Description | Penelope Devereux (1563–1607), Lady Rich, was a daughter of Lettice Knollys and a sister of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex. She was one of the great beauties of the court of Queen Elizabeth I of England. She was a muse to Sir Philip Sidney and other poets. In 1581, she was married to Robert, 3rd Baron Rich. The union was unhappy and Penelope had an affair with Charles Blount, Baron Mountjoy, later Earl of Devonshire, whom she eventually married. |