KING Richard III was driven to drink by the pressures of power, according to new evidence.
Researchers who carried out tests on his skeleton after it was unearthed from a council car park in Leicester in 2012, were able to reveal details about his diet.
The team, whose work was filmed for a new Channel 4 documentary about the doomed king, also used a body double to prove Richard's curved spine would not have stopped him fighting in battle.
The king, who was immortalised by Sir Laurence Olivier in Richard III, pictured, reigned from 1483, and was killed at the Battle of Bosworth in August 1485.
Analysis of his bones and teeth showed his drinking habits changed significantly around the time he became king in 1483 and that during the last three years of his life he consumed about a bottle of wine a day.
His diet also changed at the same time and it included exotic meat including swan, crane, heron and egret.
Earlier this month it was announced Richard's body will be reburied at Leicester Cathedral on March 26.
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