What Fans do for Richard Armitage & King Richard III
♛ Spy- & Fan-Supply ♛
If the news does not flow in as expected, fans tend to fill in the blanks.
But this creation here bursts all descriptions and is a brilliant summing up of deep research about fandom, fan expectations, the actor Richard Armitage and a very accurate evaluation of the mechanisms and motives of the film industry.
So now, I don’t want to hold you back much longer and send you directly to this brilliant article by well known blogger Servetus from Me+Richard:
Part 1: Armitage nepotist
Part 2: Armitage nepotist: The afternoon transcript
Readers, be warned. Fan-technology is not up to it right now, but may be soon? ;o)
– RIII-articles from the year 2012 – complete list of the year 2011 –
Portraits of a King
♛ Portraits of a King ♛
by Fitzg
There are more than twenty portraits acknowledged to depict the last Plantagenet king of England.
These two are particularly of interest, as they are identified as mid- late sixteenth century copies of lost fifteenth century originals.
The dating of paintings is both science and art, incorporating history, details of costume, era, characteristics of brush strokes – and forensics, radio-carbon and dendrochronology dating. There is much in common with the identification of the Greyfriars, Leicester skeleton. In fact, it is tempting to surmise that the identification of bones is more exact than the identification of and dating of paint on canvas or wood panels. For one thing, DNA analysis doesn’t pertain to paint/wood/canvas. For another dendrochronolgy + radio-carbon dating are not necessarily exact.
Richard III – Broken Sword portrait (Source: Society of Antiquaries of London)
This has been dated to anywhere between 1518 and 1550. 1550 is favoured by some, as it was the time of publication of the “Sainted More’s” description of the hunchback with the withered arm. (Thomas More; 14 -15 , martyred by Henry (Tudor) VIII. More’s History of Richard III was influential in Shakespeare’s Richard III.) A broken sword can be interpreted as symbolic of failure; in a regal portrait, as symbolic of prematurely ended reign by violence, battle, deposition and usurpation. Note the narrow eyes, thin lips, deformed hand and somewhat clenched jaw. Obviously, not a trustworthy man….Richard III was an excellent target for Tudor propaganda reducing the usurped line of the Plantagenets to tyrants and debauches.
NPG 148; King Richard III by Unknown artist (Source: National Portrait Gallery)
This is my favourite portrait, as it was the inspiration for Josephine Tey’s detective in The Daughter of Time. As a result of Tey’s book, I was an ardent Ricardian for many years. Dendrochronology dates the work to c. 1590. Note the higher right shoulder suggesting some form of deformity in a portrait purportedly of the late Tudor era. (This format does not allow for graphically designing blood dripping from the highlighted name of Tudor….)
“There’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the face”.
Malcolm, act 1, scene IV MacBeth.
Perhaps not. Yet we will all react to immediate expressions in others as indications of their emotions in the moment. We will even designate a face in repose as “pleasant” or “shifty” or “mean”, or “benevolent” etc.
One of the contemporary (and considered to be most objective) descriptions of Richard III is that of “an itinerant knight from Silesia”. Niklas von Poppolau provided the following in his 1484 travel diary: “…a high-born prince, three fingers taller than I, but a bit slimmer and not as thickset as I am, and much more lightly-built; he has slender shoulders and thighs.” As with other contemporary descriptions, there is no reference to hunched back or withered arm.
Characters in The Daughter of Time react to the NPG portrait in sympathetic ways (to support the author’s thesis) to the question of the detective: what do you think of this face?
The Midget: “Liver.” A succinct nurse’s opinion.
The Surgeon: “Poliomyelitis.”
The Matron: “…the most desperately unhappy face that I have ever encountered…”
As to stature, the king was generally described as “small”. Professor Jo Appleby of the Leicester University team deduced from bone measurements that, without scoliosis, Richard III would have stood 5’8” (1.72m). The average male height today in North America is 5’8” – 5’10”. The degree of scoliosis reduced a man of good height to 1.61m. Definitely short with the spinal curvature.
As the king was continually described (as prince and king) as a great battle fighter, despite the slender build, also noted by Prof. Appleby, Richard III must have built up muscle, despite the pain of the pain of the disability. (A 15th century sword weighs between five and eight pounds. And both strength and balance must be adapted to the disability. Apparently, Usain Bolt also suffers from scoliosis.)
