Richard Lovelace (1618–1657) was born outside London, in Woolwich. The eldest son of an old and wealthy Kentish family, Lovelace was educated at Oxford. Young and handsome, the very model of a courtier with his cool demeanor and wit, he caught the admiration of King Charles and Queen Henrietta Maria, who visited Oxford in 1636 and immediately awarded him his master's degree. Lovelace then fought for the king in the civil wars against the Puritans and was wounded, imprisoned, and exiled. In 1648, after his return to England from Holland and France, Lovelace was imprisoned again. When he was released the following year, he was poor and had no means of supporting himself. Surviving on charity, Lovelace lived in squalor for the last ten years of his life. He published Lucasta in 1649. A collection of Lovelace's writings was published in 1659, two years after his death.