Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland

The Right Honourable The Earl of Holland KB PC JP
Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland by Anthony van Dyck, circa 1640
Chancellor of the University of Cambridge
In office 1628–1649
Governor of Windsor Castle and Landguard Fort
In office 1628–1648
Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire & Middlesex
In office 1628–1643
Groom of the Stool
In office 1636–1643
Privy Council of England
In office 1624–1642
Member of Parliament for Leicester
In office April 1614 – June 1614
Personal details
Born	15 August 1590 (baptised) London
Died	9 March 1649(1649-03-09) (aged 58) New Palace Yard, Westminster
Resting place	St Mary Abbots
Nationality	English
Spouse	Isabel (1612 – until his death)
Children	Frances (1617–1672); Robert (1619–1675); Henry (1620–1669); Isabella (1623–1670); Susannah (1628–1649); Diana (d. 1659); Charles (d. 1645); Cope (1635–1676); Mary (1636–1666)
Parent(s)	Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick Penelope Devereux
Residence	Holland House
Alma mater	Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Occupation	Soldier and courtier
Military service
Rank	General
Battles/wars	War of the Jülich Succession Siege of Jülich (1610); Eighty Years War Anglo-French War (1627–1629) Siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré; Wars of the Three Kingdoms First Battle of Newbury; Battle of St Neots (1648)

Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland KG KB PC (baptised 15 August 1590, died 9 March 1649), was an English courtier and politician executed by Parliament after being captured fighting for the Royalists during the Second English Civil War. Younger brother of Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick, a Puritan activist and commander of the Parliamentarian navy during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, Henry was better known as an "extravagant, decorative, quarrelsome and highly successful courtier".^[1]

A close friend of Charles I and his favourite the Duke of Buckingham, Rich performed various diplomatic errands, including negotiations for Charles' marriage to Henrietta Maria of France in 1625. He took part in the unsuccessful attack on Saint-Martin-de-Ré in 1627 and held a number of important positions at court during the 1630s. When the First English Civil War began in August 1642, Rich remained in London rather than joining the Royalists, but like other moderates became disillusioned with the war. He defected in July 1643 after failing to persuade his cousin and commander-in-chief of the Parliamentarian army, Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, to negotiate peace terms.

When Charles agreed a truce with the Catholic Confederation in September 1643, Rich returned to London and narrowly escaped being tried for treason. After peace talks between Charles and Parliament broke down in late 1647, he fought for the Royalists in the Second English Civil War and was captured in July 1648. Having escaped trial previously, he was executed in March 1649, although Rich claimed he had always been faithful to Parliament and never changed the 'principles that ever I professed". This was a view shared by many Parliamentarian moderates, particularly after the Execution of Charles I in January 1649.^[2]