His nephews, especially, were keen to retain the wealth, power and property they had amassed during their uncle's reign and both sought to move the conclave in their favour.

They started by hiring, it was rumoured, bands of brigands and mercenaries to roam the streets of the city causing trouble, creating noise and generally making it uncomfortable for the cardinals inside the conclave.

Anne of Austria, French Queen Mother and sister to Philip IV of Spain, was adamant that none of the older cardinals appointed by the pro-Spanish Pope Paul V should be elected to the Papal throne.

[1] With the Habsburgs in Spain as well as the Empire, the results of a papal election often depended on the strength, or lack thereof, of anti-Spain groups, and whether these could unite.

Conclave protodeacon Cardinal Carlo de' Medici led a prestigious coalition of non-aligned Italian cardinal-princes connected to the Roman aristocracy.

[citation needed] The French Ambassador, Saint-Chamont, became alarmed by reports of the movement of Spanish Neapolitan troops on the southern border of the Papal States.

He feared that this might be an invasion, with the purpose of capturing the College of Cardinals and forcing the election of a pope favorable to the Spanish interest.