Philippa Langley

Philippa Langley is a British historian and screenwriter whose research and campaign helped locate and identify Richard III’s remains beneath a Leicester car park.

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Looking for Richard Project: A project launched by Philippa Langley to investigate Richard III’s burial place and reassess his reputation. Langley founded this project to turn her search for Richard III’s grave into organized research.
Historical research: The systematic use of primary and secondary sources to investigate and interpret the past. Langley used documentary evidence to narrow the search for Richard III’s burial place.
Richard III: King of England from 1483 until his death at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485. Langley’s historical research and search centered on locating and reassessing this king.
Richard III's reburial: The 2015 burial of Richard III’s remains in Leicester Cathedral after their identification and examination. The discovery Langley helped bring about led to a public reburial ceremony.
William Shakespeare: An English playwright and poet whose history play Richard III helped shape the king’s enduring popular image. Shakespeare’s dramatic portrait is among the cultural accounts Langley’s project encouraged audiences to reconsider.
Greyfriars, Leicester: The site of a medieval Franciscan friary in Leicester, where Richard III was buried and his remains were found. Langley’s search led the excavation to the former friary’s location.
Archaeological excavation: The controlled removal and recording of archaeological deposits to investigate past human activity. Excavation tested whether the predicted site contained the friary and the king’s grave.
Michael Ibsen: A Canadian-born furniture maker and descendant of Richard III through the king’s maternal line. His mitochondrial DNA provided a comparison for identifying the Leicester remains.
Richard III's reputation: The changing historical and cultural image of Richard III, long shaped by Tudor accounts and Shakespeare’s play. Langley’s project sought to prompt renewed scrutiny of the traditional portrait of the king.
Richard III (play): A history play by William Shakespeare portraying Richard III’s rise and fall as a villainous ruler. The play’s influential characterization contrasts with Langley’s effort to revisit the king through historical evidence.