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| Richard III dig: DNA confirms bones are king's | Richard III dig: DNA confirms bones are king's |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A skeleton found beneath a Leicester car park has been confirmed as that of English king Richard III. | A skeleton found beneath a Leicester car park has 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 the monarch's family. | Experts from the University of Leicester said DNA from the bones matched that of descendants of the monarch's family. |
| Lead archaeologist Richard Buckley, from the University of Leicester, told a press conference to applause: "Beyond reasonable doubt it's Richard." | Lead archaeologist Richard Buckley, from the University of Leicester, told a press conference to applause: "Beyond reasonable doubt it's Richard." |
| Richard, who died in 1485, will be reinterred in Leicester Cathedral. | |
| His skeleton had suffered 10 injuries, including eight to the skull. | His 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. | 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 was killed at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485. | |
| Speaking at the press conference at the University of Leicester, Dr Turi King, project geneticist, said there had been concern DNA in the bones would be too degraded: "The question was could we get a sample of DNA to work with, and I am extremely pleased to tell you that we could." | |
| She added: "There is a DNA match between the maternal DNA of the descendants of the family of Richard III and the skeletal remains we found at the Greyfriars dig. | |
| "In short, the DNA evidence points to these being the remains of Richard III." | |
| Richard was killed at Bosworth in 1485 after only two years on the throne. | |
| He was given a low-key burial beneath in the church of Greyfriars in the centre of Leicester. | |
| But when this building was demolished in the 16th Century the exact location became uncertain and was eventually forgotten. | |
| Despite this, a team of enthusiasts and historians traced the likely area - and, crucially, also found a 17th-generation descendant of Richard's sister with whose DNA they could compare any remains recovered. | |
| In August 2012, an excavation began in a city council car park - the only open space remaining in the likely area - which quickly identified buildings connected to the church. | |
| The bones were found in the first days of the dig. | |
| Details of the reburial ceremony have yet to be released. | Details of the reburial ceremony have yet to be released. |