lives and Lady Troy would have encouraged Elizabeth and Edward to do this too. Blanche Parry was fully trained by Lady Troy to be competent, efficient, discreet and sympathetic. She was with Elizabeth for 56 years, becoming Elizabeth's Chief Gentlewoman, in charge of the Privy Chamber after Kate Ashley's death in 1565.
Lady Troy was probably in her late sixties when she retired, having been Elizabeth's Lady Mistress for about 13 years. Although Sir Robert's letter seems to suggest 'removal', there is no reason to suppose the change was other than amicable. It certainly appears that Kate Ashley and Blanche Parry subsequently managed to have a calm, working relationship, which might not have been possible if Blanche Parry had felt her aunt had been badly treated. Lady Troy retired to Troy House, where she was still living in 1552. It is probable that she had found retirement to the beautiful rural area she had known when younger, an attractive proposition. Lewys Morgannwg provides a picture of a dignified, graceful and wise lady who personally gave food and clothes to the poor, blind and needy.
The Household Accounts of Princess Elizabeth, which survive for 1551–1552 when she was at Hatfield, include the item:
Sent to my Lady Troy, as by warrant appears, with v shillings (5 shillings) given to the Knights Marshall's servant – lxx shillings (that is 70 shillings = £3–10s, worth c.£701 today, which was then a very good pension).
This is the only item in these accounts where a sum was sent and not just paid. Lady Troy remained on the princess' payroll and her pension was especially delivered by the Knights Marshall's servant, who was paid to do this. The accounts make it clear that payments mentioned were half–yearly. The reference to by warrant shows that this pension was a regular payment. Certainly, Elizabeth remembered her former Lady Mistress and made sure that she received her pension. Analysis shows that it was about half of the wage given when she was in post. Lady Troy's pension proves her enduring importance to Princess Elizabeth.
By the time she retired both her Whitney sons were dead and her grand–daughter was married to Lord Hunsdon. She had her own furnished apartment in Troy House where her son, Sir Charles Herbert, and daughter–in–law, Cicill, lived and where she received her pension. Lady Troy died in 1557 just before her son. She was probably in her late seventies, a marvellous age for the time. She was presumably buried in Monmouth Parish Church next to Sir William Herbert, her second husband.
It is reasonable to ask why the contribution of Blanche Herbert, Lady Troy has never been acknowledged before in the accounts of the childhoods of Queen Elizabeth I and King Edward VI. The answer is partly an accident of history and partly due to her own personality. With Lady Troy in charge, the household was harmonious, without the unpleasant undercurrents that caused trouble and necessitated correspondence during Kate Ashley's later tenure. Her elegy has only recently been translated and it demonstrates the ambiguity of Elizabeth's position at that time. However, she should not again be forgotten as it is due to Lady Troy that Elizabeth and Edward had happy and secure childhoods.
See paper Lady Troy and Blanche Parry for referenced details.
Above article first written for On the Tudor Trail, see http://onthetudortrail.com/Blog/resources/biographies/lady-troy-lady-mistress-to-elizabeth-i
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©Ruth E. Richardson 2012