News Archive 2015

6th January - BBC Radio 4 'Great Lives'

King Richard III featured as the ‘Great Life‘ in the 6th January 2015 episode. For those not familiar with the programme, this is Radio 4’s biography series first broadcast in 2001 and is currently presented by journalist Matthew Parris. A guest is asked to nominate a person they believe is deserving of the title and, together with an expert, often a biographer, the life is discussed during the 28-minute programme.

Society member Philippa Langley, who instigated and led the search for the king through the Looking For Richard Project, while Annette Carson, a fellow member of the Society and author of Richard III: The Maligned King, appeared as the expert witness to provide historical background, Philippa said: ‘It was a great honour to nominate Richard III as a ‘Great Life’ for BBC Radio 4’s iconic programme. I hope that the topics Annette and I were able to cover in the time given may offer a glimpse of the man from the historic record, so that the listeners may be interested to discover more about the last Plantagenet.’

A podcast of the programme is available here.

Towards the end of the programme, reference is made to the coffining of King Richard’s remains. For further detail, please see the Leicester Cathedral statement.

4th March - Visitor Centre Nomination

The Society is delighted to learn that the King Richard III Visitor Centre in Leicester has been shortlisted for one of the 2015 Museums and Heritage Awards following a search led by the Guardian Cultural Professionals Network for the most inspiring museum or heritage visitor attraction of the past 12 months. There will now be a public vote to select the overall winner. Voting closes at midnight on Friday 20th March 2015, and the winner will be announced at the national Museums and Heritage Awards Ceremony on Wednesday 29th April. The Culture Pros Pick award went to the People’s History Museum.

8th April - After Leicester

The week of the reburial of King Richard III is now behind us and we can all take much solace from the knowledge that the king now lies in peace and honour reburied in the consecrated ground of Leicester Cathedral.

The eyes of the world were on Leicester that week and it was very satisfying to note that the media coverage, and the sermons and eulogies given, all included references to positive aspects of King Richard’s life and reign. His commitment to the fair administration of justice and the legal reforms of his only parliament were cited by many commentators. It was also pleasing to hear actors such as Sir Anthony Sher and Robert Lindsay publicly stating that Shakespeare was great drama but bad history.

The question many are now posing is where do we go from here? How much has the discovery of King Richard’s remains changed or challenged traditional accounts of the king? Clearly we have found out a great deal about his appearance and diet and also about the fatal wounds he suffered at Bosworth. Most importantly we know that he had the condition known as scoliosis, and this evidence allows us to dismiss the traditional story that the king was a hunchback. The Society intends to be particularly proactive in challenging misapprehensions about scoliosis and to champion a more informed and positive view of the condition and how Richard managed it in less sympathetic times than our own.

As we have done for the past ninety years, the Society will continue to seek a reassessment of King Richard’s life and character. For this to have substance it must be based on the evidence that can only be found in the surviving contemporary records. To find, access, transcribe and interpret these records in the proper context of the time and circumstances in which they were written, requires a considerable challenge in this regard, which means a focussed and skills based approach will be essential to the success of any archival research.

12th June - The Queen's Birthday Honours List

Philippa Langley and Dr John Ashdown-Hill have been awarded the MBE in recognition of their services to ‘the Exhumation and Identification of Richard III’ (London Gazette) in the 2015 Queen’s Birthday Honours. The Richard III Society congratulates them both for this public recognition of their hard work, research and determination. See our press release.

June - Moira Habberjam

The Richard III Society is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of one of its Vice-Presidents, Moira Habberjam, on 25th June. Moira devoted many decades to the work of the Society both as Secretary of the Yorkshire Branch and as a valued member of the Research Committee. Her skills as a palaeographer and Latinist were of immense value to the Society’s research agenda, as evidenced by her vital contribution to the success of the Logge Wills Project. There will be an obituary and other tributes in September’s Ricardian Bulletin. In the meantime, we offer our sincere condolences to her husband. Gerald, and the rest of her family.

