Henry Wriothesley 3rd Earl of Southampton (pronunciation uncertain: /ˈraɪzli/ (archaic) /ˈrɒtsli/ (present-day) and /ˈraɪəθsli/ have been suggested) (6 October 1573 – 10 November 1624) was the only son of Henry Wriothesley 2nd Earl of Southampton and Mary Browne daughter of Anthony Browne 1st Viscount Montagu. Shakespeare’s two narrative poems Venus and Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece were dedicated to Southampton who is generally identified as the Fair Youth of Shakespeare’s Sonnets.
