The Last Days of Richard III and the Fate of His DNA : The Book That Inspired the Dig

A fully revised and expanded edition includes the discoveries of the Leicester dig, Richard III's burial location, and the DNA results of the skeleton found A uniquely detailed exploration of Richard's last 150 days details these events from the standpoint of Richard himself and his contemporaries. By deliberately avoiding the hindsight knowledge that he will lose the Battle of Bosworth Field, this book presents a new Richard—no passive victim, awaiting defeat and death, but a king actively pursuing his own policies and agenda. It also reexamines the aftermath of Bosworth—the treatment of Richard's body, his burial, and the construction of his tomb. Based on newly discovered evidence and wider insights, it explores the motives underlying these events. And there is the fascinating story of why and how Richard III's DNA was rediscovered, alive and well, and living in Canada. Now, with the discovery of a skeleton at Greyfriars Priory in Leicester, England, John Ashdown-Hill details how his book inspired the dig and completes this fascinating story. Using the knowledge of Richard III’s living relative, he is also able to analyze the DNA results of the skeleton and, perhaps finally, put the absorbing mystery of the lost king to rest. A fully revised and expanded edition includes the discoveries of the Leicester dig, Richard III's burial location, and the DNA results of the skeleton found A uniquely detailed exploration of Richard's last 150 days details these events from the standpoint of Richard himself and his contemporaries. By deliberately avoiding the hindsight knowledge that he will lose the Battle of Bosworth Field, this book presents a new Richard—no passive victim, awaiting defeat and death, but a king actively pursuing his own policies and agenda. It also reexamines the aftermath of Bosworth—the treatment of Richard's body, his burial, and the construction of his tomb. Based on newly discovered evidence and wider insights, it explores the motives underlying these events. And there is the fascinating story of why and how Richard III's DNA was rediscovered, alive and well, and living in Canada. Now, with the discovery of a skeleton at Greyfriars Priory in Leicester, England, John Ashdown-Hill details how his book inspired the dig and completes this fascinating story. Using the knowledge of Richard III’s living relative, he is also able to analyze the DNA results of the skeleton and, perhaps finally, put the absorbing mystery of the lost king to rest. The Last Days of Richard III contains a new and uniquely detailed exploration of Richard's last 150 days. By deliberately avoiding the hindsight knowledge that he will lose the Battle of Bosworth Field, we discover a new Richard: no passive victim, awaiting defeat and death, but a king actively pursuing his own agenda. It also re-examines the aftermath of Bosworth: the treatment of Richard's body; his burial; and the construction of his tomb. And there is the fascinating story of why, and how, Richard III's family tree was traced until a relative was found, alive and well, in Canada. Now, with the discovery of Richard's skeleton at the Greyfrairs Priory in Leicester, England, John Ashdown-Hill explains how his book inspired the dig and completes Richard III's fascinating story, giving details of how Richard died, and how the DNA link to a living relative of the king allowed the royal body to be identified. This title contains a new and uniquely detailed exploration of Richard III's last 150 days. By deliberately avoiding the hindsight knowledge that he will lose the Battle of Bosworth Field, we discover a new Richard: no passive victim, awaiting defeat and death, but a king actively pursuing his own agenda. It also re-examines the aftermath of Bosworth: the treatment of Richard's body; his burial; and the construction of his tomb. And there is the fascinating story of why, and how, Richard III's family tree was traced until a relative was found, alive and well, in Canada. Now, with the discovery of Richard's skeleton at the Greyfrairs Priory in Leicester, England, John Ashdown-Hill explains how his book inspired the dig and completes Richard III's fascinating story, giving details of how Richard died, and how the DNA link to a living relative of the king allowed the royal body to be identified A detailed exploration of Richard III's last 150 days. Ashdown-Hill shows Richard as no passive victim, awaiting defeat, but a king actively pursuing his own agenda. The text has been updated with details of the discovery of Richard's skeleton, detail of how he died, and how the DNA link to a living relative of the king allowed the royal body to be identified. Presents details about what Richard III did in his last five months, describing him not as a passive victim but as a leader actively pursuing his own policies, with further information on what happened to his body, and how his DNA was found in Canada