British researchers studying 500-year-old bones found under a car park now believe that it is now beyond almost any doubt that the remains are of King Richard III. There studies suggest that he had blue eyes and blond hair as a boy, according the journal Nature Communications.
Researchers from Leicester University also confirmed that DNA analysis showed a match between King Richard III and two modern female-line relatives.
The remains of Richard, who was the last English monarch to die in battle, were discovered by archaeologists under a municipal car park in the central English city of Leicester in 2012. The remains were later identified by experts from the university.
Blow-by-blow details of the King's death at the Battle of Bosworth more than 500 years ago revealed Richard was probably killed by a hit to his bare head, according to the study.
Led by genetics expert Dr. Turi King, researchers gathered DNA from his living relatives and analyzed several genetic markers, like the complete mitochondrial genomes, inherited through the maternal line, and Y-chromosomal markers, inherited through the paternal line.
They found that while the Y-chromosomal markers are different, the mitochondrial genome shows a genetic match between the maternal line relatives and the skeleton. This let the university researchers confirm that Wendy Duldig is a niece of Richard III, 18 times removed, and Michael Ibsen is Richard III's nephew, 16 times removed, according to the study.
Genetic markers were used to determine Richard's hair and eye color. King and her team are now "99.999 percent" sure the remains were Richard and a 500-year-old case could finally be closed.
"Our paper covers all the genetic and genealogical analysis and is the first to draw together all the strands of evidence," she said, according to Reuters. "Even with our highly conservative analysis, the evidence is overwhelming that these are indeed the remains of King Richard III."
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