NPG 148; King Richard III by Unknown artist (Source: National Portrait Gallery) |
 Richard III; skull reconstruction: Caroline |
Note the high cheekbones, prominent chin and not dissimilar set of the eyes and brows in these depictions. The nose of the portrait Richard is longer, with a shorter upper lip.
Richard Armitage (Robin Hood s3) – (Source: RANet.com)
The actor is clearly not a clone of either the portrait or of the reconstructed face. However, there is sufficient resemblance in the high cheekbones, prominent nose and delicately formed mouth for a convincing performance of the king. And many hope for the successful backing and funding for such a production to become a reality.
The perpetrator of this article descended down several rabbit holes in the process. I was sidetracked by:
- Fingerprint authentication of masterpieces;
- Dendrochronology – tree-ring dating….
- Questions pertaining to the effects of scoliosis, and the little information so far detailed by the Leicester project scientists…. more please!
- Niklas von Poppolau, “itinerant knight” from Silesia; invited to the court of Richard III; who was this man??? How did a foreign mere knight scrounge such an invitation???
It was sometimes difficult to remember what I thought was the focus of the article….but it was useful background.
SOURCES and REFERENCES
- Richard III: His Appearance; Carolyn Hammond, Richard III Society
http://www.richardiii.net.2_4_0_iii_appearance.php - Good King Richard? Jeremy Potter, 1983, reprinted by the Richard III Society
http://www.r3.org/bookcase/moremyth/html - Richard III: a study in medical misrepresentation. Isabel Tulloch for the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, Aug. 2009
http://jrsm.rsmjournals.com/content/102/8/315.full - Wikipedia – for general fact- and date-checking.
- Josephine Tey, The Daughter of Time; first published 1951 for some quotations.
This article was created by guest-blogger Fitzg !
– RIII-articles from the year 2012 – complete list of the year 2011 –
Richard Armitage about King Richard & News
♛ King Richard Armitage ♛
Today’s preview for an interview with Richard Armitage about King Richard III on Wednesday, 13.03.2013, at 11 a.m. on BBC Radio Leicester:
(I had not expected RANet.com to show such an interest in King Richard III and so had transcribed the Richard Armitage interview preview about the king myself. As the selected passage is a bit different, I still upload my transcription as well.
Here is RANet.com’s version and the uploaded audio-file.)
Emily Anderson asked RA about what he made about all the Richard III goings on.
It’s very exciting. […] The dig was fascinating and I sort of watched every step of the way and seeing the facial reconstruction as well was also fascinating.
But I was named after Richard. My father had a real passion for his story and I was born on the 22nd of August, which is the day that he died at the Battle of Bosworth.
[…] I remember being a little bit cross with my dad for naming me after a hunchback monster, but of course, you know, he was a Ricardian so he believed in something quite different to what Shakespeare was talking about and I have adopted that passion, I suppose.
So yeah, I am kind of interested in his life.
Emily Anderson: So it has a special significance for you and as we have heard from the originator of the search, Philippa Langley, I am sure you have heard her speaking quite fondly of Richard III, it looks like history might need to be re-written.
Well yeah. I mean, there is not an awful lot there.
Any documentation that really was around at the time of his life was either destroyed or just simply didn’t exists, so we don’t really know an awful lot about him and certainly not any psychology as to why he was perceived in the way that he was. […]
The physical thing aside, you know, with regard to the scoliosis, at the time […] the idea of someone who is physically deformed being a malevolent person was actually quite a normal thing. Obviously we think differently to that today.
It would be interesting to have another look at his life aside from Shakespeares fantastic villain.
But really it is almost a pantomime creation and I am interested in looking at a psychological version of that story, whereby we try to understand […] who he was and why he did the things he did.
Emily Anderson: There have been various quotes from you from other people’s suggestion that may be you’d be the perfect person to play Richard III if there were to be a screenplay or film about him.
Well, I find that very flattering.
I mean I live in a dream world of may be doing that, but I’m a little bit too tall and perhaps a little bit too old now, but I certainly like to be involved in a production, whether that’s on stage or on film I don’t know.
