Richard III News and Women's History

In the news: the body of Richard III has been rediscovered under a parking lot in Leicester. This is likely to lead to many reassessments of the life of Richard III, and of his depiction in Shakespeare's play named for that controversial king. Some stories on this identification:

• From About.com's UK Travel Guide, Ferne Arfin: Confirmed! The Body in the Parking Lot IS King Richard III
• From Melissa Snell, About.com's Medieval History Guide: It's Richard!
• From Robert Wilde, European History Guide at About.com: Richard III Found

What's the women's history angle? The DNA match had to be traced through the maternal line, through Richard's sister, Anne of York (who is also an ancestress of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, and thus of course her sons, Princes William and Harry). Anne of York, through her marriages and those of her daughters, had connections on both sides of the Wars of the Roses.

• Who Was Anne of York?

Any resurrection of talk about Richard III and Shakespeare's play brings to mind the fascinating portrayals of women in that play and in Richard's life: Women in Shakespeare's Richard III

_{Artist's conception of Richard III's wife, Anne Neville,
also known as Anne of Warwick
Image: Clipart.com, used with permission}