What do you think the Brits will do if they find Richard III's remains?

Factual Questions
101

There are only a few (twenty or so, I think) haplogroups in Europe. But that’s much different then saying there’s only twenty or so distinguishable lineages. Haplogroups are just large groupings of lineages that are theoretically related, each haplogroup then contains many distinguishable matrilineal lines.

That said, I’m not sure what the actual numbers of lineages in Renissance England would be like, but googling one paper found 135 lineages in a sample of 447 modern day Icelanders. So I’d think Richard’s England would easily have many thousands of lineages (though the aristocracy might be more limited). The paper for Richard’s DNA analysis hasn’t been published yet, but I imagine it will include some less hand-wavy estimates when it does.

The match still is just supporting evidence, but they’re not just saying “both the body and Richard’s descendent belong to Halagroup H” which would have a pretty high probability of just happening by chance.

102

I do not really understand the attempt to claim York Minster as a final resting place for him.

I think there is some sort of belief that the ‘House of York’ emanated from Yorkshire, when in fact this was just a title.Holding titular awards is a very different thing to being a native of the area, heck Prince Charles is hardly Welsh or Cornish, even though he holds those titles.

It would be more accurate to portray Richard as being a Southerner and Henry as part of the Northern baronial alliance and the Wars of the Roses being a North vs South affair

103

During Edward’s reign, Richard was his deputy in the north, operating out of York. See the wiki article on Richard III:

He also led the English troops into battle against the Scots, winning back Berwick-upon-Tweed, a significant success and likely to endear him to northerners.

He also had his own son invested as Prince of Wales at York, rather than in London, and (at least according to the City of York Museums Trust) planned to be buried there himself:

And finally, the day after his death, this was the official report of the York Mayor’s Serjeant of the Mace:

That’s a pretty gutsy statement from a municipal official the day after a new King came to power, when treason was a capital offence. That strikes me as a contemporary indication that the townsfolk of York had a high regard for Richard.

104

Yes but, apart from the Northern Council, changes to the judiciary to ensure consistency, economic prosperity, fiscal responsibility, impartial justice, Scarborough Castle, standardisation of weights & measures, ensuring that law was read out in English and not in Latin to defendants, driving out the Scots,

What did he ever do for York?

105

Aquaducts.

106

That’s one of the claims that’s been doing the rounds that doesn’t quite stand up to scrutiny. There is absolutely no doubt that Richard III was closely associated with York. There is also no doubt that he planned to extend the Minster with a huge chantry chapel. But did he intend to be buried there? Quite possibly. But that’s just speculation. Granted, it is plausible, well-informed speculation which has in the past been put forward by some very reputable historians, but it needs to be treated as such, not as hard fact.

It also needs to be said that Richard seems to have had a thing about chantry chapels (did he fear for his immortal soul?) and so founded quite a few of them elsewhere, usually in other places with which he had particular associations.

107

Where are his wife and children buried?

108

His Queen Consort was buried in London, his only (legitimate) son in Yorkshire. In other words, a long way from each other. Both predeceased Richard.

ETA: There was also a bastard son who vanished some time after Richard’s death, and no doubt ended up in an unmarked grave somewhere.

109

So he said. His royal namesake–I can’t figure out the lineage–also proposed to trade his kingdom. God got mixed up and gave Richard III what Richard II asked for:

And my large kingdom for a little grave,
A little little grave, an obscure grave;
Or I’ll be buried in the king’s highway,
Some way of common trade, where subjects’ feet
May hourly trample on their sovereign’s head;
For on my heart they tread now whilst I live;
And buried once, why not upon my head?

Richard II, III:3

110

:smack: That was Richard the second, Act three. [/God]

111

Nm

112

First cousin, twice removed.

113

Yes, Richard II was twice removed, if you count the takeover of the Lords Appellant. (Richard III was once removed, but multiply stabbed.)

114

What, like this? Was painted in 1520; doubt the artist ever saw him living. For a more contemporary portrait, if you can call it that, see here.

115

But none too ceremoniously.

116

Except that the ‘more contemporary portrait’ is a not-very-good engraving from the 1860s, albeit derived from this, which is earlier than the Society of Antiquaries portrait.

117

The mitochondrial-DNA match, helping to confirm the identification, was something that had to be done this generation, or would never be possible again: Richard’s sister had the same mDNA as he did, and so did her daughter, and daughter’s daughter, etc. but the two descendants who were tested were males, the purely-female line having stopped with no further daughters.