Scandal in the royal family

The "case" of King Richard III was "closed" after 529 years

Egor Antonov, "Science and Life" based on the materials of the University of Leicester:
King Richard III: DNA and genealogical study confirms identity of remains
found in Leicester and uncovers new truths about his appearance and Plantagenet lineageThe remains discovered in 2012 in a parking lot in Leicester (Great Britain) belong to King Richard III (1452-1485) with a probability of 99.999%.

This is stated in an article by an international team of researchers published in the journal Nature Communications (Turi E. King et al., Identification of the remains of King Richard III, in the public domain – VM.

Thus, the analysis of mitochondrial DNA showed a match between Richard III and his living female relatives. At the same time, it is noted that it was not possible to find a match in the genes of the monarch's relatives in the male line. Researchers do not consider this surprising, since over such a long period of time, cases of false paternity could be repeated several times.

Genetic research suggests that the king was almost certainly blue-eyed and blond. Reconstruction of the monarch's appearance shows his resemblance to one of the earliest surviving portraits.

Now the research team is going to sequence the complete genome of Richard III to get more information about him.

Richard III ruled England in the final stages of the War of the Roses. He was the last king of the York dynasty. At the Battle of Bosworth (1485) he was defeated by Henry Tudor.

Historians who wrote under the Tudors said that Richard III was a freak. He was credited with the murders of Kings Henry VI, Edward V and his brother, as well as the poisoning of his own wife Anne and the murder of his brother, the Duke of Clarence. Since the authors of these descriptions, willingly or unwittingly, were opponents of Richard III, they are suspected of deliberately denigrating the personality of the monarch.

The remains of the last York were found in September 2012. The position of the skeleton indicated that it had been buried hastily – thrown into a pit and buried. In addition to DNA analysis, scientists have received a number of indirect evidence that this is Richard III.

So, the radiocarbon method gave a date between 1455 and 1540. The year 1485, when Richard III was assassinated, fit well into this interval. Anthropologists' research has shown that the buried died between the ages of 25 and 35 (Richard was 32 at the time of his death).

The study of the bones showed that their owner died in battle: his skeleton retained traces of a dozen wounds. According to written evidence, it is known that the king died in a foot battle.

Isotopic analysis indicated that a large amount of protein, including that obtained from seafood, was present in the buried person's diet. This indicates a high social status of a man. In addition, the skeleton showed signs of scoliosis, which also indirectly pointed to Richard III. The idea of the last Plantagenet as a "hunchback" has been preserved in history.

The identification of the remains of Richard III has been hailed as one of the most important discoveries in British archaeology. However, some scientists who did not participate in the study are skeptical about it.

Michael Hicks, a professor of history at Winchester University, says DNA analysis and radiocarbon dating may not be definitive evidence. The mitochondrial DNA line, the coincidences in which became the basis of identification, remained unchanged for several generations. Consequently, it was the same for the descendants of Richard's maternal grandmother, as well as his great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother. Richard III's grandmother had 16 children, and many of them participated in the York and Lancaster Wars. Many relatives of Richard III died on the battlefield, including at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, when the monarch was killed. The victims could have had the same injuries as on the bones found, notes Michael Hicks.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru05.12.2014