Exhumation and reburial of Richard III of England Exhumation and reburial of Richard III of England The exhumation and reburial of Richard III of England began with the discovery of the king's remains within the site of the former Greyfriars Friary Church in Leicester, England, in September 2012. Following extensive anthropological and genetic testing, the remains of Richard III, the last English king killed in battle, were ultimately reinterred at Leicester Cathedral on 26 March 2015. Richard III, the final ruler of the Plantagenet dynasty, was killed on 22 August 1485 in the Battle of Bosworth Field, the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses. His
Henry VII of England chance to seize the throne was to engage Richard quickly and defeat him immediately, as Richard had reinforcements in Nottingham and Leicester. Richard only needed to avoid being killed to keep his throne. Though outnumbered, Henry's Lancastrian forces decisively defeated Richard's Yorkist army at the Battle of Bosworth Field on 22 August 1485. Several of Richard's key allies, such as the Earl of Northumberland and William and Thomas Stanley, crucially switched sides or left the battlefield. Richard III's death at Bosworth Field effectively ended the Wars of the Roses, although it was not the last battle Henry had to fight.