Richard III: Dead king live tweets his final days

While the remains of King Richard III are being viewed by thousands in Leicester Cathedral, the dead king is live tweeting his final days before being buried. Using the Twitter handle of @Richard_third, he describes himself as “former king of england, leicesterian, I’m gunna get you henry tudor, not the views of the current royal family. (they are imposters!), Last of the Plantagenets.”

The account popped up in September 2012, the month the king’s bones were exhumed from that famous parking lot in Leicester. And though he’d tweeted regularly in subsequent years, it went into overdrive on Sunday when the coffin was moved from the university to Bosworth Field, where he was killed, then finally to the cathedral.

Advance notice to the waiting masses . . . I’m 20mins late, I’ve waited 500 years for this so another 20mins won’t hurt? #dickysdodgytour—Richard III (@richard_third) March 22, 2015

 

About to reach battlefield site. Mildly concerned about the possibility of Suffering post traumatic stress disorder as a result. . .— Richard III (@richard_third) March 22, 2015

 

It was just over there . . . just by that tree, that’s where he stabbed me from behind . . . *shudder* #dickysdodgytour—Richard III (@richard_third) March 22, 2015

 

And it’s not all about him. He’s aware that 530 years have passed since he was slain. So for those queuing for hours, he issued a series of recommendations, including a visit to the cathedral gift shop on the way out. (He’s partial to the hoodie.)

3, No selfie sticks, no baseball hats, no goths. Nothing personal but I hate Goths.—Richard III (@richard_third) March 23, 2015

He’s even engaged in a Twitter war with Henry VIII, the son of the man who killed him. Apparently, there are no hard feelings, especially since Richard III is now more popular than the rotund Tudor.

Didn’t involve 7000 people though eh? “@KngHnryVIII: What a day. So much living, learning, laughing & loving. But mostly getting fat.”—Richard III (@richard_third) March 24, 2015

Following dead people or deities is nothing new on Twitter. Everyone from Shakespeare (@Wmm_Shakespeare) to Socrates (@Socrrates) has an account. Towering above them all, metaphysically and in more practical ways, is God (@thetweetofgod), with more than 1.8 million followers. The self-proclaimed “dope-ass divinity, trollin’ with My trinity, droppin’ top tweets in your immediate vicinity, flingin’ fly phrases from the fringes of infinity” follows only one person: Justin Bieber.

This Richard III may be the hot one today, but he isn’t alone. Another Richard III account started big, but soon died (again).

As for the “current” Richard III, well, he has one goal (beyond being properly buried on Thursday).

9,600 followers! #getmeto10kbyfuneralday—Richard III (@richard_third) March 25, 2015