Hay, Lucy (1599–1660)

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Hay, Lucy (1599–1660)

Countess of Carlisle . Born in 1599; died in 1660; daughter of Henry Percy, 9th earl of Northumberland; married James Hay, 1st earl of Carlisle, in 1617.

Born in 1599, Lucy Hay, countess of Carlisle, went on to establish strong political ties. She exercised influence over Queen Henrietta Maria (sister of Louis XIII of France and wife of Charles I), was an intimate of Thomas Wentworth (earl of Stafford) and John Pym, and acted as an intermediary between Scottish and English leaders during the English Civil War. The countess was imprisoned in the Tower of London from 1649 to 1650 and died ten years later. Distinguished by her great beauty and wit, Lucy Hay inspired a number of English poets, including Thomas Carew, John Suckling, Robert Herrick, Edmund Waller, and William D'Avenant.