Disrespected and tortured Kings obviously weren't treated in a healthy manner in the 15th century, as even Shakespeare points out in his play. In fact, King Richard III had been tortured, violently disrespected, and his body recently found secretly buried in Leicester, England under a garage parking lot structure.
His skeleton found 500 years later shows that he was tortured even after death. Someone cut off his feet. Or the feet are missing. His wrist bones were found close together, as if his hands were tied at the time he was buried. Axed over the head, stabbed in the right buttock in a humiliating way, someone obviously didn't like this king of England back in 1485.
A statue of King Richard III stands in Castle Gardens near Leicester Cathedral, close to where the body of Richard III was discovered, on February 4, 2013 in Leicester, England. The University of Leicester has been carrying out scientific investigations on remains found in a car park to find out whether they are those of King Richard III since last September, when the skeleton was discovered in the foundations of Greyfriars Church, Leicester. King's Richard III's remains are to be re-interred at Leicester Cathedral.
The skeleton of the medieval monarch who was demonized by William Shakespeare, and who also had been featured in character in horror films of 1939 and 1962, for example, the film “Tower of London.” Someone axed him over the head. And after he was already dead, the king had been tortured with10 wounds, including two deadly blows to the back of the head, one of which sliced part of the skull off. Someone even stabbed him in the right buttock.
Why such rage and (disrespect) aimed at that particular king? He wasn't even buried in a royal grave, because where he was dumped in his final resting place was under a parking garage, or rather the garage had been built over the unknown grave of a king who supposedly died in battle in 1485 at the age of 32.
The skeleton's mtDNA was matched with his surviving descendants from his mother's line as the female mitochondrial DNA was a match. An archaeology team found his skeleton. Radiocarbon dating places the skeleton bones from 1455 to 1540. And the osteo-archaeologist who analyzed the bones found they do belong to a man in his late 20s or early 30s. Will the skeleton change his reputation which was describe in Shakespeare's play as a villain?
Will his DNA descendants conduct a funeral now that the king from 500 years back will be re-interred at Leicester Cathedral where his statue stands? And what will his tombstone read? For further information, check out the February 4, 2013 Los Angeles Times news article, "Richard III horror story: Axed in head, stabbed in rear, bones dug up."
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