What was Richard III's motto?

What was Richard III's motto? Loyaulte me lie.

Richard III’s motto was “Loyaulte me lie,” a Middle French phrase usually translated as “Loyalty binds me” or “Loyalty binds me to you.” It expressed the chivalric ideal of loyalty and became closely associated with Richard’s identity as king.

The motto is documented from 1483, the year Richard took the throne. It appeared with his signature in a surviving manuscript and was later used on the charter incorporating London’s Wax Chandlers’ Company in February 1484. It also appeared on royal heraldic material alongside Richard’s white-boar emblem.

Richard used other mottoes at different points in his life, including “A vous me lie,” meaning “I am bound to you.” That can make the question seem broader than it is, but “Loyaulte me lie” is the standard answer for his principal royal motto. It is not the same as “Dieu et mon droit,” the motto associated with the English monarchy more generally.