The Reunion

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The Reunion: Finding Richard III

Finding Richard III

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Kirsty Wark reunites key figures involved in the search for the famous medieval king.

Kirsty Wark reunites archaeologists, scientists, a religious leader and a distant relative involved in the search for, identification, and reburial of the last Plantagenet king.

Kirsty Wark reunites the archaeologists, scientists, a religious leader and a distant relative involved in the remarkable search for, identification, and reburial of the last Plantagenet king.

Richard III was the last English king to die in battle and the first to have his genome sequenced. The discovery and identification of his remains is one of the greatest archaeological detective stories ever told.

After his death on Bosworth Battle Field in 1485, Richard's body was hastily buried in a Friary in Leicester. But over the years, rumours spread that his bones had been dug up and flung into a nearby river.

Others believed that his body could still be in its original burial place, now under a council car park. Philippa Langley of the Richard III Society wanted to know for sure.
The dig started on 25th August 2012 and, within hours, bones had been found. Dr Richard Buckley lead the University of Leicester's archaeological team and confesses that no-one really believed they would find him. But as osteologist Dr Jo Appleby uncovered more of the remains, she discovered he had a curved spine and serious head wounds.

More research was needed to be sure they had got their man. Professor Turi King, an expert in DNA, and Jo Appleby explain the painstaking process to identify the remains and to match the DNA with relative Michael Ibsen, and how they found out more about the way the King lived.

David Monteith, the Dean of Leicester, became embroiled in a legal battle over where the remains should be re-interred – York or Leicester – as some distant relatives of the King challenged how the University had looked after the remains.

As well as giving a DNA sample, Michael Ibsen was also a carpenter and reveals how he ended up making his first ever coffin – fit for a medieval king.
Historian and writer Thomas Penn explains the impact of this momentous discovery on our understanding of history and of the man himself.

Producer: Karen Pirie
Series Producer: David Prest 
A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

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