Editing Richard Cromwell (section)

==Early years and family==
Cromwell was born in [[Huntingdon]] on 4 October 1626, the third son of [[Oliver Cromwell]] and his wife [[Elizabeth Cromwell|Elizabeth]]. Little is known about his childhood. He and his three brothers were educated at [[Felsted School]] in Essex close to their mother's family home.<ref name="waylencromwell28">{{harvnb |Waylen |Cromwell |1897 |p=28}}</ref> There is no record of his attending university. In May 1647, he became a member of [[Lincoln's Inn]];<ref name="waylencromwell28" /> however, he was not called to the [[Bar (law)|bar]] subsequently.<ref name=np>{{cite book|title=Oliver Cromwell: New Perspectives|editor=Patrick Little|publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]]|page=248|year=2008|isbn=978-1137018854}}</ref> Instead, in 1647 Cromwell joined the [[New Model Army]] as a captain in [[Philip Sidney, 3rd Earl of Leicester|Viscount Lisle]]'s [[Life guard (military)|lifeguard]], and later that year was appointed captain in [[Thomas Fairfax]]'s lifeguard.<ref name=np/>

In 1649, Cromwell married [[Dorothy Maijor]], daughter of [[Richard Maijor]], a member of the [[Hampshire]] gentry.<ref>{{harvnb |Waylen |Cromwell |1897 |p=37}}</ref> He and his wife then moved to Maijor's estate at [[Hursley]] in Hampshire. During the 1650s they had nine children, five of whom survived to adulthood.<ref>{{harvnb |Waylen |Cromwell |1897 |pp=37–40}}</ref> Cromwell was named a [[Justice of the Peace]] for Hampshire and sat on various county committees. During this period, Richard seems to have been a source of concern for his father, who wrote to Richard Maijor saying, "I would have him mind and understand business, read a little history, study the mathematics and [[cosmography]]: these are good, with subordination to the things of God. Better than idleness, or mere outward worldly contents. These fit for public services, for which a man is born".