Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485)

[Alison H]

I would love to see a TV mini-series on the Plantagenets. Their goings-on - widowed queens marrying their wardrobe masters, royal dukes being drowned in butts of malmsey wine, alleged bigamy, etc etc - makes even the most outlandish soap opera storyline look mild, LOL. Seriously, it'd be great to see a focus on the Middle Ages for once: there's so much emphasis on the period from the Reformation to the Glorious Revolution that what went before just seems to be overlooked.

I still think Richard had the Princes in the Tower murdered, but sadly we'll probably never know the truth of that!

The best way of matching up DNA is through a descendant via a female line only, because mitochondrial DNA is inherited from the mother, so e.g. the Tsarina Alexandra and her children could be IDd by a match with Prince Philip, as his mother's mother was Alexandra's sister, but it wouldn't have worked if his mother's father had been Alexandra's brother, if you see what I mean! It's amazing that they managed to find a female-line-only descendant across over 500 years, but I think it'd be a big struggle to find a female-line-only descendant from Alfred the Great's mother or sister.

The Duke of Gloucester is president of the Richard III Society. He's also Richard, Duke of Gloucester!

[An Ard Ri]

The White Queen to become a ten part BBC ONE drama series

Richard III will feature in this series which will air in May 2013 on the BBC.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/lat...ite-queen.html

The White Queen to become a ten part BBC ONE drama series | Philippa Gregory Official Website

[Baroness of Books]

That's fantastic - I love her "Cousins' War" series!

[An Ard Ri]

Originally Posted by Baroness of Books

That's fantastic - I love her "Cousins' War" series!

Yes its is and I'm very much looking forward to seeing this series!

[Alison H]

Oh good! There've been so many TV dramas about the Tudors, Queen Victoria and to a lesser extent the Stuarts, but the Plantagenets get totally overlooked. So long as they explain that it's a novel and that her ideas about Perkin Warbeck aren't "real"!

[Baroness of Books]

Originally Posted by Baroness of Books

Who knows, maybe there will be "The Plantagenets" as the next royal mini-series; that would be phenomenal. Hollywood/BBC, are you listening?

Well, I guess the BBC knows a good suggestion when it sees it!

[Iluvbertie]

I don't think 'The Plantagenets' could be a 'mini-series' and do them justice. A 'maxi-series' maybe when you list the Kings they have to deal with:

Henry II
Richard I
John
Henry III
Edward I
Edward II
Edward III
Richard II
Henry IV
Henry V
Henry VI
Edward VI
Edward V
Richard III

and Edward The Black Prince in there as well.

They are the longest ruling family in English history afterall and cover most of the high middle ages.

[Baroness of Books]

I guess we'd be in for a world of treat, albeit a lengthy one, if they did a series on the entire dynasty. For now, I'm happy with this one dealing with this particular segment of the family. I'd love to see one on Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, what a feast! "The Lion in Winter" set the standard for me with this ruler and his recalcitrant wife! I know the author Jean Plaidy wrote a series on the Plantagenets; I don't know if the books are still in print.

[Pranter]

You could do a whole series on Henry and Elenore (based on Sharon K. Penman's books about them).


LaRae

[Baroness of Books]

^^^Absolutely, she wrote a phenomenal series on them.

[Pranter]

I've read almost everything she's written. I cannot wait until her next book on Richard (Lionheart) comes out...I think later this year!


LaRae

[Baroness of Books]

I hope "A King's Ransom" comes out this year; I can't find a publishing date for it. It'll be sad to see the saga of this branch of the Plantagenet family come to an end with this novel.

[Pranter]

I don't think there's a date for it either, I need to go check on her FB page (she does post there). As I understand it King's Ransom is the final book.


LaRae

[LauraS3514]

Here's what I posted on a couple of Facebook pages I follow - so I guess I'm plagarizing myself LOL:

Here's a bit of the story of the bones that were found in the Tower of London in 1674: Planned construction work on the White Tower meant that a stone staircase from the late - 13th early 14th-century (two hundred years or so before RIII in 1483-85) needed to be removed. After it was removed, they dug down another 10 feet to set some new foundations and that was when a box of bones was reportedly found. They were thrown on a trash heap and forgotten for several weeks until someone remembered Thomas More (who was five years old in 1485 BTW) saying that the Princes had been secretly buried under a staircase (of course More went on to say they were moved elsewhere later but no one remembered that part) and added two and two together and came up with five. The trash heap was torn apart and bones were found and interred as the Princes in a very moving urn in Westminster Abbey. Just how they could have been "secretly buried" in one night in a very busy place under a stone staircase that had been undisturbed for 200 years that took days of back-breaking labor to demolish defies explanation. The "scientific" study in 1933 of the bones followed More's account (which Shakespeare used as the basis for his play) almost to the letter - they "knew" beforehand what they were going to "find". Modern anatomists have looked at the poor-quality photographs of the bones available and not only could they not tell if they were male or female or how old they were at death several have expressed doubts that they are even all human.

It has been announced (and I'm paraphrasing here) that there will be no further study of those bones for two reasons: 1) if they are the princes there would be no way to definitively determine when they died or by whose hand so why disturb them? and 2) if they are not the princes, what would they do with them?

[Baroness of Books]

I read a very interesting book awhile ago by Vanora Bennett, "Portrait of an Unknown Woman," an historical fiction that floats the possibility of the younger Prince Richard's survival from the Tower and his identity as John Clement living as a member of Thomas More's household. It mentions the very famous portrait of the More family painted by Hans Holstein and the subtle clues found in that portrait possibly revealing his true identity.

Here's another recommendation for a book about the lost princes:

Richard III Society of NSW » The Lost Prince

[corazon]

finally find the body! he will be buried in windsor or westminster?

[Lumutqueen]

Originally Posted by corazon

finally find the body! he will be buried in windsor or westminster?

He will either be buried in Leicester or York, most likely Leicester.

[Artemisia]

Leicester it is.


Leicester Now Virtually Certain to be Richard III’s Final Resting Place

The question on Richard III’s final resting place seems to have been resolved after York withdrew its candidacy, leaving Leicester as the only serious contender for the honour.

Although Leicester had always been the frontrunner, support for York has been steadily growing. Over 11,000 people had signed a petition to bring King Richard’s remains to York. After all, Richard III was a representative of the House of York (the branch of the House of Plantagenet) and he was extremely popular there. When news of his death reached York, the city elders recorded how the King who had “mercifully” reigned over them was “piteously slain and murdered to the great heaviness of the city”.

[Lumutqueen]

Originally Posted by Artemisia

Leicester it is.

Some people up here aren't too happy with the withdrawal and will continue to petition for Richard's burial in York. It's a regular feature on Look North.

[Artemisia]

I hope you succeed.

I have nothing against Leicester but it's hardly a suitable place for the King's reburial. For the past 500 years, he lay there, humiliated and forgotten. Now, there is a chance to give Richard a proper farewell, at a place that has a better association. Some place like York where was genuinely loved and the place he himself cared for deeply.