Francis Lovell is one of the most intriguing yet lesser-known figures in English history. Often remembered as the loyal companion to Richard III, Lovell played a pivotal role during the Wars of the Roses, especially in the aftermath of the Battle of Stoke Field. His unwavering loyalty to the Yorkist cause led him to fight alongside Richard III and later attempt to reclaim the throne for his fallen king.
Lovell’s mysterious disappearance after the defeat at Stoke Field has only added to his legend, with theories suggesting everything from a quiet death in hiding to a secret life in Scotland. Today, his legacy lives on in both historical texts and fiction, where Francis Lovell continues to captivate readers with his loyalty, bravery, and enigmatic fate.
Discover more about Francis Lovell, a man who refused to give up on a lost cause, and explore his intriguing story through historical fiction like The Last Daughter of York by Nicola Cornick.
Transcript of The Loyal Dog of Richard III: What Happened to Francis Lovell?
Today, we are going to talk about Francis Lovell. He’s a figure that we don’t hear a lot about, but he is remembered as having been the loyal dog of Richard III. He makes appearances in historical fiction books from time to time, especially during the rebellion of Lambert Simnel. So he shows up there. We’re going to talk about this mysterious character.
In 1708, workers renovating the old manor house at Minster Lovell in Oxfordshire discovered a skeleton hidden behind a wall. There were no markings, no coffin—just a man in a secret chamber, long-forgotten. Local legend immediately whispered the name Francis Lovell. A Yorkist who had vanished after the Battle of Stoke Field two centuries earlier—had the last dog of Richard III died alone, starving in the dark? Let’s rewind.
Francis Lovell was born around 1456 into a noble family with deep ties to the northern aristocracy. He inherited the title Baron Lovell and Baron Holland at the age of about eight years old after the death of his father.
As a royal ward, he landed in the care of none other than Richard Neville, the Kingmaker. It was likely here that he first crossed paths with the young Richard, Duke of Gloucester. That friendship would become the defining relationship of his entire life.
Lovell married Anne FitzHugh—another Neville connection—and eventually inherited a large estate from his grandmother. By the early 1470s, he was one of the wealthiest men in the kingdom who didn’t hold a dukedom.
If Richard III had a best friend, it was Lovell. By 1482, Lovell had served with Richard in the Scottish campaigns and was knighted for his role. When Richard took the throne in 1483, Lovell was all in.
He carried the sword of state at the coronation, and his wife Anne walked in the queen’s procession. He was made Lord Chamberlain, Chief Butler, and a Knight of the Garter. But all that loyalty earned him notoriety too. A Tudor lampoon posted at St. Paul’s Cathedral mocked Richard’s inner circle:
“The Cat, the Rat, and Lovell our Dog, ruleth all England under a Hog.”
Lovell was the dog, symbolized by his family’s silver wolf—fiercely loyal, but not blind. When trouble stirred, like Buckingham’s Rebellion later that year, it was Lovell who helped Richard stamp it out.
By 1485, Francis Lovell was tasked with defending England’s southern coast from invasion. But Henry Tudor, a clever man, landed in Wales instead at the Battle of Bosworth in August. Lovell almost certainly fought alongside Richard III, though no chronicler actually mentions him by name. That’s never a good sign for your legacy.
Two lists of the dead even include him, but Lovell wasn’t dead. He had escaped. He fled to sanctuary at Colchester, then slipped away again. By early 1486, Lovell was orchestrating a fresh rebellion in Yorkshire. His aim was to capture or possibly assassinate Henry VII, who was planning a progress there.
Now, he failed badly. He tried again alone in York. He failed again. This man is like the epitome of, “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again,” right? It’s like you only fail when you stop trying. He just never stopped trying. By this point, though, he had nowhere left to turn, so he escaped to the continent. Finding shelter with Margaret of York, Edward IV’s sister, a staunch Yorkist who had no intention of giving up the fight to the Tudors, that’s where his story escalates.
Lovell played a central role in the next major Yorkist scheme: the Lambert Simnel affair. A boy was paraded as Edward IV, allegedly the son of the Duke of Clarence. Lovell backed the plan alongside John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln, and sailed with Simnel to Ireland. There, the child was crowned in Dublin Cathedral.
The invasion force landed in England and met Henry’s army at Stoke Field in 1487. It was June of 1487. It was a brutal clash. Arguably, this was actually the final battle of the Wars of the Roses.
Lincoln was killed. Lovell was last seen fleeing the battlefield. And then, nothing. A Scottish safe conduct was issued for Lovell in 1488, but there’s no record he ever arrived. One story claimed that he lived out his days in secret, maybe even in Scotland. Another claimed he died trying to escape Stoke and was quietly buried at Gedling Church near the battlefield.
A final story, the most dramatic, says that he returned to Minster Lovell, hid in his secret chamber, and died there in solitude. Romantic? Very plausible, eh? Not really.
Francis Lovell was loyal until the very end. He was a soldier, a friend, a rebel, and finally, a mystery—a history’s mystery. A man who clung to a lost cause long after most had let it go. The dog who vanished without a trace.
If you really want to dig into Francis Lovell’s story even more through historical fiction, he plays a central role in the book. It’s a historical fiction time slip, so there’s time travel involved. I love the books by Nicola Cornick. They’re so good. The Last Daughter of York deals with Francis Lovell, so definitely check that out if you want to dive deeper into his story.
Heather Teysko is the creator, writer, and producer of The Renaissance English History Podcast, the original Tudor history podcast, started in 2009. She's been writing about history online for over 25 years, since her first site on Colonial American history became number one in history on Yahoo in 1998. In 2019 she created Tudorcon, which is now a yearly event, in addition to writing books, and running TudorFair.com - a whimsical Tudor Merch shop.
She has been passionate about Tudor England since she first read Alison Weir's The Six Wives of Henry VIII 30 years ago, and subsequently moved to London after college to spend her time immersed in Tudor history (how exciting when she got to interview Alison for the first time!). In addition to history, she is passionate about travel, and has lived in 3 countries and 4 states (not counting her perpetual state of confusion), and her family (who help her host her YouTube channel occasionally).