31st July - 3 August - 600th Anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt Conference

The 600th Anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt Conference 2015 is being organised by the University of Southampton and will take place on Friday 31st July – Monday 3rd August 2015.

There are a number of prestigious keynote speakers including Professor Bertrand Schnerb (University of Lille III), Dr Andrew Ayton (University of Hull), Dr Alexandra Hildred (Mary Rose Trust), and Dr Thom Richardson (Royal Armouries). Dr Ian Mortimer will be giving a special public lecture on Saturday 1st August on ‘The Meaning of War’ and in an after dinner speech at the conference dinner, Professor Anne Curry (University of Southampton) will be reflecting on ‘Life with Agincourt’.

There will be a very special event on Sunday 2nd August with privileged visits to the Mary Rose, Porchester Castle, Titchfield Barn (a building which Henry V would have seen in 1415 and which is now a theatre), and Titchfield Abbey, along with a conference dinner at the Royal Armouries Fort Nelson, which includes a private tour of the artillery collection, There will be a wide range of talks and papers and special events including a visit to the defences of Southampton.

Book your ticket here.

10th September - Facial Reconstruction Revised

On Thursday, 10th September, Dr Turi King, Prof Caroline Wilkinson and Dr Phil Stone met at the King Richard III Visitor Centre in Leicester to discuss King Richard’s hair colour. Although the DNA analysis has suggested he had blond hair and blue eyes in childhood, the colour of his hair on the facial reconstruction needs to be what would have been seen in adulthood. Using the portrait in the Society of Antiquaries of London as a guide, the hair is now a mid brown with a slight wave. Prof Wilkinson, Dr King and Phil Stone hoe that this will be ‘the definitive image of the reconstruction with both scientific and historical evidence to support the hair colour and style.’

40th Anniversary of the Greater Manchester Branch

2015 marks the 40th anniversary of the foundation of the Greater Manchester Branch. The original meetings were held in the appropriately named Duke of York public house in Stockport and in the mid-1980s we moved to The Boars Head and finally to The Arden Arms, also both in Stockport. One of the highlights of the Branch in 1985 was the Quincentenary celebrations in Leicester which were very well attended.

In 1976 the first edition of the Branch journal Semper Fidelis was published and we still endeavour to produce new editions, although not as often as we would like. Our online newsletter Boaring News now keeps members up to date with meetings and interesting topics.

Over the years we have invited a diverse range of speakers to our meetings and have enjoyed numerous visits and weekend breaks to places of interest Inevitably, membership has had its ups and downs, especially during the 1990s but I am pleased to say that since the discovery of Richard, membership has increased considerably and we now have an active and friendly Branch.

I have had the privilege of being Branch Secretary for 23 years and I was very proud that we were able to hold an Anniversary Dinner on 20th June this year to mark this important landmark in the Branch’s history. In March we also planted two sapling oak trees in Leicestershire: one to celebrate our anniversary and the other to mark and honour the reburial of King Richard III.

On a personal note, I would like to thank all our Branch members for their support and friendship and know that they all live up to our journal motto, Semper Fidelis ‘Always Faithful’.

Helen Ashburn, Branch Secretary

9th October - Philippa Langley and John Ashdown-Hill honoured

The Richard III Society congratulates Philippa Langley and Dr John Ashdown-Hill on their investiture at Buckingham Palace on 9th October when they were awarded the MBE by HM The Queen.

Philippa said: ‘After discovering a king in a car park, it is almost as surreal to be at the Palace today to receive the award, It marks the end of a gruelling ten year journey and I would like to thank all those who put me forward for this recognition and honour. I’m delighted that the discovery of King Richard has ignited worldwide interest in his story. For the very first time, this historical figure is being read about widely to understand the facts surrounding his life and times and to question the received wisdom and ages-old mythology that has enveloped him for centuries.’

Society Chairman Phil Stone commented ‘The Society congratulate Philippa Langley and John Ashdown-Hill on their momentous day.’