The only contemporary reference to Richard having any deformities was the observation that his right shoulder was slightly higher than his left, which is now known to have been caused by his scoliosis of the spine. After the discovery of Richard's remains in 2012 it became clear that, although he might have been slightly hunched, the degree and direction of the curvature was not as serious as that of a spinal kyphosis (or "hunchback"), and there were no other apparent deformities.