New study reveals Richard III removed his helmet

Analysis of the remains of King Richard III shows he received nine wounds to the skull when he died during the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.

The results, published in The Lancet, show that Richard’s skeleton sustained 11 wounds at or near the time of his death — nine of them to the skull, clearly inflicted in battle and suggesting he had removed or lost his helmet, and two to the postcranial skeleton.

Sarah Hainsworth, study author and Professor of Materials Engineering at the University of Leicester explains, “Richard’s injuries represent a sustained attack or an attack by several assailants with weapons from the later medieval period. The wounds to the skull suggest that he was not wearing a helmet, and the absence of defensive wounds on his arms and hands indicate that he was otherwise still armoured at the time of his death.”

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Story: The Lancet | Photo: Wikimedia Commons