The Phillips DNA Project News

King Richard III - the resolution of a 500-year-old mystery

Richard III, the protagonist in Shakespeare's play of the same name, is the focus of this year's Queen's Lecture. In August 2012, the University of Leicester in collaboration with the Richard III Society and Leicester City Council, began one of the most ambitious archaeological projects ever attempted: no less than a search for the lost grave of King Richard III. The last English king to die in battle.

Turi King led the international research team which provided overwhelming evidence that the skeleton discovered under a car park in Leicester indeed represents the remains of King Richard III, thereby closing what is probably the oldest forensic case solved to date.

At this year’s Queen’s Lecture, Turi King will speak about the Grey Friars project, from the early stages of planning the dig, through to the excavation and the results of the various strands of analysis carried out on the remains and modern DNA obtained from a straight descendant of Anne of York, Richard III’s eldest sister.

Click here to watch the live stream on 1 November.  The lecture will be held in English.

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