Emily Anderson: Philippa Langley, who was the originator of the search, has told the BBC Radio Leicester, she can’t see past you, Richard Armitage, for the role and she is writing a screenplay at the moment.
Yes. I have read her screenplay and I have been in contact with Philippa for a long time and, you know, I was so thrilled that she was able to be such an integral part of that dig and as […] a member of the Richard III Society.
So I just want to offer my congratulations to her for that success.
Emily Anderson: Have you been to Leicester yet since the find of Richard III? Because obviously we have got the dig site, we’ve got the visitors’ centre, a brand new
visitors’ center opening next year. Is that may be something you could be tempted to have a look at?
Without a doubt. I mean, it’s definitely on my list of things to do.
I think it is a real privilege for Leicester to have that find.
I suppose the idea of a re-burial is now on everyone’s lips.
Emily Anderson: Can I ask you your opinion?
I think, he should probably stay where he was found.
Emily Anderson: In Leicester. So next year, when the re-internment happens, maybe we could see you in Leicester to come along and have a look for yourself?
For sure. Without a doubt.
Dave Andrews: You heard him. We might expect him here now definitely. […]
Too old, too tall?
One can do marvelous things these days, can’t they, when doing film. I don’t think the age bit.
He looks pretty good for his age and as Philippa Langley who wrote the screenplay or has written the screenplay already, pointed out, you know, in those days back, in Richard III’s day, they didn’t have the moisturizers and all the creams and that sort of things. They probably would have looked older than he actually was.
Anyway, I think he still would be great in that particular part.
♛ FanstRAvaganza 4 ♛
A big Fan-Event is coming up this week in the Richard Armitage Fandom.
It is in the 4th year of its existence and every year more bloggers join in to celebrate Richard Armitage for one week of blogging.
The event takes place on the individual blogs and has a central Facebook page as well, so not to miss anything, watch out for FanstRAvaganza!
The KingRichardArmitage website will join in, though the planned schedule might get a bit distracted and side-stepped by the current interview of Richard Armitage on BBC Radio Leicester about King Richard III.
The KRA-articles for FanstRAvaganza 4 are marked with this banner and will be available via a similar banner at the right side:
Can you imagine how curious I had been before today’s interview preview? ;o)
♛ King Richard III ♛
- Grand Falls Windsor Advertiser (Canada): Memories of the car park king, by Sue Hickey (07.03.2013) – Analysing Shakespeare and the ‘truth’ about King Richard III.
- European Hospital: Richard III – modern imaging transforms a historical image, by Mark Nicholls (07.03.2013) – Discovering the importance of a CT scan for the research about King Richard III.
- The York Press: Richard III by David Baldwin (Amberley, £9.99), by Stephen Lewis (09.03.2013) – Very interesting book review about the newly published King Richard III biography, which already includes the information about the Leicester discovery.
- ThisIsLeicestershire.co.uk: Richard III: How the odds were stacked against us ever finding king, by Peter Warzynski, Leicester Mercury (09.03.2013) – Archaeological research against all odds. Read here what mathematicians make of the find.
- BBC News: Richard III and arts venue ‘strengthen’ Leicester culture bid (09.03.2013) – King Richard III advances Leicester’s status as cultural city.
♛ Battle of the Cities ♛
- The York Press: Project to research and celebrate King Richard III, by Kate Liptrot (07.03.2013) – York starts to prepare and present its connection to King Richard III.
- BBC News: Richard III burial appeal for County Durham (07.03.2013) – New rival Durham in the debate now also re-opened in Parliament.
- The Independent: Still arguing over Richard III’s bones, by Andy McSmith (08.03.2013)
If Richard III had been half as popular in his lifetime as he is today, he could have reigned for many happy years.
Sunday Lunch With King Richard Armitage
That Richard Armitage wants to dine with King Richard III, we read in one of his first ever short messages on Twitter (@TheHobbitMovie) last Wednesday (06.03.2013):
RT @cat_v_: @thehobbitmovie if you could have dinner with any 3, fictional or non-fictional, who would they be? #AskThorin
— The Hobbit (@TheHobbitMovie) March 6, 2013
Richard: Richard III, John F. Kennedy, and Ian McKellen.
