A King Died Charging His Rival. 527 Years Later, He Turned Up Under a Car Park

The Untold Story

A king died charging his rival in battle. Then his body went missing for 527 years.

Richard the Third, Bosworth, 1485. He cut down Henry Tudor’s standard bearer, then was surrounded and killed.

His helmet was gone. His skull took nine wounds, and the fatal blows struck its base.

He was buried hastily in a Leicester friary. The friary was later torn down, and the grave was forgotten.

In 2012, archaeologists dug under a city car park and found a skeleton with a sharply curved spine.

DNA from living descendants of his sister matched the bones. It was him.

In 2015, England’s last king to die in battle was reburied in Leicester Cathedral. Follow for more.

Historical Discussion

Was digging a lost king out from under a car park the right call, or should he have been left in peace? What would you have done?

What are your thoughts on this event? Share your perspective in the discussion or follow Echoes of History Uncut for daily forgotten archives.

What the Record Shows

13 sourced claims in this story, resting on 15 sources. Numbers link to the bibliography below.

• Richard III was killed at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 while leading a charge at Henry Tudor - sources: 4, 6, 2
• Richard III’s remains were found in 2012, 527 years after his death in 1485 - sources: 4, 3, 7
• At Bosworth in 1485, Richard the Third struck down Henry Tudor’s standard bearer, William Brandon - sources: 6, 5, 2
• Richard III was surrounded and killed at Bosworth - sources: 6, 2, 10
• Richard III had lost his helmet when he was killed - sources: 13, 14, 10
• Richard III’s skeleton has nine wounds to the skull, and the fatal blows were to the base of the skull - sources: 13, 14, 10
• Richard III was buried hastily at the Greyfriars friary in Leicester - sources: 12, 4, 3
• The Greyfriars friary was demolished and the location of Richard III’s grave was lost - sources: 12, 4, 3
• In 2012 archaeologists found Richard III’s skeleton under a car park in Leicester - sources: 4, 12, 7
• The skeleton had a curved spine caused by scoliosis - sources: 8, 7
• Mitochondrial DNA from living descendants of Richard III’s sister Anne of York matched the skeleton - sources: 4, 9
• Richard III was England’s last king to die in battle - sources: 1, 4
• Richard III was reburied in Leicester Cathedral in 2015 - sources: 15, 16, 3

Verified Archival Sources & Bibliography

Every claim in this account has been fact-checked against primary archives and scholarly repositories:

1. Wikipedia: Richard III of England (reference)
2. Wikipedia: Battle of Bosworth Field (reference)
3. Wikipedia: Exhumation and reburial of Richard III of England (reference)
4. King et al.: Identification of the remains of King Richard III (Nature Communications, 2014) (forensic)
5. Polydore Vergil: Anglica Historia (1555), Book 25 - University of Birmingham Philological Museum (primary)
6. BBC News: Richard III - the death of a king (2013) (news)
7. BBC News: Richard III dig - ‘Strong evidence’ bones are lost king (2012) (news)
8. BBC News: Richard III’s spine (2014) (news)
9. The Guardian: Richard III - DNA confirms twisted bones belong to king (2013) (news)
10. The Guardian: Richard III died in battle after losing helmet, new research shows (2014) (news)
11. The Guardian: DNA test on Richard III’s cousins (2014) (news)
12. Buckley, Story and Morris: ‘The king in the car park’ (Antiquity, 2013) (primary)
13. University of Leicester: How Richard III died (primary)
14. National Geographic: Richard III killed by sustained attack, suffering 9 wounds to head (2014) (news)
15. Leicester Cathedral: Reinterment day (primary)
16. University of Leicester: The road to reinterment (primary)

Recommended Archival Reading & Audiobooks

For those seeking deeper historical immersion into this account:

• Audible 30-Day Free Trial (Includes 1-2 free historical audiobooks of your choice)

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, Echoes of History earns from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.