Upon examining a skeleton dug up from beneath a London parking lot in 2012, researchers were pretty sure it was what remained of Richard the Third.
Now, they’re absolutely positive, as in 99.99 percent certain, that the bones found are in fact those of the medieval king.
Since the discovery, experts have been taking numerous routes to obtaining a positive ID. They included both historical and scientific methods, but it was the tracing of mitochondrial DNA that finally allowed them to declare the case closed.
The modern day genetic material was gathered from two distant descendants and a confirmation was made.
Researchers also attempted to confirm the paternal DNA, but instead of a finding a match, they stumbled upon a scandal. Richard himself had no known heirs, so the line had to be traced through the paternal descendants of a close male relative.
The results showed that the royal bloodline had most definitely been broken at some point in history, and the name of a person other than the actual father made it onto the birth certificate.
Juicy gossip aside, the researchers’ efforts have guaranteed a proper resting place for the former king, who will moved to Leicester Cathedral in March.
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