Y-chromosome
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This very good blog post details the career and planned future of Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond, who might have succeeded Henry VIII had he not died suddenly at seventeen and a legitimate half-brother been born a year and a quarterlater. It also states his original and current burial places, the latter being St. Michael’s…
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Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence, was born today in 1338, although he died just before his thirtieth birthday. He is, of course, a mixed-line direct ancestor of Richard III but he is the brother of Edmund of Langley, Richard’s male-line great grandfather. Here, John Ashdown-Hill spoke to Nerdalicious about his attempts to locate Lionel…
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The following link arrived in my box this morning.https://figshare.com/…/Richard_III_The_Livingstons_…/4764886 I quote: “18.03.2017, 07:26 by John Smith “A skeleton excavated at the presumed site of the Grey Friars friary in Leicester in 2012 is almost certainly that of the English king, Richard III (1452 -1485), and mtDNA (which is passed from mother to child) extracted from…
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One thing of which we can be certain is that Richard III never played snooker. It was not invented until 1875 in Jabalpur by a Colonel Chamberlain (1). Nevertheless, it is an excellent vehicle for demonstrating the laws of probability with particular reference to the descent of the Plantagenet Y-chromosome from Edward III. Imagine that…
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He lost his head at Pontefract so what was he doing on sale in Colchester? This Kathryn Warner post gives a lot of detail about Thomas Earl of Lancaster’s life, rebellion and execution six days after the Battle of Boroughbridge. Here we explained the circumstances in which John Ashdown-Hill is seeking his remains, to solve…
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Was Richard of Conisburgh Illegitimate?
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What follows was written entirely by Caroline Tilley, Senior Reporter of the Daily Gazette/Essex County Standard Secret marriages, scandalous affairs and one of the best-kept secrets in English history…. WHEN you have helped to unearth arguably the greatest historical find of the 21st century, some people might decide to put their feet up. Not Dr John…
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Once upon a time, in Northampton, there was a horrid, huge, concrete bus station known locally as the ‘Mouth of Hell.’ It was, to the relief of many, destroyed earlier this year. Now there are proposals for a new series of shops, cinemas and even a trampolining centre on the site. While that is an…
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Recently, DNA testing has been used to sequence the genome of Oetzi the Iceman’s clothing. We are now able to trace exactly where the fibres of his garments, both animal and plants originated over 5000 years ago. http://www.nature.com/articles/srep31279 Human DNA was a useful tool in the identification of Richard III’s remains. What about other items…
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As you can see from the article, the author (Tom Leonard) knows the answer to be in the negative because the Royal Marriages Act 1772 precludes the descendants of George II from marrying without the sovereign’s consent – that sovereign being George III at the time. James Ord’s putative ancestor is another James Ord, born…