"They found Richard the Third's body" says Roderick between bites of scrapple.
"I didn't know it was lost" says Molly.
Megan is puzzled. "Who is Richard the Third?"
Anna explains. "Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 in the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat at Bosworth Field, the decisive battle of the Wars of the Roses, is sometimes regarded as the end of the Middle Ages in England. He is the subject of the play Richard III by William Shakespeare."
Roderick is impressed. "You really know your history! That sounds exactly like the opening paragraph of the Wikipedia entry about Richard III."
Anna holds up her iPhone, which displays the opening paragraph of the the Wikipedia entry about Richard III.
"How do you lose a body?" asks Molly. "That seems like it would be hard to do."
"Because of the circumstances of his accession and in consequence of Henry VII's victory," says Anna, "Richard III's remains received burial without pomp and were lost for more than five centuries. In 2012, an archaeological excavation was conducted on a city council car park on the site once occupied by Greyfriars, Leicester. The University of Leicester confirmed on 4 February 2013 that a skeleton found in the excavation was, beyond reasonable doubt, that of Richard III, based on a combination of evidence from radiocarbon dating, comparison with contemporary reports of his appearance, and a comparison of his mitochondrial DNA with two matrilineal descendants of Richard III's eldest sister, Anne of York."
"Wow!" says Roderick.
Anna holds up her iPhone, which displays the fourth paragraph of the Wikipedia entry.
Henry, who was sitting quietly eating his breakfast, joins the conversation. "I saw that play once. Richard the Third was a piece of work."
"I don't know," says Roderick. "Everyone ignores the good things Richard did."
"He arranged for a clergyman to declare his nephews to be illegitimate sons of his elder brother, so he could succeed to the throne," says Henry.
"Well, yes, he did do that."
"And he arranged for the execution of Hastings, his brother's Lord Chamberlain."
"Yes, but except for those two things he was a pretty good king."
"He also murdered his two young nephews, who were ahead of him in the line of succession."
"Okay, well except for declaring his two young nephews to be illegitimate, killing them and arranging the execution of Hastings, he was a pretty good king."
"Also, he lost the Battle of Bosworth Field and died at the hands of Henry Tudor, who subsequently became Henry VII," says Anna, peeking at her iPhone.
Roderick feels like he is losing the argument, and is a little cross. "So it's all about who wins and who loses."
Molly has no deep knowledge of political history, but she remembers something her father said once. "History is written by the victors," she chirps. Roderick glares at her.
Megan adds her two cents. "Henry Ford said History is bunk. Also, he did not like Jews."
In the hallway, Molly presses up to Roderick and kisses him. Roderick was cross, but he isn't now.
