Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland, English soldier and politician, Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard (b. 1590)
Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland (baptised 15 August 1590 – 9 March 1649), was an English courtier and politician. He was executed by Parliament after being captured fighting for the Royalists during the Second English Civil War.
Younger brother of Puritan activist Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick, Henry Rich was better known as an "extravagant, decorative, quarrelsome and highly successful courtier". Despite this reputation, both Rich and his contemporaries considered him a "Puritan", a term that implied family connections and political outlook, not just a moral one.
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 Parliamentarian commander Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex to negotiate peace terms. After Charles agreed a truce with the Catholic Confederation in September, he returned to London and narrowly escaped being tried for treason.
After talks between Charles and Parliament broke down in late 1647, he took part in the 1648 Second English Civil War as a Royalist; captured in July, he was executed in March 1649. Despite these changes in allegiance, 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.