Lady Troy
Encyclopedia
Blanche Herbert, Lady Troy, (previously Blanche Milborne, then Blanche Whitney) was the Lady Mistress in charge of the upbringing of Queen Elizabeth I, Edward VI and also of Queen Mary
when she lived with the younger Tudor
children. She was twice married, and widowed; first to James Whitney then Sir William Herbert of Troy Parva, an illegitimate son of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke and one of his mistresses. She had five children. Lady Troy died c.
1557 before Queen Elizabeth I’s accession.
, Herefordshire. Her eldest sister, Alice married Henry Myles and they were the parents of Blanche Parry
. The family had widespread gentry connections; Sir William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1st creation) married Ann Devereux, the niece of Simon Milborne’s mother, Elizabeth Devereux.
was the manor of Icomb
in Gloucestershire which had belonged to her father and was inherited by their eldest son, Robert. James Whitney died on 30 July 1500, leaving Blanche with Robert aged thirteen years, and James, Watkin and Elizabeth who were younger. Elizabeth's daughter, Ann Morgan of Arkstone, Herefordshire, married Henry Carey, later Lord Hunsdon by licence on 21 May 1545, and the son of Mary Boleyn
.
states that she and her husband welcomed King Henry VII, his Earls and possibly his Queen to Troy House, Mitchel Troy
near Monmouth in August 1502. Blanche and Sir William had two sons Charles and Thomas, both of whom were eventually knighted and served as sheriffs of Monmouthshire
. (Sir William also had an illegitimate son, Richard.) Thomas married Anne Lucy of Charlecote.
In 1505, Sir William Herbert of Troy gave an undertaking to keep the peace with his half-brother, Sir Walter Herbert of Raglan, and with Henry Myles, his brother-in-law. He is recorded as being an annuitant of Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham
at Thornbury Castle
in 1508, Sheriff of Herefordshire in 1515 and was knighted between Easter and Michaelmas
1516; thereafter Blanche Herbert was usually called Lady Troy. He died in 1524; Blanche and their son Charles were executors of his Will, in which Blanche was well provided for. A clause of the Will trusted that Henry Somerset
(then Lord Herbert but succeeded as 2nd Earl of Worcester in 1526/7) would be "a good lord to my wife and children." Sir William also requested that "Blanche will keep herself sole."
as shown by a later report, author not named (on the subversive activities of the Earl of Essex
and Roger Vaughan in 1601) which has the preamble "My mother was chosen and brought to the Court by my Lady Herbert of Troy, to have been her Majesty's (Queen Elizabeth I's) nurse and had been chosen before all other had her gracious mother (Queen Anne Boleyn
) had her own will therein…" Lady Troy is mentioned at the christening of Prince Edward in 1537; when the procession reformed at the conclusion of the ceremony it was noted that, "Lady Elizabeth went with her sister Lady Mary and Lady Herbert of Troy to bear the train."
In 1549, Sir Robert Tyrwhitt wrote that "Ashley…was made her mistress (Lady Elizabeth’s) by the king her father… But four of her gentlewomen confess that Ashley first removed Lady Troy…and then her successor (Blanche) Parry…". Lady Troy had evidently intended her niece Blanche to succeed her but the post of Lady Mistress was given to Champernon (Blanche Parry remained as second in the household, succeeding Champernon when the latter died in 1565.)
where she was cared for by her son Charles and his wife, Cicill. The Household Accounts of Princess Elizabeth (1551–1552, Hatfield) show that Elizabeth sent her a regular half-yearly pension "by warrant" which was about half the amount she would have received while in post; a servant of the Knights Marshall was paid to deliver it.
Her funeral elegy
, composed by the bard Lewys Morgannwg
, includes the lines:
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
when she lived with the younger Tudor
Tudor dynasty
The Tudor dynasty or House of Tudor was a European royal house of Welsh origin that ruled the Kingdom of England and its realms, including the Lordship of Ireland, later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1485 until 1603. Its first monarch was Henry Tudor, a descendant through his mother of a legitimised...
children. She was twice married, and widowed; first to James Whitney then Sir William Herbert of Troy Parva, an illegitimate son of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke and one of his mistresses. She had five children. Lady Troy died c.
Circa
Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...
1557 before Queen Elizabeth I’s accession.
