On February 4, it was officially confirmed at a press conference. The skeleton unearthed from beneath a council car park in Leicester was that of Richard III, the last Plantagenet king of England. This discovery has caused quite a stir in the national media, but in Leicestershire, where I live, excitement has reached fever-pitch. Ever since the bones were exhumed last September, speculation had been intense. Was it him or not?
At the Battlefield Centre, located close to the site of Richard’s death in battle on Bosworth Field in August 1485, extra talks, walks and events have been organised to cash in on this renewed interest. The Richard III Society, a group of enthusiasts keen to rehabilitate his reputation after the evil Shakespearian characterisation, now has a high profile.
Queuing at the exhibition
The day after the announcement of the body’s identity, the local newspaper, the Leicester Mercury, under a banner headline of ‘THE KING!’, offered a 12-page Richard III souvenir edition. This gave a blow by blow account, with multiple photographs, of the archaeology and investigation. When I tried to get into the special exhibition (‘Search for Richard III’) at Leicester’s Guildhall recently I had to give up because of the length of the queues waiting to enter.
