Francis Lovell, Viscount Lovell

Francis Lovell was an English noble, politician and supporter of King Richard III (r. 1483-1485) in the dynastic struggles of the 1480s. He led the first rebellion against Richard’s enemy and successor Henry VII (r. 1485-1509) and took part in the later rising of the impostor Lambert Simnel, a pretender to the throne of England.

Lovell was a close friend and adviser of Richard III, and in 1483 he was Chief Butler of England. He fought with Richard in the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1385, but escaped when Richard was killed. He continued to fight against Henry VII. In May 1487, Lovell and John de la Pole, earl of Lincoln, and a force of German mercenaries went to Ireland in support of Lambert Simnel, the impostor “King Edward VI.” They were defeated by Henry VII’s army at East Stoke, Nottinghamshire, in June 1487.

Lovell was discovered in 1708 in a secret vault in Lovell’s house at Minster Lovell, Oxfordshire. There was a skeleton sitting at a table with a book open, pen and paper beside it. The remains dissolved into dust in minutes.

At his peak, Lovell was worth £25,000 at a time when net national income stood at £4.6m. in 2010 this would be worth £5.9bn.