— The Hobbit (@TheHobbitMovie) March 6, 2013
Enabled by BBC Radio Leicester, we can have lunch with our king, perhaps a bit a late lunch this coming Sunday, 10.03.2013 at 1 p.m. [U.K. time], and a bit early on Wednesday, 13.03.13 at 11 a.m. [U.K. time]:
Hear Richard #Armitage on BBC Radio Leicester with @davearadio at 1pm on Sunday then more from him with @jimdavisonair after 11am next Wed.
— BBC Leicester (@BBCLeicester) March 8, 2013
Listen to the broadcast online on BBC Radio Leicester.
Ali from RichardArmitageNet.com also asked the interviewer, Ms. Emily Anderson on Twitter about the content of the two radio shows:
@ranetdotcom full interview with @jimdavisonair on wed,short previewwith @davearadio on Sunday.You’ll like what he says about #RichardIII
— Emily Anderson (@EmilyMay10) 8. März 2013
Sunday in Dave Andrews show will be a preview and Wednesday in the show by Jim Davis the full interview !
Mark the dates and re-schedule all other meetings to listen to the live stream:
On BBC Radio Leicester.
Sunday, 10.03.2013 at 1 p.m. [U.K. time (GMT)]
Wednesday, 13.03.2013 at 11 a.m. [U.K. time (GMT)]
Or listen to the later available and downloadable podcasts, which become available about a day or two later under the same link:
BBC Radio Leicester
Richard III – The Human Being behind the Bones
♛ King Richard Armitage ♛
Can it really be true? A dream, to get answers from Mr. Armitage !
You surely know what I wanted to know in my question, but to document it, here comes the Twitter-Question:
@thehobbitmovie #AskThorin How did role of Thorin prepare for #RichardIII and what plans does #RichardArmitage have concerning this film?
— Chris Doart (@cdoart) March 5, 2013
♛ King Richard – A Human Being ♛
Could Shakespeare’s devilish King Richard III have a human side?
All the articles in newspapers about this topic ask the question, if King Richard III had been a ‘control freak’.
My simple answer to that would be, no. He could not have been, because the word as well as the pattern had not been developed back then.
He could not have been something that was not invented yet.
I would much rather think that in his time, those tendencies would more likely have been judged as caring sovereign or something comparable, especially in contrast to previous not so caring kings.
But the psychological analysis Professor Mark Lansdale, Head of the university’s School of Psychology, and forensic psychologist Dr. Julian Boon answered this question with much more attention to detail.
Their analysis gives ‘flesh’ to the found bones and in a way also creates a human image of the king.
They examined the approach to see King Richard III as ‘murdering psychopath’, as he was portrayed by Shakespeare.
Though they dismissed this notion, as no signs of narcissism, deviousness, callousness, recklessness, lack of empathy in close relationships, which would be clear signs for this psychological trait, were reported for King Richard III.
Their conclusion of an ‘intolerance to uncertainty’ is much more based on the circumstances in which Richard III grew up, the uneasiness and insecurity of his position and environment.
Professor Mark Lansdale explains this conclusion:
This syndrome is associated with a need to seek security following an insecure childhood, as Richard had. In varying degrees, it is associated with a number of positive aspects of personality including a strong sense of right and wrong, piety, loyalty to trusted colleagues, and a belief in legal processes – all exhibited by Richard.
On the negative side it is also associated with fatalism, a tendency to disproportionate responses when loyalty is betrayed and a general sense of ‘control freakery’ that can, in extreme cases, emerge as very authoritarian or possibly priggish. We believe this is an interesting perspective on Richard’s character.
[…]
Overall, we recognise the difficulty of drawing conclusions about people who lived 500 years ago and about whom relatively little is reliably recorded; especially when psychology is a science that is so reliant upon observation.
However, noting that this is the problem historians work with as a matter of routine, we argue that a psychological approach provides a distinct and novel perspective: one which offers a different way of thinking about the human being behind the bones.
- LiveScience.com: Dead King Richard III a Control Freak, Psychologists Say, by Stephanie Pappas (04.03.2013)
- RedOrbit.com: King Richard III Was Not A Psychopath, As Portrayed By Shakespeare, by Lawrence LeBlond (04.03.2013)
♛ King Richard III ♛
- ThisIsLeicestershire.co.uk: Rare Richard III coin up for sale, by Leicester Mercury (01.03.2013) – Not only about the announced coin, but also quite interesting conclusion about the burial rite for King Richard III, a Catholic, buried in a protestant Cathedral by the Church of England.
