King Richard III died brutally during Battle 

It has been revealed that King Richard III was killed during battle after suffering severe injuries to his head and pelvis

 The Telegraph 17 Sep 2014 

By Gregory Walton

King Richard III died from a particularly brutal blow to the skull, scientists believe after a forensic analysis of his skeleton gave clues to his final moments.

Experts believe it was one of two blows to his head or an impact to his pelvis that claimed the Plantagenet King's life, although investigators hinted that the pelvis injuries might have been inflicted after death as an act of vindictive battlefield celebration.

A computer simulation appears to show Richard's injuries are consistent with accounts that his body was thrown over a horse and mutilated by angry bystanders - the last king to die in battle in 1485.

The intensity of the blows to his skull has lead the researchers to speculate that Richard either lost his helmet in battle - or had brazenly set off without it.

Prof Hainsworth said: "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."

Forensic experts used a series of CT scans to map the wounds inflicted on the king during and after the battle.

But alongside the multi-million pound scanners, researchers used some unusual methods to determine conclusively what killed the monarch.

A United Nations manual for the investigation of torture, remains from other medieval battlefields and a study of sword marks on cows' legs were all pressed into use by experts.

The study's co-author Professor Guy Rutty from the University of Leicester said: "The most likely injuries to have caused the King's death are the two to the skull, a large sharp force trauma possibly from a sword or staff weapon, such as a halberd or bill, and a penetrating injury from the tip of an edged weapon."

 "Richard's head injuries are consistent with some near-contemporary accounts of the battle, which suggest that Richard abandoned his horse after it became stuck in a mire and was killed while fighting his enemies."

An artist's interpretation of the dead Richard III's crown being presented to Henry Tudor (Alamy)