Scientists confirmed Monday that a skeleton found under a carpark in the English city of Leicester was that of King Richard III, in a bizarre end to a 500-year-old historical mystery.

   DNA from the bones matched that of descendants of the king's sister, while the skeleton had the twisted spine and battle injuries consistent with contemporary accounts, said researchers from the University of Leicester.

  The remains of the monarch -- depicted by William Shakespeare as a monstrous hunchback and often viewed as one of English history's greatest villains -- will now be solemnly reburied in the local cathedral.

  The discovery has caused huge excitement among historians, as it provides firm evidence about a monarch whose life has been shrouded in controversy since his death at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.

  According to historical accounts, Richard's body was transported naked and bloody on the back of a pack horse to Leicester before being buried in an unmarked grave at Greyfriars, a Franciscan friary in the central English city.

  The crown passed from the Plantagenet dynasty to the Tudor monarchs who painted Richard as a deformed villain who stopped at nothing in his quest for power, even murdering his two young nephews -- the so-called Princes in the Tower -- to secure the throne.

  The hunt for his body began in earnest in 2012 when archaeologists working on historical accounts and geographical clues started to dig beneath the municipal carpark on the spot where Greyfriars was, and found the skeleton.

  On Monday the research team said the skeleton confirmed that the monarch had severe scoliosis, or twisting of the spine. It may have been painful and caused his right shoulder to appear higher than his left, but there was no evidence of the withered arm depicted in Shakespeare's "Richard III".

  Historians now hope to dispel some of the myths about Richard, publicising evidence to refute claims that he killed the two young princes and focusing on what he achieved in his brief two-year reign, including the establishment of a system of bail and legal aid.

  Philippa Langley, a member of the Richard III Society who coordinated and helped fund the search, said she hoped a new image would emerge of the king and "the two-dimensional character devised by the Tudors will be no more".

  "We have searched for Richard and we have found him. Now it's time to honour him," she said.

  英国科学家本周一证实，莱斯特市的一个停车场地下挖出的遗骸为15世纪英格兰国王理查三世，这也解开了长达五百年的谜团。

  莱斯特大学研究人员表示，这副骸骨的DNA同理查三世一名姐妹的后代吻合，而且骸骨的脊柱弯曲，有战争留下的创伤，这都与历史记载吻合。

  理查三世的遗骨将在当地教堂被正式重新埋葬。他一直被视为英国历史上最残酷的暴君之一，威廉-莎士比亚将其刻画为“驼背的暴君”。

  这一发现引起了历史学家的极大关注，因为这为了解理查三世提供了更加确凿的证据。理查三世于1485年死于博斯沃思战役，之后有关他的一生一直充满争议。

  根据历史记载，理查三世战败后，其裸露的尸体曾被放在一匹驮马上运往莱斯特，后埋在莱斯特一家方济会修道院的墓地，但没有任何标记。莱斯特位于英国中部。

  理查三世是金雀花王朝的最后一位国君，都铎王朝的继任者将其塑造成了不惜一切代价追求权力的无恶不作的暴君，还称他谋杀了他的两个侄子－也就是“塔中王子”－来保住王位。

  2012年，科学家开始认真寻找他的遗体。考古学家根据史书记载和地理线索，在一个市政停车场开始挖掘，并最终发现了遗骨。这里就是史书记载中埋葬查理三世的教堂的地点。

  本周一，研究小组表示，根据遗骨可以看出，理查三世患有严重的脊柱侧弯，或者说脊柱弯曲。这会让他十分痛苦，还会导致右肩比左肩高，但莎士比亚的《理查三世》中描述的枯萎的手臂却无从证实。

  历史学家希望解开有关理查三世的谜团，公开证据以反驳他杀害了两个年轻侄子的说法，重点关注他在位两年期间的成就，包括建立了保释制度和法律援助制度。

  “理查三世研究小组”的成员菲利帕·朗丽说，她希望能重塑理查三世的形象，都铎王朝的继任者塑造出来的片面形象将不复存在。她负责协调研究工作以及筹款。

  她说：“我们一直在寻找他的遗骨，终于找到了。现在是为他恢复名誉的时候了。”