King Richard III May Have Kept His Scoliosis Secret Until His Death

Two years after archaeologists uncovered the remains of King Richard III beneath a parking lot, the skeleton was reinterred at Leicester Cathedral. Now, scientists have learned a bit more about this king and have found that he may have managed to keep his scoliosis a secret up until his death.

No mention of King Richard III's distinctive physique survives from his lifetime. This could be due to respect to the monarch, or could be due to because he hid his condition so well.

"It is highly likely that Richard took care to control his public image," said Mary Ann Lund, one of the researchers, in a news release. "The body of the king was part of the propaganda of power, and even when it was revealed in order to be anointed as part of his coronation ceremony it was simultaneously concealed from the congregation. Tailoring probably kept the signs of his scoliosis hidden to spectators outside the royal household of attendants, servants and medical staff who dressed, bathed and tended to the monarch's body."

Richard's body actually became notorious for its misshapen appearance during the Tudor period. Until the discovery of his body, though, it was never clear whether this was fabrication or real. The Tudor regime highlighted the purported link between physique and character, and Richard's image became more distorted as the years wore on.

"Stage history has reincarnated Richard as monster, villain and clown, but recent events have helped us to re-evaluate these physically defined depictions and strip back the cultural accretions that have surrounded his body," said Lund. "The care he in all probability received for his scoliosis from his surgically trained physician was large in scale: traction and manual manipulation needed specially designed equipment, space and assistants."

It's possible that Richard was able to hide his condition while he was alive. However, stories became widespread after his death.

The findings are published in the journal Medical Humanities.

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