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Dan Kitwood / Getty Images
A facial reconstruction based on the skull of King Richard III is unveiled by the Richard III Society, in London on Feb. 5, 2013.
The face of England's King Richard III was revealed for the first time in more than 500 years on Tuesday following a reconstruction based on a skull unearthed from a parking lot in the city of Leicester.
After carrying out a series of scientific investigations on bones exhumed from the site last year, the University of Leicester announced on Monday that the remains belonged to Richard III, who died in battle in 1485.
Justin Tallis / AFP - Getty Images
Michael Ibsen, a descendant of England's King Richard III, poses for pictures with a plastic model made from the recently discovered skull of the king, during a press conference in London on Feb. 5, 2013.
As detailed by NBC News Science Editor Alan Boyle, DNA was extracted from bone samples and compared with modern-day mitochondrial DNA from two direct descendants of Richard III's family, including Michael Ibsen, a Canadian-born cabinetmaker who is a 17th-generation descendant of Richard III's eldest sister, Anne of York.
The skeleton's relatively delicate structure was consistent with descriptions of Richard III's physical appearance, University of Leicester historian Lin Foxhall said.
The bones of Richard III, who reigned for two years, have been discovered in Leicester, England, and they indicate that his spine was twisted by scoliosis and that he received eight head wounds in battle. NBC's Stephanie Gosk reports.
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The king looks a lot like Rickie Fowler.
I've read both theories about who had the princes in the Tower killed (i.e., Richard or Henry) and I've often wondered if maybe one of the kings' supporters did it or had it done and didn't tell the king until after the fact. That might have caused a momentary panic and a hide-the-bodies re-action. It's certainly been done since, so why not then? Yeah, I know someone no doubt howled, I was only following orders!, but that's also been done since! People are always trying to cover their asses.
Inbreds eat there young,in this case he killed them.
Is that where Scalia got his inauguration hat.
Kneau Reeves? Really? hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Um...who was chomping at the bit to know what Richard III looked like? Call me when we figure out what Nero looked like
He sure was a handsome man. I wondered though how they determine the amount of hair of his eyebrows? Was it mentioned in details by the journalists back then?
Nevermind, my question is already answered from the comments..... He had a picture!!!!!
DUH!!
I don't think so.
He was maligned by Shakespeare who also made Joan of Arc sound like an evil witch!! And Richard III probably was a ruthless man like most of the other kings and dictators before and after him. Still interesting to find a bit of history. Of course, 'history' is usually about the rich and powerful. I find it more interesting to read about how the rest of humanity lived during any given time--all 'classes' 'below' the most rich. Our usual glimpse into that in movies, etc. is the servant class, although Dickens gave it a go.
Wow, he looks just like the 16th century portrait! Wonder how that happened?
A good artist painted the king???
The New Yorker magazine has a good article on this bit of archaeology as well as the history if anyone is interested:
I never read that he was googley eyed...interesting...
Sorry, I can't get excited about the "royal" business. To me it was a bunch of pompous tyrants that killed people without a trial, that raised taxes whenever they wanted, didn't think that they needed to follow any laws other than what they made up, and spent lavishly on themselves while the rest of the country suffered in poverty.
God, it sounds like the Obamas!
Sounds like all politicians.The Obamas have only been around for 5 yrs our economy has been in the dumps for over 13 yrs??
Ha ha jimreaper, I was thinking the exact same thing! Maybe someday they'll find him buried somewhere inappropriate also !!
Richard was not a bad guy. He did as most did in those times. Hell, nothing is changed. People still running around killing others to get ahead. Don't understand why everyone is "gasping" at the idea of Richard killing off family members for a crown. :)
Does anybody else suspect that the finding of Richard III's remains is an elaborate hoax? Phillipa Langley, a screenwriter with a passion for rehabilitating Richard's reputation and the force behind finding Richard, said when she walked over the spot in the parking lot where Richards remains were 'found,' that she knew then he was under the asphalt and when she returned one year later she found an 'R' inscribed on the spot. Really?
where are it's scales?
There is a definite family resemblance between Richard III and his ancestor in the picture. Note that the nostrils of his ancestor are larger but the curve of the nose is the same and the set of the eyes and the lip area and shape. This is extremely fascinating.
There are no 'ancestors' in the picture. The living man is a descendant of the King's sister. She (Anne of York) is his ancestor. He is not Richard's ancestor. That would be a tad difficult.
Gee, a scoliosis warrior that looks like a broad, wanted to sell his kingdom for a horse and hated his nephews. PTSD for sure!
I think this is exciting for England.We have always heard a one sided account of him.Just like between the Dems and the REP. here in America.Much better headline than we areused to. lol
Was Genghis Khan related to his ancestors two hundred and fifty years earlier before His Late Majesty's time. In 13th century entire eastern Europe, Middle East, Near East and China were under Mongolians' control. It was the first time entire China was ruled by barbarians or non-Han Chinese, young Marco Polo came all the way from Venice to bow the Chinese Emperor whom actually was one of Genghis Khan's grandsons.
LOL! No one really knows what Richard looked like. What we see is an artist's representation of what he has been told, projecting backwards. This is not unlike the myriad of such projections on creatures of the past that, ever so often, are recalculated as we find new "information." Maybe he looked like that and maybe he didn't. Some people said he had "Asian" features. Those are most likely the reflection of the skill of the artist and his "artistic" interpretations. It's all a kind of a game. They don't really know what he looked like (and never will), but, they had to do something, right? All conjecture.
Except this does look a lot like contemorary portraits of Richard III. The reconstruction looks a great deal more lifelike than those representatial portraits.
What's important is at his death, Henry VII took over, & for the first time in 400 years England was ruled by an English king instead of a Norman Duke. Combine this split with France with the printing press, & Henry VIII's split with the Church & voila! You have the great vowell shift.
Have you ever noticed all those pre-Shakespeare poems that don't rhyme, or look like they should, but don't? Ever wonder about why our vowels each have 2 pronunciations? How about the unnecessary "gh" in words like "light" or "night"? Well, no red-blooded Anglo-Saxon was going to employ effeminate French pronunciations, or use Latin (Papist) spellings.
Sort of like "Freedom Fries", except this stuck.
Was this bust created by the same artist who painted Kate Middleton's Portrait?
He certainly looks Jewish, after his great,gggggggggggggt, grand father King David.
I find this absloutely amazing... i love historical stuff !!!!