Henry Wilmot Richmond, 1st Earl of Richmond

Henry Wilmot Richmond, 1st Earl of Richmond (born Nov. 2, 1612?—died Feb. 19, 1658, Sluis, Neth.) was a leading Royalist during the English Civil Wars, a principal adviser to the Prince of Wales, later Charles II.

Wilmot was the son of Charles Wilmot (c. 1570–1644), the 1st earl of Athlone in the Irish peerage. Having fought against the Scots at Newburn and been imprisoned and expelled from the House of Commons for plotting in the interests of Charles I in 1641, Henry Wilmot served the King well during the Civil Wars, being responsible for the victories at Roundway Down in July 1643 and Cropredy Bridge in June 1644. Wilmot was, however, on bad terms with some of the King’s friends, including Prince Rupert, and in 1644 he is reported to have said that Charles I was afraid of peace and to have advised his supercession by his son, the Prince of Wales. Consequently he was deprived of his command and, after a short imprisonment, was allowed to cross over to France.

He was greatly trusted by Charles II, whose defeat at the Battle of Worcester (1651) and subsequent wanderings he shared; and during Charles’ exile he was one of his principal advisers, being created by him earl of Rochester in 1652. In the interests of Charles he visited the emperor Ferdinand III, the duke of Lorraine, and the elector of Brandenburg; and in March 1655 he was in England, where he led a feeble attempt at a rising on Marston Moor, near York; on its failure he went into hiding and eventually fled to the Continent, dying in exile.