Random Things You Didn't Know About Richard III, History's Most Reviled King (12 items)

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  (#1) He Probably Wasn't The Hunchback Most People Recall

  Richard III is typically remembered as a man with a withered arm whose inner crookedness was plainly marked by his deformed, hunched back. But we simply don't have the historical evidence to support that claim. In fact, the evidence suggests that he had no significant physical deformities to speak of. His bones, which were discovered in 2012, reveal that he may have suffered from scoliosis, with a mild bend of the spine. This would have simply made Richard short with uneven shoulders, not the monstrous hunchbacked bogeyman of popular history.
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  (#2) His Body Was Discovered In A Parking Lot After Being Lost For Centuries

  After he was hacked apart at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, Richard III's body disappeared. But then, in February 2013, archaeologists from the University of Leicester announced they had found Richard's remains – buried beneath a parking lot for the Leicester City Council, of all places. The parking lot had been the site of the Greyfriars Church at the time of Richard's death, so it made sense that his body would have been secretly buried there right after the battle, but it seems an incongruous place for a king's body to wind up, beloved or not.
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  (#3) Yes, The Blood Of His Nephews Might Be On His Hands

  Historians continue to debate one of the great mysteries of the 15th century: did Richard III murder his nephews? While Richard himself probably didn't stab the boys in their sleep, he may very well have had a hand in their deaths. 

  After seizing the throne from his 12-year-old nephew, Richard had a new problem: what to do with Edward and his nine-year-old brother, Richard, Duke of York? In 1483, Richard had the boys locked away in the Tower of London, ostensibly for their own protection. The two boys slowly disappeared from the record. Though no one knows for certain what happened to the "two princes in the Tower," many historians believe Richard got rid of them to secure power for himself.
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  (#4) He Was Infested With Worms Before He Died

  After his remains were discovered under a parking lot in late 2012, researchers went to work to scientifically learn more about Richard III. One test revealed that he was literally crawling with worms. After taking soil samples from the region near his abdomen, researchers determined that the illustrious king of England had been afflicted with roundworms. His case of parasites was not abnormal – hygiene in the late middle ages was poor for commoners and royals alike.
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  (#5) He Was Brutally Killed By Troops Who Turned On Him

  When Henry Tudor (the future Henry VII) landed in England with a claim to the throne and fewer troops than Richard III, the king was confident he would finally crush the Tudor upstart and secure his throne. But the tide was turning against him. Though the Stanley family had been loyal supporters of Richard and his claim, they suddenly switched sides just before the Battle of Bosworth Field on August 22, 1485. When the battle was going well for the king, the Stanleys led a charge and killed him. Richard's death was brutal: no less than 11 blows brought him down.
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  (#6) He Was The Last English King To Be Killed In Battle

  Richard III is distinguished for being two significant "lasts" in the history of the English monarchy. For one, he was the last Plantagenet king, a royal dynasty that had been ruling England since the 12th century. But even if the Plantagenet dynasty died with Richard, he has another distinction that at least adds a little honor to his character: when he was struck down at Bosworth Field, he was the very last English king to be killed in battle.
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  (#7) He Was Accused Of Poisoning His Wife And Plotting To Marry His Own Niece

  Richard III's wife Anne Neville died in March 1485. Though historians are still divided on what caused her death, tuberculosis was probably the culprit. Almost immediately after her death, however, rumors started to swirl that Richard had not only poisoned his wife, but that he had done so in order to marry his own niece, Elizabeth of York.

  True, marriage was on his mind. As king, Richard understandably believed he needed to remarry in order to produce a legitimate heir to succeed him – after all, he was 32 in an era when the average life expectancy was 35. But he actually intended to marry Princess Joana of Portugal, rather than his niece.
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  (#8) He Was Respected As A Good Lawmaker

  Richard III's reign was brief – he was King of England for only two years, from 1483-1485. Nonetheless, it showed promise. Though most of his reign was consumed with efforts to simply hold onto the throne that he had taken, it also revealed hints of a shrewd and able legal mind. Among his legal reforms were greater protections for poor people in the court. As one historians has argued, he was apparently interested in using the law to protect ordinary people.
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  (#9) He Had His Nephew Declared Illegitimate In Order To Take The Throne

  After the death of King Edward IV in 1483, Richard III's 12-year-old nephew became king with his younger brother as his heir. Richard soon locked both boys in the Tower of London, under the guise of protecting them and shielding them from people who wished to harm them. Richard even declared the boys – along with all of the children of his brother Edward IV and his wife Elizabeth Woodville – illegitimate. This allowed Richard to present himself as the logical, true heir to his brother, and he was legally proclaimed king later that year.
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  (#10) He Had Two Illegitimate Children, But Their Bloodlines Were Cut Short

  Though Richard III's only legitimate child – Edward, Prince of Wales – died in childhood, the English king had two other children. John of Gloucester and Katherine Plantagenet may have been illegitimate, but Richard reportedly cared and provided for them, and treated them like the family they were. Yet, despite these potential dynastic claims, Richard's line died with his children: Henry VII likely executed John since, illegitimate or not, John was the son of the defeated king, and Katherine died childless.
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  (#11) He Loved To Indulge In Foreign Wine And Lots Of Meat

  The 2012 discovery of his bones gave researchers the chance to piece together Richard III's life. Studies on his bones have even revealed clues about his eating habits. Consistent with the lifestyle of aristocrats and royals in this period, Richard ate a lot of meat and drank a whole lot of wine. This English king appears to have preferred foreign wines, rather than English ale.
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  (#12) Just Like Any Other Celebrity, He Has A Fan Club

  In the wake of Richard III's defeat, popular memory imagined him as a corrupt, evil ruler, but, in reality, many people believe that Richard has unfairly gotten a bad rap. In fact, a whole society exists to clear his name. Founded in 1924, the international Richard III Society indicates just how widespread Richard's popularity has become in recent decades.

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