Richard III and DNA testing

[Skoosh]

The English were very careless with their dead kings. The exiled Richard II is supposed to be buried under a council car-park in Stirling, site of a Dominican Friary.

http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_II_of_England

Skoosh.

[LizzieW]

Next stop Winchester to dig up King Arthur.

[Floozy]

I am watching this tread with interest, I am a decendant of a family of a brother of a lady/Dame and husband Sir from stories of families past.  This tree still needs some clarifaction. Maybe a swab of me to the lady will link me with this person. This person is very hard to trace even though I have some records of possibility.  Floozy

[rosijayne]

There is a well known story of a 'Richard Plantagenet' being buried in the grounds of Eastwell Church ( ruin ) in Kent.  Apparently he does appear in the burial records there in 1550, died at the age of 81.

He was supposedly the illegitmate son of Richard III, who maintained a secret regarding his identity until much later in life when his employer at Eastwell Manor was curious to find the man who worked for him as a labourer,  being able to read Latin.  He then gained his confidence, and had a cottage built for him on the estate of Eastwell Manor.  There is a tomb in the grounds of the ruined church yard reputed to be his, with a 19th century name plaque attached.

It would be interesting to know the truth of this story.....

[Skoosh]

"A hearse, a hearse, my kingdom for a hearse!" 

Skoosh.

[Old Bristolian]

There is a well known story of a 'Richard Plantagenet' being buried in the grounds of Eastwell Church ( ruin ) in Kent.  Apparently he does appear in the burial records there in 1550, died at the age of 81.

He was supposedly the illegitmate son of Richard III, who maintained a secret regarding his identity until much later in life when his employer at Eastwell Manor was curious to find the man who worked for him as a labourer,  being able to read Latin.  He then gained his confidence, and had a cottage built for him on the estate of Eastwell Manor.  There is a tomb in the grounds of the ruined church yard reputed to be his, with a 19th century name plaque attached.

It would be interesting to know the truth of this story.....

Richard did indeed have an illegitimate son, John of Gloucester (possibly also called John of Pontefract) whom he made Captain of Calais - Henry relieved him of the post and no further mention of him occurs post c1490. Richard also had an illegitimate daughter named Katherine

Steve

[rosijayne]

Steve, the son I am referring to was called Richard.

He apparently had a very simple upbringing, later on, being apprenticed to a bricklayer or carpenter, I forget which.  Before the battle of Bosworth legend has it that he was taken to the King ( Richard ) and told he was his son, but was never to reveal this fact unless Richard won the battle of Bosworth.

Richard ( jnr ) never revealed his true identity until prompted to by his employer much later in life.

How much truth there is in this story I do not know, but this is a well documented story in many Kent history books, and much reference to it online by searching for 'Richard Plantagent, Eastwell'

I guess as a King he probably had many illegitimate children

[groom]

That is strange if he did have an illegitimate son called Richard who wasn't acknowledged, as his other two illegitimate children were brought up as part of the family by Richard 3rd and his wife, who accepted them, and, according to some accounts, loved them as if they were her own. If this child, Richard,  was born in 1469, this was 3 years before Richard 3rd married Anne Neville and when he was only about 17. Perhaps they will now try and use DNA to see if this story is true.

[davidft]

That is strange if he did have an illegitimate son called Richard who wasn't acknowledged, as his other two illegitimate children were brought up as part of the family by Richard 3rd and his wife, who accepted them, and, according to some accounts, loved them as if they were her own. If this child, Richard,  was born in 1469, this was 3 years before Richard 3rd married Anne Neville and when he was only about 17. Perhaps they will now try and use DNA to see if this story is true.

Apparently David Baldwin in his book The Lost Prince claims that Richard of Eastwell is in fact the younger of the two princes in the tower. He Claims that Edward V died and his younger brother, Richard is Richard of Eastwell. He asserts that Henry VII knew about this Richard and it was an arrangement he came to with Elizabeth Woodville as long as the boy's identity was kept secret he would be safe. He further argues that nothing is know of Richard of Eastwell before 1483 and nothing of Richard of York after 1483. Richard of Eastwell did not marry or have children which if you are a Prince in hiding is probably a good thing if you want to protect your life.

This theory could also explain why we know of Richard III's other children but not "Richard of Eastwell" as in fact he wasn't his