Early life
Blanche Milborne was one of the eleven co-heiresses (a son and daughter died young) of Simon Milborne and Jane (Baskerville) of BurghillBurghill
Burghill is a village and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, north-west of Hereford. The parish includes the villages of Burghill, Tillington, Portway and Eltons Marsh....
, Herefordshire. Her eldest sister, Alice married Henry Myles and they were the parents of Blanche Parry
Blanche Parry
Blanche Parry was a personal attendant of Queen Elizabeth I of England, Chief Gentlewoman of Queen Elizabeth’s most honourable Privy Chamber and Keeper of Her Majesty’s jewels.-Early life:...
. The family had widespread gentry connections; Sir William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1st creation) married Ann Devereux, the niece of Simon Milborne’s mother, Elizabeth Devereux.
First marriage
Blanche Milborne married James Whitney of Whitney and Pen-cwm; her dowryDowry
A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...
was the manor of Icomb
Icomb
Icomb is a quiet Gloucestershire village in the Cotswolds, close to Stow on the Wold, with typical Cotswold stone cottages, and the parish church of St Mary the Virgin which was built in the mid 13th century. The tomb of Sir John Blaket, a knight who fought with Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt,...
in Gloucestershire which had belonged to her father and was inherited by their eldest son, Robert. James Whitney died on 30 July 1500, leaving Blanche with Robert aged thirteen years, and James, Watkin and Elizabeth who were younger. Elizabeth's daughter, Ann Morgan of Arkstone, Herefordshire, married Henry Carey, later Lord Hunsdon by licence on 21 May 1545, and the son of Mary Boleyn
Mary Boleyn
Mary Boleyn , was the sister of English queen consort Anne Boleyn and a member of the Boleyn family, which enjoyed considerable influence during the reign of King Henry VIII of England...
.
Second marriage
Between July 1500 and August 1502 Blanche remarried, becoming the second wife of Sir William Herbert of Troy Parva, an illegitimate son of Sir William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke and one of his mistresses, Frond verch Hoesgyn. It was a Welsh household; although Blanche was English she would have also been Welsh-speaking. Lewys MorgannwgLewys Morgannwg
Lewys Morgannwg was a Welsh language poet from Morgannwg, south Wales. He lived at St. Bride's MajorLewys was one of the foremost poets of the sixteenth century. Most of his poems that have survived are eulogies and elegies in strict metre. Lewys was the household poet to Sir William Griffith of...
states that she and her husband welcomed King Henry VII, his Earls and possibly his Queen to Troy House, Mitchel Troy
Mitchel Troy
Mitchel Troy is a village in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, in the United Kingdom. It is located 3 miles south west of the county town of Monmouth, just off the A40 road leading towards Raglan.- History and amenities :...
near Monmouth in August 1502. Blanche and Sir William had two sons Charles and Thomas, both of whom were eventually knighted and served as sheriffs of Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire is a county in south east Wales. The name derives from the historic county of Monmouthshire which covered a much larger area. The largest town is Abergavenny. There are many castles in Monmouthshire .-Historic county:...
. (Sir William also had an illegitimate son, Richard.) Thomas married Anne Lucy of Charlecote.
In 1505, Sir William Herbert of Troy gave an undertaking to keep the peace with his half-brother, Sir Walter Herbert of Raglan, and with Henry Myles, his brother-in-law. He is recorded as being an annuitant of Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham
Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham
Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, KG was an English nobleman. He was the son of Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and the former Lady Catherine Woodville, daughter of the 1st Earl Rivers and sister-in-law of King Edward IV.-Early life:Stafford was born at Brecknock Castle in Wales...
at Thornbury Castle
Thornbury Castle
Thornbury Castle is a castle in Thornbury, South Gloucestershire, England. It was begun in 1511 as a home for Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham. It is not a true castle , but rather an early example of a Tudor country house, with minimal defensive attributes. It is now a grade I listed...
in 1508, Sheriff of Herefordshire in 1515 and was knighted between Easter and Michaelmas
Michaelmas
Michaelmas, the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel is a day in the Western Christian calendar which occurs on 29 September...
1516; thereafter Blanche Herbert was usually called Lady Troy. He died in 1524; Blanche and their son Charles were executors of his Will, in which Blanche was well provided for. A clause of the Will trusted that Henry Somerset
Henry Somerset, 2nd Earl of Worcester
Henry Somerset, 2nd Earl of Worcester was an English nobleman, son of Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester and Elizabeth Herbert, 3rd Baroness Herbert. On his father's death on 15 April 1526, he succeeded as the second Earl of Worcester...