- ThisIsLeicestershire.co.uk: Richard III: Mayor to recruit duo for project, by Leicester Mercury (01.03.2013) – King Richard III already is treated like a ‘treasure’ in Leicester. The museum project gets money to accommodate the exhibition planned to open its doors early in the year 2014.
- The Telegraph: Duke of Gloucester’s concern for Richard III’s ‘dignity’, by Tim Walker (02.03.2013) The Duke of Gloucester met Dr. Philip Stone, chairman of the Richard III Society, to discuss the intended procedures for King Richard III.
- ITV: The Choir for King Richard III (02.03.2013) – Embedding of the video with the choir and interview with the choirmaster was not possible, so please follow the link to VIMEO to open the video.
- ITV: Richard III: Ceremony to remember Battle of Bosworth fallen (03.03.2013) – White roses in memory of the king and the 1.000 killed with him in the Battle of Bosworth.
- Christian Today (Australia): How do they know it is Richard III – or – is that stuff on CSI real, after all?, by Mark Tronson (04.03.2013) – Background about the scientific methods used by the researchers in Leicester.
- New Statesman: New evidence: Was Richard III guilty of murdering the Princes in the Tower? By Amy Licence (05.03.2013) – Announcing the publication of her book in April 2013, the author announces to give new evidence to the centuries old mystery of who killed the Princes in the Tower.
- ThisIsLeicestershire.co.uk: Richard III: Top archaeology award for University of Leicester team, by Laura Elvin, Leicester Mercury (05.03.2013) – Readers of the magazine “Current Archaeology” voted the Richard III project as the research project of the year.
The magazine will have a special report about the digging in the next issue, becoming available on Friday, 08.03.2013.
Mr. Buckley when receiving the price in London:I am proud to accept this award for the Grey Friars Project and, in particular, I want to thank Philippa Langley (member of the Richard III Society), who raised the money for the investigation and never doubted for a minute we would find Richard III.
The Millions: Proving a Villain: The Search for Richard III, by Will Glovinsky (06.03.2013) – Can we dismiss Shakespeare’s depiction of King Richard III entirely or what can we learn from it?
Visit King Richard III
Only a short while ago, I have been introduced to the Japanes art of creating haiku to bring events and experiences down to a few words, which mostly combine the multitude of the happening better than a long article about it could.
One excample of this extraordinary art of compression, of the densification of meaning, I want to present to you, as Morrighan’s Muse so well describes the find of King Richard III’s remains in “A Story Told“.
♛ King Richard III ♛
- BBC News: The king and aye: Scots author who tackled Richard III’s reputation, by Jennifer Morag Henderson (09.02.2013) – The ‘discovery’ of King Richard III in the year 1951 through the novel of an author, Josephine Tey and “The Daughter of Time”.
- ThisIsLeicestershire.co.uk: Richard III: Exhibition draws in the crowds at Leicester’s Guildhall, by mthompson22 (08.02.2013) – Visit King Richard III and the exhibition in Leicester showing the process of the researches and the digging to find King Richard III.
- ThisIsLeicestershire.co.uk: Richard III: Princes’ fate looks set to remain a mystery, by Peter Warzynski (09.02.2013) – The research goes on. King Richard III is found, now, did he murder his nephews? And – would the find really prove the fact?
- Le Figaro (French): Le squelette de Richard III dévoile ses secrets, by Tristan Vey (04.02.2013) – For King Richard III’s French fans, a very interesting articles with many details and a good graphic of the location of the find.
You want to learn and see more about King Richard III ? – You can now visit a King Richard III exhibition in the Guildhall or take one of the guided walks in Leicester. More details on the Leicester City Council website.
The new page “Richard III Found” about the research results begins to grow here on KRA.
The King is Found – Long Live King Richard
♛ King Richard Armitage ♛
News concerning the film project(s) right from the interview of Philippa Langley with Ben Jackson (BBC Radio Leicester, 07.02.2013 after 3 p.m.):
Philippa Langley:
He [Richard Armitage] is pitching it [the Richard III movie project] in LA as we speak.
