Francis`s part in Richard`s coronation

The celebrations for Richard III`s coronation started on 4th July 1483 and lasted two days, culminating in the ceremony in Westminster Abbey on 6th July. What is still known about what sort of celebrations there were, what they would have been like and when and how they took place is detailed in Anne F. Sutton and P.W.Hammond`s brilliant book "The Coronation of Richard III: The extant Documents", as are any remaining details on who was responsible for what bit of planning and who played what part in them.

Francis, having been newly made Richard`s lord chamberlain on 28th June 1483 and being newly promoted to political importance, naturally featured in the celebrations. Chronologically, the first mention of him in connection with the coronation is found in the Little Device, in a note next to the description of the queen`s coronation, quoted by Sutton and Hammond:

“The Cardinall after that shall blesse a rich rynge saynge this orison, Creator, castinge holy water apon itt and putte the same rynge on the iiijth fynger of the Quenys right hand, saynge in this wise Accipe anulum, that endyd he shall say Dominus vobiscum with this collecte, Deus cuius.”

Next to this, in the margin, are written the following words: "Remembre A Ryng that Lovell shall ordeyne for.". As Sutton and Hammond point out, "[t]his note must have been written for Richard III`s coronation, the reference to plain “Lovell” is suggestive of a note by the King himself."

It is interesting to note that Richard apparently found it necessary to write this reminder, though why he chose to explicitly mention that it would be purchased by Francis, there is no indication. It may be because this was due to Francis`s recent appointment as lord chamberlain, though, or because unlike most other details of the coronation, it was not organised by Harry Stafford, Duke of Buckingham, in his position as Great Chamberlain.

We do not know, but we do know that Francis rose to the occasion and purchased a fitting ring for Queen Anne, with a sapphire and pearls. As Sutton and Hammond point out, while there is no certainty how much the queen herself, Richard or Francis got to choose about how the ring was made, and the Little Device itself does not give any specifics, it appears that at least a sapphire was traditional from the time of Queen Matilda, consort to William the Conqueror.

This seems to have been Francis`s only task before the coronation itself; if he had any others, they were not recorded and therefore likely informal. The next mention of Francis is during the coronation itself, where he was recorded to have carried the third sword of state.

This is notable for two reasons, first because Francis seems to have been the only person included in Richard`s train at his coronation for solely personal reasons. Sutton and Hammond point out the political causes for all others, such as John Howard, Duke of Norfolk, his son the Earl of Surrey, Thomas Stanley, Earl of Derby, and many others, but note that "[i]t seems probable that Lovel was given the third sword to carry as a friend of the King, rather than for his political weight". Many others having places in his train, such as Norfolk and Lincoln, were also friendly with Richard, but Francis was the only one for whom no other reason but this was obvious for his appointment.

The second reason why it is notable is that this position, between plenty of men of higher birth and standing, would not have been the one he was originally meant to have. As Joanna M. Williams notes, he should have born "the gold sceptre with a dove before the Queen" while the Earl of Huntingdon was to bear the third sword of state, but their roles were reversed, a high honour for Francis.

The last mention of Francis also comes from the Little Device, saying that "my lorde Lovell stode before the King all the diner tyme" during the banquet following the coronation ceremony. It is usually assumed, and also stated by Sutton and Hammond, that he, along with Sir Robert Percy, Richard`s lord comptroller and equally a close friend, served the king, as would have been traditional, but the Little Device makes no mention of that. In fact, it actually seems to contradict it, not including his name in the descriptions of who served the royal couple and how and explicitly saying that "all the diner tyme" he stood before Richard, not adding that he did so only when not serving him. There is no mention made as to why he stood there, or how. It seems to be implied that as this put him in very close proximity to the king, it was a high honour, but at the same time it does not seem to have been an official, traditional task.

All in all, it seems that while Francis was given honours in the celebration, they were due to personal reasons and, apart from his part in Richard`s train during the coronation ceremony, personal tasks.

This, of course, reflects well his later part in Richard´s government, where his influence, as noted by Rosemary Horrox among others, seems to have been largely due to personal relationships and informal means as well.