# Richard III: Died for the want of a horse, found under a car park **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 4, 2013, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-iii-died-for-the-want-of-a-horse-found-under-a-car-park/649299 "2013-02-04T13:04:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2014, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-iii-died-for-the-want-of-a-horse-found-under-a-car-park/649299/141 "2014-09-20T21:03:22Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Perhaps his guys buried him secretly rather than have the other side parade about with his head on a pike. Hmmm … so it _wasn’t_ about royal immunity from parking tickets! Ignorance fought. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2014, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-iii-died-for-the-want-of-a-horse-found-under-a-car-park/649299/142 "2014-09-21T00:16:47Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Hmmm … so it _wasn’t_ about royal immunity from parking tickets! Ignorance fought. Perhaps I confused _Richard III_ with\* MacBeth\*. You know, when Romeo and Iuiet are cast away on a desert island, and find Othello and a magician. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2014, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-iii-died-for-the-want-of-a-horse-found-under-a-car-park/649299/143 "2014-12-03T18:10:09Z")
An older article with some interesting stuff, including graphics, about the skeleton and indications of wounds: [Richard III facial reconstruction reveals slain king more than 500 years after his death | Daily Mail Online](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2273703/Richard-III-facial-reconstruction-reveals-slain-king-500-years-death.html) The latest DNA evidence - it’s definitely Richard III: [http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2014/12/02/dna-evidence-proves-that-king-richard-iiis-remains-really-did-end-up-in-a-parking-lot/](http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2014/12/02/dna-evidence-proves-that-king-richard-iiis-remains-really-did-end-up-in-a-parking-lot/) ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2023, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-iii-died-for-the-want-of-a-horse-found-under-a-car-park/649299/144 "2023-03-25T22:44:54Z")
> [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](#): > > So it seems a member of the Richard III Society, called Philippa Langley, uncovered some research that that pointed toward Richard’s grave being in this council run car park. When she visited it she saw a big R painted on the tarmac and felt a distinctly odd feeling when she stood on that spot. They tried to get funding to dig but no-one would give it to them. She appealed to her fellow society members and the money rolled in. So far it seems the woman was nuts. With the help of the local University the dig began - and she was astonished to see the first cut into the ground was where the R was. What turned out to be King Richard III was the first thing they found in the first trench on the first day. The documentary has her saying “I think it’s him”, with the archeologists saying they thought she was insane. > > Phillipa and the rest of her society, have always claimed that Richard was definitely NOT a hunchback and that finding hos body would prove that all the negative history about the King was Tudor propoganda. So it was fantastic moment when the scientist digging out the skeleton beckoned Phillipa over and told her in so many words: ‘this skeleton belonged to a man with a severe spinal deformity’. When the bones were finally excavated and carried to the university, Phillipa put a royal flag on the box. Total crackpot - very emotional throughout the whole process. Only thing is, she was the person who found the body… Reviving this thread to say that I just came back from watching [The Lost King,](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13421498/) which opened in theaters in the U.S. yesterday. The movie focuses more on Phillipa Langley (played by Sally Hawkins) than on Richard III, and it portrays her in terms very similar to the description I quoted above. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and found it quite moving. It has a little bit of a fantasy element, but that seemed fitting for a story as strange and wonderful as this one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/richard-iii-died-for-the-want-of-a-horse-found-under-a-car-park/649299.md?page=7)