This is Leicestershire --The latest astonishing twist in the extraordinary story of the search for Richard III can exclusively be revealed by the Leicester Mercury today.
The spot where a skeleton was found in August was next to a car parking space marked with an "R".
The letter was noticed by academics at the University of Leicester at the start of the dig - and it was coincidentally captured in a photograph of Greyfriars car park taken by the Leicester Mercury before the excavation began.
The picture, shown above, reveals a faded "R".
We have marked the spot, just a few feet away, where archaeologists discovered human remains which could turn out to be those of the king.
An eagerly-awaited press conference on Monday morning will reveal the results of tests which have been carried out on the remains by university experts.
These include comparing DNA extracted from the bones with that of descendants of Richard.
Archaeologists, geneticists, genealogists and historians will present their evidence to the world's media before the project's lead archaeologist, Richard Buckley, announces the final verdict.
Nobody knows exactly why the letter had been painted in this spot. It is thought it might have been to indicate a reserved parking space.
Mr Buckley said the team had never taken the mysterious sign seriously, but admitted it was "spooky".
"I used various sources, such as old maps and accounts from historical authors to draw up the trenches," he said.
"I admit, when we started the dig, I was sceptical – I didn't think we had much chance of finding him.
"I was more interested in finding the friary where he was supposed to have been buried.
"Philippa Langley, from the Richard III Society, was present when we were deciding where to dig, and kept telling us that R marked the spot.
"We had a joke about it, but we never for one moment thought anything would be buried underneath it.
"This is a serious academic project and the implications – if it turns out to be Richard III – are huge.
"But I think the mysterious R is quite nice and gives the whole thing a bit of levity, which we could probably do with every now and then."
The car park is owned by Leicester City Council.
The Mercury asked the council if it knew why the letter had been painted on the Tarmac, but staff at the council were as perplexed about it as the University of Leicester dig team.
Mick Bowers, principal property review officer at the council, said: "I was based at Greyfriars for many years and remember the R being there for most of them.
"It was something of a standing joke before the dig started that R obviously marked the spot as it seemed a strange thing to spray on a car park.
"The best we can come up with is that maybe it signified a reserved parking spot for someone based at St Martin's.
"But that doesn't quite ring true, because it wasn't painted in a parking bay, it was more towards the centre of the car park.
"I've asked other people who have been around for a while, including the car park attendants, to see if they can shed any light on it but unfortunately not."
Archaeologist and Greyfriars site manager Mathew Morris, who found the skeleton, said: "We don't know how the R got there and, to be honest, I missed it at first.
"It's only when someone came to us with the photo and said 'have you seen this?' that I thought 'wow, that's a bit weird'."
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*LIVE COVERAGE AS THE FINAL VERDICT IS ANNOUNCED AT 1-AM ON MONDAY* Follow the all-important press conference as it happens, with live reports and pictures,on This Is Leicestershire. Follow us and join in the debate on Twitter via @thisisleics using #richardIII Reporters Pete Warzynski and Laura Elvin will be tweeting live from the press conference. Follow them at @BigDaddyPete and @egoelvin Reported by This is 22 hours ago.
The human remains uncovered last September in what is now the car park of Leicester City Council’s social services department are expected to be confirmed as those of Richard III.
Reported by MailOnline 6 hours ago.
This is Leicestershire -- Researchers from the University of Leicester revealed today that the skeleton found beneath a Leicester car park was that of Richard III. Our reporters - along with hundreds from around the world - were there when the news was revealed - these video clips show the moment the DNA results were announced. And Leicester mayor Sir Peter Soulsby is shown thanking the Richard III Society and confirming that the King's body will go to Leicester Cathedral.
This is Derbyshire -- A skeleton found beneath a car park in Leicester has this morning been confirmed as that of English king Richard III. Experts from the University of Leicester said DNA from the bones matched that of descendants of his family. The University of Leicester has been excavating the car park for months and among those involved in the excavation was Wilsthorpe Community School teacher Martyn Henson. He helped out with the dig this summer and has been in close contact with the dig team. Richard's body was brought to Leicester after his death in battle in 1485 but the grave's location was lost. A University of Leicester team started digging in a city car park after research pinpointed the area of the old Greyfriars Church, the recorded final resting place of the lost king. Many extraordinary finds have been uncovered including the church, adjoining friary buildings and cloister. The skeleton had suffered 10 injuries, including eight to the skull. The bones, which are of a man in his late 20s or early 30s, have been carbon dated to a period from 1455-1540. Richard was 32 when he died at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.
Reported by This is 11 hours ago.
Dr Turi King of the University of Leicester said that there was a DNA match between the maternal line of a descendant of the family of Richard III and the remains found beneath Grey Friars car park.
Reported by MailOnline 12 hours ago.
