Uploaded January 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
What happened to RICHARD III’S CORPSE? How did the last Plantagenet King die, how was the body of Richard III lost for over 500 years, how was he rediscovered and what controversies have sprung up in the years since his skeleton was located in Leicester, earning him the moniker, the King in the carpark? In this week’s video from History Calling we go back to the medieval sources to learn all about the gruesome death of Richard III; the way in which his body was mistreated by being put on display, naked; its eventual burial in the Grey Friars; how his grave became lost to history and the myths which then sprang up about his final resting place including that his body had been thrown in the River Soar and that his coffin was being used as a drinking trough for horses. We’ll then move forwards to the 21st century and look at how he was dramatically rediscovered in 2012 by a team which included historians, Philippa Langley of the Richard III Society and archaeologists from the University of Leicester. I’ll summarise what his skeleton told us about the man himself, including the confirmation it provided about his cause of death and his curved spine (scoliosis). The video will finish by looking at the controversies which the skeleton caused, including fights over where to rebury him, the second funeral of Richard III, who should get credit for finding him and how those involved in the rediscovery were portrayed in the 2022 film, The Lost King, about those events starring Steve Coogan and Sally Hawkins.
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:
THE WARS OF THE ROSES PLAYLIST youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0EVv2DJZOZT5ZyQwSJ4o7oZ
WHAT HAPPENED TO EDWARD V AND RICHARD DUKE OF YORK?
youtu.be/WQ6FIe4dLTo
CAN DNA IDENTIFY PRINCES IN THE TOWER?
youtu.be/awBM-t-cFQo
DIGGING UP ANNE BOLEYN AND OTHERS
youtu.be/EjCxVN7V6FA
GEAR USED
Apple MacBook Pro Laptop (for video editing): amzn.to/3S6IoRK
DJI Drone: amzn.to/39hROZm
Go-Pro Hero 10 camera: amzn.to/3rTWScL
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/3vaVxjU
Memory Card: amzn.to/3KeLZZs
Microphone: amzn.to/3rYtjH8
LEARN MORE:
Want to watch/hear/read more about history (and a whole host of other topics)? Then you might benefit from a free Prime video or Audible trial. They are available from the following links:
PRIME VIDEO
amzn.to/3LW7ykg
AUDIBLE
amzn.to/44MvlMi
AUDIBLE PLUS & AUDIBLE PREMIUM PLUS
amzn.to/42rh3PF
WATCH MORE
The King in the Carpark (2013). Documentary about the discovery of Richard III’s skeleton in 2012. amzn.to/3C0loMF
The Lost King (2022). Partially fictionalised film about the discover of Richard III’s remains available at amzn.to/3uk7lT3
Britain’s Bloody Crown Presented by Dan Jones (2016) [Documentary covering the Wars of the Roses. Historically accurate] amzn.to/2TPep8i (US LINK)
The White Queen (2013). amzn.to/3dm7kBL (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/2VcbQO5 (US LINK)
Richard III begins his final journey - University of Leicester
youtube.com/watch?v=TGCCQMXB1-E
READ MORE:
Philip Schwyzer, Shakespeare and the Remains of Richard III (Oxford, 2015).
amzn.to/3QFof5R
David Baldwin, ‘King Richard’s Grave in Leicester’ in Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, vol. 60 (Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, 1986). pp. 21–4.
archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/library/browse/details.xhtml?recordId=3252524&recordType=Journal
Richard Buckley, Mathew Morris, Jo Appleby, Turi King, Deirdre O'Sullivan and Lin Foxhall, “‘The king in the car park’: new light on the death and burial of Richard III in the Grey Friars church, Leicester, in 1485” in Antiquity, 87 (2013), pp. 519–538. cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/king-in-the-car-park-new-light-on-the-death-and-burial-of-richard-iii-in-the-grey-friars-church-leicester-in-1485/EB678293FE20EF21D246D149766A95F4
Setting the record straight – University of Leicester’s statement regarding the film The Lost King.
le.ac.uk/richard-iii/record#:~:text=The%20University%20made%20an%20offer,discovered%20and%20identified%20Richard%20III.
