the mtDNA match with collateral descendants in Canada and Australia, their height, age of death, era of death, scoliosis, battle injuries, region of origin and the location of his original burial at the choir of the Greyfriars. In fact…

Grey Friars building and car park up for auction in Leicester….

With a guide price of £4 million there will be an auction of this large edifice (the Grey Friars Building) that stands right next to where the remains of Richard III were found. The auction is to be on Wednesday, February 15. It’s Grade II listed, but not only because of its proximity to where…

Ten years ago today …

… it was announced that the remains discovered on the site of the Leicester Greyfriars were indeed those of Richard III. On this page you can see both mitochodrial DNA lines: the first by John Ashdown-Hill and the back-up by Leicester University, both to collateral descendants in Commonwealth nations. Here you can see how easy it…

Five interesting archaeological discoveries….

  According to this article there have been five interesting archaeological discoveries in the past decade. First among them, of course, is the finding of Richard III’s remains:- “….When King Richard III was killed at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, he was buried in the church of the Grey Friars. In 2012, The Richard III Society…

Sibling marriages again

In the teeth of the evidence, some authors maintain that Richard Duke of Gloucester and Anne Neville required a third dispensation because his brother had already wed her sister, an argument that Barnfield has conclusively fisked. We don’t have to go very far to find a similar case of sibling marriages – the Neville sisters’…

What did Leicester Greyfriars look like….?

  I have come upon this site which tells of forthcoming new attractions at Leicester’s museums. From it I have taken the following extract: “….The city’s King Richard III Visitor Centre is also in line for investment, with a new immersive experience forming part of the story told at the award-winning attraction….  “….Later this year, visitors will…

The problem of getting the facts wrong….

I recently complained that this article , which apparently contained references to Richard III, was hidden from my British eyes because of something to do with the European Economic Area (EEA). Then a good friend from the Netherlands was kind enough to send me the complete content. The  hidden article concerned the wartime reminiscences of…

Professor Turi King has written a new book about DNA….

  “….Transworld has landed a ‘myth-busting’ book about DNA by Professor Turi King, best known for her work identifying Richard III from the remains discovered under a Leicester city car park….” If publishers are snapping up this book, titled DNA: Why Genetics Matters, (thankyou a commenter below for finding the title) which is due out…

Why did the Greyfriars of Leicester make such haste to bury Richard III….?

  This link reveals an interesting account of about the discovery and archaeology of Richard’s original resting place in Leicester, and the modern techniques used to find out all that could be learned. I confess I was a little dismayed to hear the Blue Boar described as a “coaching inn”. Really? In 1485? I hoped…

The forensic genealogy that identified Richard III moves on apace

Almost six years ago now, it was confirmed that the remains identified under a car park in Leicester were those of Richard III. One of the principal components of this identification was that the remains shared the mtDNA of Michael Ibsen, a maternal line relative traced by John Ashdown-Hill, as was Wendy Duldig by the…