The centre opened on 26 July 2014 on the site of the then recently excavated Greyfriars, the medieval friary where the King was buried in 1485 following his death at the Battle of Bosworth Field.

The Centre occupies a former school, Alderman Newton's School, next to the original Social Services car park where King Richard's remains were found during Philippa Langley and the Richard III Society's excavation project, which was started by the University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS) on 25 August 2012 (the remains were found on the first day).

Because of worldwide interest in the discovery, Leicester City Council converted the Victorian school building into a visitor centre.

The centre cost £4 million, and was designed by Paul East of Maber Architects.

In December 2017, Historic England scheduled a significant part of the site of the former friary.