Richard III of England

Given the character of his mother, I think we may forgive Richard III on this one. The possible illegitimacy of his elder brother Edward IV was widely discussed at the time. Both Richard Duke of York and Cecily Neville were diminutive stature. Even more remarkable then that Edward IV was 6'4" tall and built like an ox. The rest of the children followed in the footsteps of their 'natural' parents. Geez, it must have been very trying for George Duke of Clarence and Richard III with this set-up.


 
It's official: the human remains found under a parking lot in Leicester, England, belong to Richard III. That's the word from University of Leicester archaeologists, who on Feb. 4 said that DNA evidence, radiocarbon dating, and archaeological evidence all confirm that the battle-scarred bones belonged to the English king, who was killed in battle in 1485.

"Beyond reasonable doubt it's Richard," lead archaeologist Richard Buckley, said at a press conference, the BBC reported.

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The skeleton suggests that the king was killed by one of two fatal injuries to the skull, according to a written statement released by the university. One appears to have been from a sword and one possibly from a halberd. That's a scary-looking two-handed pole weapon that was popular in the 14th and 15th Centuries.

In all, the skeleton showed evidence of 10 wounds, according to the statement, which gave the following details:

•The corpse had been subjected to so-called "humiliation injuries," including a sword wound through the right buttock.

•The skeleton showed signs of severe scoliosis (curvature of the spine). Though the skeleton measured around 5 feet 8 inches, the individual would have stood significantly shorter and his right shoulder may have been higher than his left.


•There was no evidence of a withered arm, as portrayed by Shakespeare.

•The individual was unusually slender for a man--in keeping with contemporaneous accounts of Richard III.

The bones were found with the help of ground-penetrating radar on the former site of a priory, the New York Times reported. They will be reinterred early next year in Leicester's Anglican cathedral, about 100 yards from where they were dug up.

source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/04/king-richard-iii-england-skeleton-deformity-wounds_n_2615234.html