Hearing Richard III Speak Again: Bringing History to Life
Imagine being able to hear one of the most fascinating figures from history speak again — not through Shakespeare’s dramatizations or modern actors, but in his own voice, speaking his own words.
In this special film, Richard III expert Matthew Lewis follows an ambitious project aimed at doing just that: giving Richard III back his voice over 500 years after his death. By combining facial reconstruction, speech science, and historical research, the team has created the closest possible approximation of how Richard actually sounded.
The project relies on the groundbreaking work of voice coach Yvonne Morley-Chisholm, who has brought together experts from diverse fields — historic speech, regional pronunciation, anatomy, theatre, psychology, history, and even dentistry — to reconstruct Richard’s vocal patterns and delivery. Every syllable is informed by scientific evidence, historical context, and meticulous analysis.
Meanwhile, Professor Caroline Wilkinson and her team at FaceLab have recreated Richard’s face using the primary evidence of his skull, rediscovered in 2012. The facial reconstruction is not just static; it is being digitally animated to speak, producing a visual and auditory approximation of the king himself.
This project doesn’t just recreate a voice. It brings Richard III back to life, letting us experience history in a way never before possible — to see him, hear him, and understand him as a living, breathing person rather than a figure frozen in textbooks or theatre performances.
🎥 Watch the video below to hear Richard III speak for the first time in centuries, and witness the extraordinary science and artistry that brings him back to life:
