Tributes paid to historian who helped locate king
A HISTORIAN who played a pivotal role in finding the remains of Richard III in a Leicester car park has died.
Dr John Ashdown-Hill was the author of the book The Last Days of King Richard III and diligently researched documents for clues to the last Plantagenet’s burial site.
After the discovery of the remains, it was Dr AshdownHill who traced the living relative of the king in Canada, so their DNA could be tested.
The doctor’s death was confirmed in a post through his website, which said: “It is with deep sadness that I announce Dr John AshdownHill’s passing on the 18th of May 2018.
“John had a prolific career as a historian and was instrumental not only in the rediscovery of Richard III’s burial place in 2012 but also in his reinterment, for which John provided a funeral crown and a rosary to be reintered along with Richard III’s remains.
“John was a popular and beloved mentor for many.”
Numerous people have spoken of the “privilege” of working with him and he has been called “a true historian”.
In a tribute from the University of Essex, Professor Alison Rowlands said: “John was a prolific author, a leading historian of the Yorkist dynasty and a real gentleman, who combined a genuine gentleness of manner with an immense enthusiasm for the solving of historical mysteries.
“This enthusiasm was best exemplified in the absolutely pivotal role that John played in pinpointing the location – and confirming the identity – of the remains of King Richard III in 2012.
“Without John’s research into the fate of the king’s body after the Battle of Bosworth in 1485 and into the mitochondrial DNA of Richard’s descendants, it is unlikely that this major discovery could have been made.”