UK confirms finding Richard III's skeleton

British researchers have confirmed that a skeleton with a cleaved skull and a curved spine found beneath a car park in central UK, was that of Richard III, the last English king to die in battle, solving a 500-year-old mystery about his final resting place.

Archaeologists announced the results of DNA tests on the skeleton's identity on Monday, which they hope might lead to a better understanding of how Richard died.

"There is a match between the maternal DNA from the descendants of the family of Richard the third and the skeletal remains that we found," researchers said.

Richard was killed fighting his eventual successor Henry Tudor at the Battle of Bosworth Field in central England in 1485.

A team of archaeologists and historians from the University of Leicester said evidence showed that a skeleton found last year during excavations of a medieval friary under a parking lot in the city was indeed that of Richard.

The find led to a team of scientists reconstructed the face of what the king would have looked like. The reconstructed face has a slightly arched nose and prominent chin, similar to features shown in portraits of Richard III painted after his death.

Historian and author John Ashdown-Hill said seeing it was "almost like being face to face with a real person".

The development comes after archaeologists from the University of Leicester confirmed the skeleton found last year was the 15th Century king's, with DNA from the bones having matched that of descendants of the monarch's family.

Richard was killed in the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, at the age of 32 and after just two years on the throne, having been challenged by the forces of Henry Tudor, the future Henry VII.