Richard III discovery sparks call for a review of Macbeth

Historical revisions sparked by the discovery of the remains of Richard III should also prompt a review of the reign of Scottish king Macbeth, an MSP has suggested.

Richard III and Macbeth were both portrayed as villains by playwright William Shakespeare, but the discovery of Richard III’s remains beneath a Leicester car park has led some experts to suggest he was unfairly maligned.

Conservative MSP Alex Johnstone believes Macbeth was given a similarly unfair portrayal by Shakespeare.

He said: “I am of the strong belief that the coverage of Richard III should act as a catalyst here to right the wrongs about the reign of Macbeth.

“It is ironic that he remains an iconic monarch to this day largely because of Shakespeare, but I would rather he was iconic on the basis of facts rather than fiction.”