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
Open Street Map copyright information
openstreetmap.org/copyright
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
What happened to RICHARD III’S CORPSE? How did the last Plantagenet King die, how was the body of Richard III lost for over 500 years, how was he rediscovered and what controversies have sprung up in the years since his skeleton was located in Leicester, earning him the moniker, the King in the carpark? In this week’s video from History Calling we go back to the medieval sources to learn all about the gruesome death of Richard III; the way in which his body was mistreated by being put on display, naked; its eventual burial in the Grey Friars; how his grave became lost to history and the myths which then sprang up about his final resting place including that his body had been thrown in the River Soar and that his coffin was being used as a drinking trough for horses. We’ll then move forwards to the 21st century and look at how he was dramatically rediscovered in 2012 by a team which included historians, Philippa Langley of the Richard III Society and archaeologists from the University of Leicester. I’ll summarise what his skeleton told us about the man himself, including the confirmation it provided about his cause of death and his curved spine (scoliosis). The video will finish by looking at the controversies which the skeleton caused, including fights over where to rebury him, the second funeral of Richard III, who should get credit for finding him and how those involved in the rediscovery were portrayed in the 2022 film, The Lost King, about those events starring Steve Coogan and Sally Hawkins.
BUY MY BOOK (Find Your Irish Ancestors Online): amzn.to/3Z2ChnG
Website (with 2 FREE DOWNLOADS): historycallingofficial.com
Patreon: patreon.com/historycalling
Amazon storefront: amazon.com/shop/historycalling
Instagram: instagram.com/historycalling
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:
THE WARS OF THE ROSES PLAYLIST youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLSjVq5Qtb0EVv2DJZOZT5ZyQwSJ4o7oZ
WHAT HAPPENED TO EDWARD V AND RICHARD DUKE OF YORK?
youtu.be/WQ6FIe4dLTo
CAN DNA IDENTIFY PRINCES IN THE TOWER?
youtu.be/awBM-t-cFQo
DIGGING UP ANNE BOLEYN AND OTHERS
youtu.be/EjCxVN7V6FA
GEAR USED
Apple MacBook Pro Laptop (for video editing): amzn.to/3S6IoRK
DJI Drone: amzn.to/39hROZm
Go-Pro Hero 10 camera: amzn.to/3rTWScL
GoPro 3-Way 2.0 (Tripod/Grip/Arm): amzn.to/3vaVxjU
Memory Card: amzn.to/3KeLZZs
Microphone: amzn.to/3rYtjH8
LEARN MORE:
Want to watch/hear/read more about history (and a whole host of other topics)? Then you might benefit from a free Prime video or Audible trial. They are available from the following links:
PRIME VIDEO
amzn.to/3LW7ykg
AUDIBLE
amzn.to/44MvlMi
AUDIBLE PLUS & AUDIBLE PREMIUM PLUS
amzn.to/42rh3PF
WATCH MORE
The King in the Carpark (2013). Documentary about the discovery of Richard III’s skeleton in 2012. amzn.to/3C0loMF
The Lost King (2022). Partially fictionalised film about the discover of Richard III’s remains available at amzn.to/3uk7lT3
Britain’s Bloody Crown Presented by Dan Jones (2016) [Documentary covering the Wars of the Roses. Historically accurate] amzn.to/2TPep8i (US LINK)
The White Queen (2013). amzn.to/3dm7kBL (UK LINK) OR amzn.to/2VcbQO5 (US LINK)
Richard III begins his final journey - University of Leicester
youtube.com/watch?v=TGCCQMXB1-E
READ MORE:
Philip Schwyzer, Shakespeare and the Remains of Richard III (Oxford, 2015).
amzn.to/3QFof5R
David Baldwin, ‘King Richard’s Grave in Leicester’ in Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, vol. 60 (Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, 1986). pp. 21–4.
archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/library/browse/details.xhtml?recordId=3252524&recordType=Journal
Richard Buckley, Mathew Morris, Jo Appleby, Turi King, Deirdre O'Sullivan and Lin Foxhall, “‘The king in the car park’: new light on the death and burial of Richard III in the Grey Friars church, Leicester, in 1485” in Antiquity, 87 (2013), pp. 519–538. cambridge.org/core/journals/antiquity/article/king-in-the-car-park-new-light-on-the-death-and-burial-of-richard-iii-in-the-grey-friars-church-leicester-in-1485/EB678293FE20EF21D246D149766A95F4
Setting the record straight – University of Leicester’s statement regarding the film The Lost King.
le.ac.uk/richard-iii/record#:~:text=The%20University%20made%20an%20offer,discovered%20and%20identified%20Richard%20III.
Creative Commons licenses used see creativecommons.org/licenses
Open Street Map copyright information
openstreetmap.org/copyright
NB: Links above may be affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase through one of these links, I earn a small commission. It in no way affects the price you pay.
