Henri IV: France divided by skull found in attic said to be king The claims have been made in a new book after head was found in Angers The authors say the facial features including a broken nose prove it is the king's head Descendants of two royal French dynasties are divided over claims Henri was assassinated and buried but revolutionaries dug up his grave and chopped off his head A mummified head found in an attic, claimed to be that of the first French monarch Henri IV, continues to divide historians and researchers. A new book claims to end the mystery of what happened to the king's remains, mainly his head which researchers say was found five years ago in the attic of Jacques Bellanger, a retired tax collector in Angers, western France. The claims come as British scientists confirmed that a skeleton unearthed in Leicester was Richard III, who was killed in battle more than 500 years ago. Mystery of remains: This mummified head, found in an attic in Angers, western France, is the French monarch Henri IV's head, researchers say but there are critics who dispute the claims In book Henri IV: The Mystery of a Headless King, authors Stéphane Gabet and Philippe Charlier say that facial hair, a broken nose, a knife gash on the upper lip from a failed assassination attempt and a large beauty spot prove that the head is the king's. There are now calls for his head to be reburied in the Basilica of Saint Denis but as critics dispute and continue to argue over the claim, it remains in a bank vault near the Bastille. Forensic pathologist Charlier led a team of researchers who claim their research has uncovered a rare genetic signature shared by Henri and Louis XVI, who are separated by seven generations, and managed to provide evidence for the authenticity of both sets of remains in the process. Calls to be reburied: Some say the head should be reburied with Henri's body in the Basilica of Saint Denis but critics continue to argue over the claim He said: 'This study shows that (the owners of the remains) share a genetic heritage passed on through the paternal line. They have a direct link to one another through their fathers. Critics refute claims it is Henri's head and say that the brain in the mummified head, which has shrunk to the size of a nut, would have been removed by royal embalmers had it been Henri. Long thought to belong to Henri, assassinated at the age of 57 by a Catholic fanatic in 1610, the head changed hands several times over the next two centuries, bought and sold at auction or kept in secretive private collections. Henri IV was killed by a Catholic fanatic as his coach became caught up in traffic congestion 400 years ago. Unearthed: The claims come as British scientists confirmed that a skeleton found in Leicester was that of Richard III, who was killed in battle more than 500 years ago New detail: The facial reconstruction of Richard III was unveiled last week (right) following the confirmation of remains found in Leicester last year He was buried in the Basilica of Saint Denis near Paris, but during the frenzy of the French Revolution, the royal graves were dug up and revolutionaries chopped off Henri's head, which was then snatched. The head disappeared but resurfaced in 1919 when antiques dealer Joseph Emile Bourdais bought it from an auction house for three francs, it has been claimed. Divided dynasties: The remains have divided descendants of two royal French dynasties including Prince Louis de Bourbon who wants the head to be reburied with the king's body He tried unsuccessfully to confirm the authenticity of the head as Henri's for much of his life, even offering it to the Louvre before his death in 1946 but was refused. Ever since then it was kept in secretive private collections until 2008 when a head was found in Mr Bellanger's attic, who claimed he bought it in 1953. In their examinations of the monarch's head, Gabet and Charlier found features often seen in the king's portraits, including a dark wound above his right nostril. They also found a healed bone fracture above his upper left jaw, which matched a stab wound the king suffered during an assassination attempt in 1594 and a pierced ear. Mr Gabet wrote: "In the loft, in an old wardrobe, was a box. Inside, there was something wrapped in an old towel. Jacques Bellanger folded back one side of the towel, then the other. The mummified head appeared, well conserved, impressive. It was a magic moment. The mystery has divided descendants of two royal French dynasties. The Duke of France and Count of Paris, Henri d'Orléans, has called the book a "pseudo inquiry." He told French journalists: "This affair seems closer to a novel than scientific or historic truth. What are we supposed to see from this supposed facial reconstitution - that he had a Bourbon nose? The Duke of Anjou, Prince Louis de Bourbon, disputes this. He said: "Now that we have found and authenticated the head, we have to organise its return [to the rest of the body]." The facial reconstruction of Richard III was unveiled last week following the confirmation of the remains found in Leicester.