The New Murrey and Blue blog

There have been “animations” of Richard before, and mock-ups of what he actually looked like, but I have to admit that this one is the best so far.

We’re so accustomed to the “reconstruction” made from the exact dimensions of his skull, but there is no life in it, if you know what I mean. The other most well-known picture of him is, of course, the National Portrait Gallery portrait. This in turn is often shown as the Tudor version, in which his face has been deliberately altered in order to make him appear old, cruel and abhorrent.

Now we have an animation that makes me feel it really is what he looked like. He was a handsome young man with friends who served and supported him to the very end. At Bosworth we wuz robbed, as the saying goes, and ended up with Henry Tudor, whose portraits need no doctoring to make him look odious, suspicious and spiteful.

It was a very shabby exchange!

But there is more than one King of England in whom I am particularly interested. He is Richard II, and you can see him at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9f66MCGJi8. My only complaint here is that I’m sure his hair was lighter. But it really is fascinating to see these monarchs “brought to life” so well. Almost eerie, and yet not.