People have said he [Richard Armitage] is too tall, but he has just played a dwarf.
The interview should be ready for download or to re-listen on the BBC Radio Leicester website shortly.
♛ King Richard III ♛
YouTube video of the research results revealed at the press conference on Monday, February 4th, 2013, uploaded by the University of Leicester.
“The Search for King Richard III – The Scientific Outcome”
(Source: University of Leicester )
- TheCourier.co.uk: Dundee University helps bring King Richard III back from the dead, by Jennifer Cosgrove (06.02.2013) – About the technical steps to recreate the image and sculpture of King Richard III.
- Heritage of Wales News (Blog): Rhys ap Thomas and the fatal blow that killed Richard III on Bosworth Field, by Helen Rowe (06.02.2013) – Is the killer of King Richard III found?
- The Wall Street Journal: Shakespeare Has a (Parking) Lot to Answer For, by Andrew Roberts (06.02.2013) – Demands real exoneration of the king, now that he is found.
- Scotsman.com: How Richard III was discovered by an ex-Scotsman employee, by Stephen McGinty (06.02.2013) – Article about Philippa Langley and her search for King Richard III. She confesses to be not in love, but fascinated by him.
- Express.co.uk: Richard III: Murderous tyrant or misunderstood monarch? By Robert Gore-Langton (06.02.2013) – A Shakespeare follower’s view of King Richard III in contrast to the analysis of Dr. Lynda Pidgeon, research officer from the Richard III Society.
- ThisIsLeicestershire.co.uk: Richard III set to be buried in Leicester as university makes final decision, by (07.02.2013) – The Battle of the Cities seems decided.
- The Week: King Richard III was a man of courage and never a child-killer, by Crispin Black (06.02.2013) – Now that King Richard III is found, his moral is under renewed scrutiny.
[…] a modern jury would dismiss much of the ‘evidence’ against him before the first tea break.
♛ Battle of the Cities ♛
I had so much hoped that the War of the Cities could come to a good end which would satisfy all involved cities. Now it seems, the fighting finally comes to an end.
I hope all involved parties, fiercely fighting for the King, will find benefit in the final decision in favour of the Cathedral in Leicester.
Here some news reports and the breaking of the news about Leicester Cathedral:
- ThisIsLeicester.co.uk: Hands off Richard III – Leicester’s anger at campaign to bury King’s remains in York, by Laura Elvin (06.02.2013) – The Leicester side of the war.
- ITV.com: Odds on, Richard III will stay in Leicester (07.02.2013) – Bets are in favour of Leicester – 3 to 1.
- ThisIsLeicester.co.uk: Richard III set to be buried in Leicester as university makes final decision, by Adrian Troughton and Peter Warzynski (07.02.2013)
- ThisIsLeicester.co.uk: York Minster cancel campaign to reclaim the bones of Richard III from Leicester, by PA_Wazynski (07.02.2013) – The end of the Battle of the Cities after all.
- York Minster: Chapter statement regarding Richard III (07.02.2013) – Finally the official ending of the war.
King Richard Armitage and Fan News
A big THANK YOU to Philippa Langley for keeping her believes and continuing so straightforward on her way to find and honour King Richard III.
I hope this find will motivate researchers of all scientific subjects and also especially historians, to now have a closer and more extended look at the material, in cooperation of disciplines, with now available new technologies, in a digital and globally connected world where worldwide archives become more and more easily available.
♛ King Richard & His Fans ♛
Before I start with selected fan- and King Richard-news, I must ask for a bit of patience.
KRA was so overwhelmed with comments, requests and messages that currently we are still sorting through all the mails. We try to get up to date as fast as possible, but it might still take a few days, till all requests and mails can be answered. So please stay with us, we will answer every mail and contact form request sent in.
We very much cherish your feedback and offers of help and thank you very much for getting in contact with us !
Now to King Richard and his Fans:
- Servetus – Me&RichardArmitage: Servetus on Richard Plantagenet’s remains – A historian’s perpective and analysis of the ‘rewriting of history’ through the current finds.
- Fedoralady – The Armitage Effect: In the shadows no more; or the Return of the King
- JasRangoon – Me, My Thoughts, and Richard Armitage: Richard III Trending – About Twitter and other Trends.
