Richard III seemed "alive and about to speak," he said.

"At last, it seems, we have the true image of Richard III -- is this the face that launched a thousand myths?"

Sarah Levitt, head of Leicester City Council's Arts and Museum division said the reconstruction had the presence of a "living, breathing man."

It would be given "pride of place" in the Richard III visitors center due to open in the central England city next year, she said.