Richard III & The Greyfriars Project 5: Confirmation

The skeleton found at Greyfriars, just up the road from where I sit in Leicester, has been officially confirmed as that of Richard III today.  The news is already full of reports about Leicester University's news conference so I won't labour over the specific details here.  However, I did write quite a lot about the Greyfriars archaeological project and how it captured my imagination last year, so it's only appropriate to mark the occasion at least.

Photo:  University Of Leicester

I am genuinely engaged by the historical aspects of all this, in an admittedly dilettante kind of way.  However, of equal interest is how Richard's story, in both life and death, has become such an exemplar of political propaganda, artistic interpretation, news management and public relations.  Never can the 'story' element of the word 'History' have been so significant.

Photo:  University Of Leicester

A quick skim through just a couple of today's newspapers reveals how various disputes still swirl around Richard.  In addition to the old goodie/baddie issue are now added questions, including...

• The scientific validity of the DNA results announced; How this will all impact on the historical account of the late medieval period;

• The high profile, populist promotion of the project by Leicester University and Leicester City Council, (and what it reveals about their own funding and regeneration agendas); 

• The most appropriate site for the skeleton's eventual re-interment;The role of the highly partisan Richard III Society and any resulting compromise of historical objectivity;

• The involvement of the media generally and how events may have been tailored to suit television and maximise news impact;

• The conflict between Academic rigour and populist amateurism;

• The advisability, (and affordability) of Leicester City Council's, (or possibly, Mayor Soulsby's), plans for a Richard III visitor centre.

Photo:  University Of Leicester

Anyway, it's all be very interesting on a numerous levels.  One point that particularly intrigues me is the confirmation that the human remains were actually discovered very early in the dig.  Having visited the site on a subsequent public open day and heard from site supervisor Matthew Morris that chances of finding Richard were pretty slim.  I must conclude that events certainly have been VERY carefully stage-managed and that Mr. Morris is a convincing actor as well as an accomplished archaeologist.