By The Associated Press

Published: Sunday, February 3, 2013, 9:10 p.m.
Updated: Wednesday, February 20, 2013

LONDON — Has Britain's lost king been found?

On Monday, scientists will announce the results of tests conducted to determine whether a battle-scarred skeleton found under a municipal parking lot in central England belongs to 15th-century King Richard III, the last English monarch to die in combat.

The University of Leicester, which is leading the search, refuses to speculate on what the announcement will say. But archaeologists, historians and local tourism officials are all hoping for confirmation that the monarch's long-lost remains have been located.

So are the king's fans in the Richard III Society, set up to re-evaluate the reputation of a reviled monarch. Richard was immortalized in a play by William Shakespeare as a hunchbacked usurper who left a trail of bodies — including those of his two young nephews, murdered in the Tower of London — on his way to the throne.

“It will be a whole new era for Richard III,” the society's Lynda Pidgeon said. “It's certainly going to spark a lot more interest. Hopefully people will have a more open mind toward Richard.”

Richard III remains an enigma — villain to many, hero to some.

He ruled England between 1483 and 1485, during the decades-long tussle over the throne known as the Wars of the Roses. His brief reign included liberal reforms, including introduction of the right to bail and the lifting of restrictions on books and printing presses.

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