- Fabolaktuko – White Rose Writings: We have Richard III – Just want to specially bring your attention to the name of this blog and its connection to King Richard III.
- Fedoralady – The Armitage Effect: More thoughts on a face from out of the past
- IngeD3 – Crispin’s Eclipse: Random Thoughts: Coming clean – Why Mr. Armitage really should play King Richard III.
- Mulubinba – An RA viewer’s perspective…: Richard III – excited for the King Richard III members of the RABlogosphere – About the find in Leicester and our KRA interview in the Leicester Mercury.
BBC Radio Leicester announced that Philippa Langley will join them for a live interview this week, Thursday, 07.02.2013, after 3 p.m.
On Monday, 04.02.2013, there had been an open Q&A session with Prof. Lin Foxhall and Philippa Langley about the researches in Leicester. The Q&As still are open to see here:
Channel4 – Q&A with Prof. Lin Foxhall and Philippa Langley
I unfortunately did not get my questions answered and so, for completion’s sake, post them here:
I had hoped for much more details about the King in the documentary by Channel4, but the documentary showed, that the film team had not really believed to find King Richard III and so had swapped the deeper research into the topic.
A big THANK YOU to Philippa Langley for not letting anything deter her from her way to find King Richard III.
♛ King Richard III ♛
- University of Leicester: The Search for King Richard III – The Scientific Outcome (04.02.2013) – Part of the Press Conference announcing the results of the Search for King Richard III. So if you did not have a chance to listen directly, here is the sound file to do so now.
- Radio Times: Meet Philippa Langley: the woman who discovered Richard III in a car park, E. Jane Dickson (04.02.2013) – The story about how Philippa Langley reached her wonderful research project. Don’t miss this article!
- BBC News: Richard III dig: Facial reconstruction shows how king may have looked (04.02.2013) – Very realistic looking facial reconstruction of King Richard III.
- History Extra: Leicester car park skeleton ‘is that of Richard III’, by mattelton (04.02.2013) – Confirmation of identity of the human remains in Leicester as King Richard III.
- The New York Times: Bones Under Parking Lot Belonged to Richard III, by John F. Burns, Alan Cowell (04.02.2013) – Very good overview over researches and research results.
- The Colorado Gambler: The War of the Roses & Resolving Questions Regarding King Richard III, by Anna Lee Ames Frolich (04.02.2013) – An article which came to our notice because of linking to our website. What makes it specially interesting is that it is written by a relative of King Richard III. Though, please let Ms. Frolich explain the connection.
- ThisIsLeicester.co.uk: King Richard III’s face revealed at last, by Tom Pegden (05.02.2013)
- Philly.com (Philadelphia): Found: Richard III. Not found: Hump, by John Timpane (05.02.2013)
[…] all the world knows Richard, while . . . who the heck knows from Henry of Richmond?
- Detroit Free Press: Scientists use Richard III skeleton to reconstruct king’s face (05.02.2013) – Video about the revealing of the facial reconstruction of King Richard III by Philippa Langley.
Facial reconstruction:
- ITV: Extended interviews with those behind Richard III (05.02.2013) – With short video statements by Philippa Langley, Michael Ibsen, Dr. Phil Stone (Chairman of the Richard III Society).
- ITV: Richard III’s face revealed (05.02.2013) – ITV even created a special topic page for today’s news about King Richard III.
- ThisIsLeicester.co.uk: Richard III’s reconstructed face to go on show in Leicester, by (05.02.2013) – King Richard III facial reconstruction comes to Leicester, but be patient. It comes next year, 2014.
- Vulpes Libris (Blog): Vulpes Randoms – Richard III’s Day 4th February 2013, by Hilary (05.02.2013) – Vulpes Libris, famous for their early interview with Richard Armitage, present the research results of the University of Leicester on their blog with many interesting observations and links.
- The Sun: I’ll give my kingbrum for a horse yow lot, by Andrew Parker (06.02.2013) – Sound reconstruction or how Dr. Shaw can distinguish the dialect of long dead King Richard III.
