Isabella, Mountjoy Blount, 1st Earl of Newport (1597–1666), and Charles (1605–1627). Almost certainly fathered by Charles Mountjoy, these children were brought up within the Rich family and appear in its pedigree, with the exception of Mountjoy, who was legitimised after his father's death. His father Robert was the wealthiest landowner in Essex, created Earl of Warwick in 1618, and a prominent supporter of reforms within the Church of England, as were his sons. However, while his elder brother was a devout Puritan throughout his life, Henry acquired a reputation as an "extravagant, decorative, quarrelsome and highly successful courtier". In 1612, he married Isabel Cope, whose dowry included Cope House in Kensington. This was greatly expanded by Rich in 1624 to 1625 and renamed Holland House; largely destroyed in 1940, parts of the original house still remain. They had numerous children, including Frances (1617–1672), Richard (1619–1675), Henry (1620–1669), Isabella (1623–1670), Susannah (1628–1649), Diana (d. 1659), Charles (d. 1645), Cope (1635–1676) and Mary (1636–1666). Several of the family tombs are at St Mary Abbots Church, Kensington. Career; pre-1639 Rich was educated at Eton and graduated from Emmanuel College, Cambridge in 1603. Reportedly a godson of Henry IV of France, he travelled to Paris in 1607 before returning to England in 1610. Elected as MP for the vacant seat of Leicester in May, he was knighted in June when James I's heir Henry was created Prince of Wales. Shortly thereafter, he served as a volunteer in the Siege of Jülich (1610), part of the War of the Jülich Succession which preceded the wider conflict of the Thirty Years War. As was then common, Rich completed his education by studying law at the Inner Temple in 1611 and was re-elected for Leicester in the short-lived Addled Parliament of 1614. Clarendon later wrote he was ideally suited to the Jacobean era court, being "a very handsome man, of a lovely and winning presence". However, wealth was also a prerequisite; his father-in-law Sir Walter Cope died in 1614 with debts of over £27,000, greatly impacting Rich's ability to advance. Rich became close to Charles, installed as heir to the throne when Prince Henry died in 1612, as well as his favourite, the Duke of Buckingham. He took part in various diplomatic missions and briefly served as a volunteer in the Eighty Years War, before being created Baron Kensington in 1623. The next year he was made