This is Leicestershire -- A skeleton found beneath a Leicester car park has been confirmed as that of King Richard III. The findings, announced this morning at the University of Leicester, have been met with jubilation from researchers and history fans alike. But what have researchers found and how did they come to discover the King's remains? Find out with our Q&A guide: * The basics * Last year researchers from the University of Leicester dug up a city centre car park hoping to discover the 500-year-old bones of King Richard III. The team set to work on Greyfriars car park, New Street - the site of a city church where it was thought the king was buried - in August, after extensive research by the University and the Richard III Society led archaeologists to believe it is where the church once stood. * Who was Richard III? * Richard only ruled for two years – from 1483 to 1485 – but he "stands out among his peers as one of the most famous (or infamous) Kings of England", the University of Leicester website says. There is a long-standing popular belief Richard had his nephews murdered in order to remove any competing claim to the throne. This has been widely debated for many years, with passionate arguments made both for and against Richard. Many myths and legends surround Richard III. The University website says: "Tudor writers and artists had no qualms about depicting Richard III as an evil tyrant and child-murderer, as well as a crippled hunchback. "Shakespeare's eponymous play, written 106 years after Richard's death, cemented the King's bad reputation (and appearance) among the general public for centuries, although scholars including Francis Bacon and Horace Walpole sought to re-evaluate his reign." Richard was killed in battle in 1485 during the Wars of the Roses - an event which ended the bloody civil war. He died at Bosworth, and was the last English king to be killed in battle. * What did the team find? * The team found a skeleton with a badly curved spine and head injuries consistent with recorded details of Richard's death in 1485. In September 2012 the University confirmed there was "strong evidence" the skeleton was the lost king. The remains have been subjected to a series of tests, including DNA, carbon dating and environmental analysis, in an effort to confirm the identification. The results of these tests were revealed at a press conference this morning: DNA from the bones matched that of descendants of the monarch's family, and the skeleton had suffered 10 injuries, including eight to the skull. All occurred at or shortly after the time of death, and none could have been caused by damage during excavation. The bones, which are of a man in his late 20s or early 30s, have been carbon dated to a period from 1455-1540. Richard was 32 when he died. The team also said the torso was twisted and the head propped upright, higher than the rest of the skeleton. The wrists were crossed over, suggesting his hands might have been tied when he was buried. * How did the team come to dig up the car park? * It was already known the King's body was hauled from the battlefield and displayed in Leicester to show the public he was actually dead. Historian Dr John Ashdown-Hill uncovered an account in the financial records of Henry VII where he set aside money to pay for an alabaster tomb for Richard. This said the tomb should be built over his grave, in the Choir of Greyfriars church. But his quest to find the King's eventual burial site was complicated by the fact Greyfriars was demolished during the religious reforms of Henry VIII. The author of The Last Days of Richard III traced a descendant of the King and managed to a obtain DNA sample. This, coupled with detailed map analysis, led Dr Ashdown-Hill and Philippa Langley, from the Richard III Society, on their quest. The duo approached archaeologists at the University of Leicester, headed by Richard Buckley, and agreed to work together to find the King's eventual burial site. * What will happen to the remains? * The King's body will go to Leicester Cathedral, the University this morning confirmed. Details of the reburial ceremony have yet to be released. * What is the significance of the findings? * The Richard III Society says this is the biggest news to hit Ricardian studies for 500 years. It answers questions about what happened to the King's body and gives archaeologists a chance to give him a respectful burial. It also enables researchers to show the wider public what Richard was really like and "remind them Shakespeare's play was fiction", Dr Phil Stone, chair of the Richard III Society, said ahead of today's announcement. * To find out more about Richard III and the discovery of his remains, visit the University of Leicester's Richard III website *.
This is Leicestershire -- The skeleton found beneath a Leicester car park has been confirmed as that of Richard III. More than 140 journalists, film crew and photographers from around the world packed out the Council Chamber at the University of Leicester today to hear the monumental news. The honour of announcing the find to the world fell to lead archaeologist Richard Buckley. He said: "It has been a privilege for all of us to be at the centre of an academic project that has had such phenomenal global interest and mass public appeal. "Rarely have the conclusions of academic research been so eagerly awaited. "Ladies and Gentlemen. It is the academic conclusion of the University of Leicester that the individual exhumed at Grey Friars, Leicester, in August 2012, is indeed Richard III, the last Plantagenet King of England." Reporters representing some of the biggest news organisations in the world, including the New York Times, CNN and Al Jazeera, listened as members of the project team described the collection of evidence which had cemented their conclusion and finally identified the Greyfriars remains as those of the 15th century Plantagenet king. The press pack was told how evidence from the dig was used in conjunction with DNA, genealogy, carbon dating and other scientific methods to confirm the identity of Richard III beyond any doubt. News of a second anonymous descendant was also revealed, as were theories about how the king died and how he was buried. Osteoarchaeologist Dr Jo Appleby explained a series of "humiliation injuries" suffered by Richard III after his death. They included a dagger mark on his ribcage and a sword wound on the inside of the pelvis from a violent injury to his right buttock. She said: "This injury was caused by a thrust through the right buttock, not far from the midline of the body. "These two wounds are also likely to have been inflicted after armour had been removed from the body. This leads us to speculate that they may also represent post-mortem humiliation injuries inflicted on this individual after death." Historical accounts report that Richard's body was stripped bare, thrown over the back of a horse and led back to Leicester to have his body displayed in public following his defeat at Bosworth Field. Academics believed that the "humiliation injuries" might have happened at this time. Dr Appleby, who exhumed the remains, from the buried Franciscan friary in New Street, in September, also revealed that the skeleton had feminine features, but no evidence of a withered arm - a characteristic made famous by William Shakespeare in his play about the medieval monarch. She said: "The analysis of the skeleton proved that it was an adult male, but with an unusually slender, almost feminine, build for a man. This is in keeping with historical sources which describe Richard as being of very slender build. "There is, however, no indication that he had a withered arm; both arms were of a similar size and both were used normally during life." Journalists were then allowed to see the remains of Richard III before interviewing members of the project team and Richard's distant descendant, Michael Ibsen, a Canadian-born furniture maker living in London.
This is Leicestershire --