- University of Leicester: Soundfile of the Dialect reconstruction by Dr. Philip Shaw
- Herald Sun: New hunt for Richard Third lookalikes as face put to long-lost King, by Chris Bartlett (06.02.2013) – Our Facebook page is mentioned in the news. Though Christ Bartlett dismisses the likeness between King Richard III and Mr. Armitage. Mr. Bartlett obviously has not seen “The Hobbit” yet, though he mentiones the film.
♛ Battle of the Cities ♛
- BBC News: York fights Leicester for right to Richard III remains, by (05.02.2013) – Article about the Battle of the Cities with an interesting introductory video about the unveiling of the facial reconstruction of King Richard III by Philippa Langley and the Richard III Society.
- ThisIsLeicester.co.uk: York launches battle with Leicester over Richard III’s remains, by Laura Elvin (05.02.2013)
As those two articles show, the Battle of the Cities did not come to an end with the official declaration of Leicester Cathedral as last burial place for King Richard III, confirmed by the Ministry of Justice.
Our poll about the cities gets attention once again.
We want to mention, as also comments flood in about this topic here on divers places, that the KingRichardArmitage website is neutral in this question.
Many supporters of King Richard III take the position that his written instruction to hold sermons for him and his family in York Minster reveal his wish to be buried there. This is one of the possible interpretation of his actions, while the burial places of his wife and son might contradict this interpretation to some extent.
We will report about news regarding this topic, but won’t take sides.
We welcome ‘non-discriminating’ discussions and comments on our poll page, especially created for this topic, but also need to state that personal attacks will be deleted or withheld from being published, here and on our related Facebook site Richard III for Richard Armitage!
Thank you for all your support and help !
If you miss interesting articles here, please let us know. We continue to build the Press Coverage pages
and will specially create an area about the researches and research results around King Richard III.
News About King Richard III / Armitage
♛ King Richard Armitage ♛
Mr. Armitage had intended to join in on the BBC Radio Leicester Show shortly after 5 p.m. on Sunday 3rd of February, 2013, but could not make it, as his flight was delayed.
So here the recording of his apology, sent to BBC Leicester via mail, kindly shared by Servetus:
In further parts of the show, Philippa Langley and David Baldwin were interviewed about King Richard III. (The interview with Philippa Langley is an excerpt of the radio report mentioned in our news of 30.12.2012 with BBC Radio Leicester. The replay will become available on BBC iPlayer in the next days.)
♛ King Richard III ♛
Is he or is he not…?
That is the main question today.
But of whom are we talking about?
The University of Leicester released a first picture of the skull of the male skeleton found in Leicester:
Skull – Richard III (Source: University of Leicester)
Dr Appleby said:
The skull was in good condition, although fragile, and was able to give us detailed information about this individual. It has been CT scanned at high resolution in order to allow us to investigate interesting features in as much detail as possible.
In order to determine whether this individual is Richard III we have built up a biological profile of its characteristics. We have also carefully examined the skeleton for traces of a violent death.
Now is he or is he not…?
We will have to wait a bit further, till 10 a.m. today, the time of the Press conference held by the University of Leicester, to finally reveal the truth about their find last September 2012 and the subsequent research.
- Daily Mail: Is this the skull of Richard III? DNA results to reveal if car park body is king, by Andy Dolan (03.02.2013) – Impatient about the results as we are.
- The Guardian: Richard III: unveiling day arrives for skeleton that would be king, by Maev Kennedy (03.02.2013) – Reveals that even Michael Ibsen does not know the results yet.
- Metro: Countdown to Richard III dig test results that ‘could rewrite history’ (03.02.2013)
- BBC News: Richard III dig: Mysteries remain over notorious king, by Greig Watson (03.02.2013) – Can the research by the University of Leicester beat the image created by Shakespeare?
- Metro: Experts show off skull of car park relic thought to be Richard III (04.02.2013)
Richard Armitage Agrees to Play Richard III
♛ King Richard Armitage ♛
- The Herald Scotland: Hobbit actor lines up role as Richard III, by Kathleen Nutt (02.02.2013) – Philippa Langley reveals that Richard Armitage has agreed to play King Richard III in her now finished screenplay about King Richard III:
Ms Langley contacted Armitage, 41, who plays dwarf leader Thorin Oakenshield in Peter Jackson’s blockbuster, and says he agreed to take on the role. Armitage has also starred in a number of television series including Spooks, Robin Hood and the Vicar of Dibley.
