Penelope Blount, Countess of Devonshire

Penelope Devereux
Lady Rich
Portrait miniature thought to be Penelope Devereux, Lady Rich, c.1590 by Nicholas Hilliard
BornJanuary 1563
Chartley Castle, Staffordshire, England
Died7 July 1607 (aged 44)
London, England
Noble familyDevereux
Spouse(s)Robert Rich, 3rd Baron Rich
Charles Blount, 1st Earl of Devonshire
IssueRobert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick
Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland
Sir Charles Rich
Lettice Rich
Penelope Rich
Essex Rich
Isabel Rich
Mountjoy Blount, 1st Earl of Newport
Elizabeth Blount
John Blount
FatherWalter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex
MotherLettice Knollys

Penelope Rich, Lady Rich, later styled Penelope Blount (née Devereux; January 1563[1] – 7 July 1607) was an English court office holder. She served as lady-in-waiting to the English queen Anne of Denmark. She was the sister of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, and is traditionally thought to be the inspiration for "Stella" of Sir Philip Sidney's Astrophel and Stella sonnet sequence (published posthumously in 1591).[2][3] She was married to Robert Rich, 3rd Baron Rich (later 1st Earl of Warwick) and had a public liaison with Charles Blount, Baron Mountjoy, whom she married in an unlicensed ceremony following her divorce from Rich. She died in 1607.

  1. ^ Hammer, p. 22. Hammer cites M. Margetts: "A christening date for Lady Penelope Rich", N&Q 238, (1993), pp. 153–54.
  2. ^ Stephen, p. 1007
  3. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Rich, Penelope, Lady" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 23 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 292.

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