Richard III and his Royal Household

The business of Government.

Richard III took the business of Government seriously.

He was familiar with the way medieval government operated.

He was familiar with this as he had assisted his brother Edward IV as viceroy in the North.

He appointed Councillors who would do the Kings bidding.

 He chose them based on their ability and loyalty.

Not those who would dominate the throne for self serving purposes.

For example, Richard III appointed his nephew John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln,to head the council of the North and fill the power of vacuum he had left their since becoming King.

Whilst Richard III valued loyalty he also valued experience. Out of the 56 Councillors who served, 26 had served Edward IV's council, including William Catesby.

 

 Royal Council of Advisers.

 

 Richard III's royal council of advisers was made up of key members of the Royal Household. He worked closely with secretary John Kendall and his Chamber Treasurer Edmund Chadderton carrying out the routine tasks of Government.

Richard's council was dominated by trusted gentlemen of his own Northern affinity, including Richard Ratcliffe and William Catesby. They acted as royal agents in the southern counties he was not familiar with and had proved troublesome early on in his reign. This policy, known as planting, created resentment in the south.

The names of these trusted gentlemen can be remembered by this poem, that was pinned to the door of St. Paul's Cathedral on the 18th of July in 1484.

'the Catte, the Ratte and Lovell our dogge
rulyth all Englande under a hogge.'