Richard's Hair Color

Ever since the research conducted on Richard III's DNA revealed that he had blond hair that darkened as he aged, people have troubled & argued over what his hair looked like exactly. According to Dr. Turi King, who conducted the research, the painting that comes the closest to what she believes Richard's hair color to have been is the portrait owned by the Society of Antiquaries.

source: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_III_of_England#/media/File:Richard_III_earliest_surviving_portrait.jpg

The owners of the facial reconstruction went a bit further, & turned the reconstruction into a medieval version of a Ken doll: 

credit: Me

It doesn't look that bad up close, but under TV lights, no.

Reaction to Richard's new wig was not positive, to say the least. I've heard that they are going to change the hair color yet again, & hopefully this time it will be closer to the correct shade.

In the meantime, if you want to get an idea of what Richard's hair color most likely was, you need look no further than Prince William, Duke of Cambridge.  Here is a photo of Prince William and his son, Prince George, taken this weekend after the Trooping of the Colour:

Credit: AP/Tim Ireland

For further comparison, here is the photograph released by Kensington Palace on their Twitter account, with side-by-side photographs:

source: https://twitter.com/KensingtonRoyal/status/609702549957025794

It's a little ironic that you can illustrate what Richard's hair color might have been by using examples from the current Royal Family, I think. But this photo collage is an excellent example of how someone's blond hair can darken as they age.

I Would Like to Thank the Academy

Or rather, the editors of the new online newsletter for the Richard III Society-American Branch.  I was asked if I would give permission for them to use one of my articles ( http://sunnesandroses.blogspot.com/2015/04/from-birth-to-death-in-one-day-sixty.html )along with the photographs, in the first edition of their newsletter. It was an interesting experience, and came on the heels of another request for an interview and photographs to be published later this summer.  Both offers came completely out of the blue at a time when I wasn't feeling particularly upbeat. 

 In this issue are several articles by others who were also in Leicester for the reinterment ceremonies, including my good friend & Fellow Loon Susan Troxell, so if you're jonesing for more pictures and eyewitness accounts, check out this link:
http://www.r3.org/newsletter/

How Do You Know When the "True Ricardians" Are Bored?

Sometimes, you just gotta vent. This is one of those times.

Instead of finding something interesting to research & write on, every now & then, the "True Ricardians" get bored & post little hit pieces on their blogs & other social media to see if they can stir things up.  They derive much amusement from calling other people names & making reference to their own little in-jokes, none of which actually advances Ricardian scholarship. I've been stunned to see the drivel that has actually been posted on one "serious" blog. How low those standards have sunk!

The "True Ricardians" love throw around labels like "fake" or "anti" Ricardians any chance they get.  Of course, if you ask them to actually define all those terms, they just ignore your question. I have noticed, however, that the people & groups labelled as "fake" or "anti" Ricardian are those that dare to ask difficult, uncomfortable questions & those that conduct adult conversations about what happened back in 1483-1485.

There are plenty of topics & theories out there to keep everyone interested in Richard III & his times occupied without falling back on writing attack blogs & resorting to name-calling. There are no such things as "True," "fake," or "anti" Ricardians, anyway. We're all just "Ricardians," even if some are dead wrong, er have different opinions about Richard.