Big boost for Bruce after bust is built
A new bust of Robert the Bruce has been made after researchers concluded he did not have leprosy.
The Scottish king, who defeated the English at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, has long been believed to have suffered from the disfiguring disease.
But exper ts at the University of Western Ontario in Canada, who examined a cast of his skull, concluded it was not “representative of an individual with leprosy”.
As a result , the new forensic por trait bust shows King Rober t as “dignified and strong”.
The bronze is the f irst of its kind to be sanctioned by Bruce’s descendant, 93-year-old Andrew Bruce, the 11th Earl of Elgin.
The work will be officially unveiled in Stirling, near the site of Bruce’s famous victory, next month.
Bio- archaeologist Dr Andrew Nel son, who was par t of the team studying the cast, said: “I came to the conclusion that I didn’t think he did have leprosy.”
He said Bruce may have been labelled a leper as a slur after the Battle of Bannockburn because of the stigma attached to the disease.
The bust was created by forensic sculptor Christian Corbet, using a cast loaned to him by Lord Elgin.
He said: “There was never any clear evidence that King Robert had leprosy.”