(then Lord Herbert but succeeded as 2nd Earl of Worcester in 1526/7) would be "a good lord to my wife and children." Sir William also requested that "Blanche will keep herself sole."
Royal court
By the 1530s, Lady Troy was in the Royal HouseholdRoyal Household
A Royal Household in ancient and medieval monarchies formed the basis for the general government of the country as well as providing for the needs of the sovereign and his relations....
as shown by a later report, author not named (on the subversive activities of the Earl of Essex
Earl of Essex
Earl of Essex is a title that has been held by several families and individuals. The earldom was first created in the 12th century for Geoffrey II de Mandeville . Upon the death of the third earl in 1189, the title became dormant or extinct...
and Roger Vaughan in 1601) which has the preamble "My mother was chosen and brought to the Court by my Lady Herbert of Troy, to have been her Majesty's (Queen Elizabeth I's) nurse and had been chosen before all other had her gracious mother (Queen Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn ;c.1501/1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536 as the second wife of Henry VIII of England and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the...
) had her own will therein…" Lady Troy is mentioned at the christening of Prince Edward in 1537; when the procession reformed at the conclusion of the ceremony it was noted that, "Lady Elizabeth went with her sister Lady Mary and Lady Herbert of Troy to bear the train."
Lady mistress ca. 1537 to ca. 1546
Margaret Bryan was in charge of Princess Elizabeth when she was a baby but she transferred to Prince Edward when he was born. The evidence shows that Lady Bryan was succeeded by Lady Troy; Prince Edward was also placed in her charge when he grew older for Lewys Morgannwg states that she was "in charge of his (Prince Edward’s) fosterage." Lady Troy’s position is confirmed by lists of personnel for Lady Elizabeth in the Letters and Papers of Henry VIII. Internal evidence suggests a range of dates for these lists from before 1536 to 1546. Lady Troy’s name heads the earlier lists, followed by Kate Champernon who was appointed in 1536 as a governess. In 1545 Roger Ascham (whose page was John Whitney, possibly a relation of Lady Troy) wrote to Champernon asking that she commend him to "my good Lady Troy and all that company of gentlewomen." However, the c.1546 household list for Lady Elizabeth does not mention Lady Troy indicating that she retired from her position in late 1545 or early 1546; Elizabeth was then twelve years old.In 1549, Sir Robert Tyrwhitt wrote that "Ashley…was made her mistress (Lady Elizabeth’s) by the king her father… But four of her gentlewomen confess that Ashley first removed Lady Troy…and then her successor (Blanche) Parry…". Lady Troy had evidently intended her niece Blanche to succeed her but the post of Lady Mistress was given to Champernon (Blanche Parry remained as second in the household, succeeding Champernon when the latter died in 1565.)
Retirement
Lady Troy retired to her own furnished apartments at Troy HouseTroy House
Troy House is a Welsh historic house north-east of Mitchel Troy, Monmouthshire. It originally belonged to Blanche Herbert, Lady Troy, who retired there around 1550. Present-day structure overlooking the River Trothy was completed in 1681 for Charles Somerset. 19th century authors attributed design...
where she was cared for by her son Charles and his wife, Cicill. The Household Accounts of Princess Elizabeth (1551–1552, Hatfield) show that Elizabeth sent her a regular half-yearly pension "by warrant" which was about half the amount she would have received while in post; a servant of the Knights Marshall was paid to deliver it.
Death
Lady Troy died an honoured lady, probably in 1557 and certainly before the accession of Queen Elizabeth in November 1558. If she was buried as her second husband had intended in the tomb in Monmouth parish church, now lost, it would have been adorned by the three effigies of Lady Troy, Sir William and his first wife.Her funeral elegy
Elegy
In literature, an elegy is a mournful, melancholic or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the dead.-History:The Greek term elegeia originally referred to any verse written in elegiac couplets and covering a wide range of subject matter, including epitaphs for tombs...
, composed by the bard Lewys Morgannwg
Lewys Morgannwg
Lewys Morgannwg was a Welsh language poet from Morgannwg, south Wales. He lived at St. Bride's MajorLewys was one of the foremost poets of the sixteenth century. Most of his poems that have survived are eulogies and elegies in strict metre. Lewys was the household poet to Sir William Griffith of...
, includes the lines:
- Arglwyddes breninesau,..................(She was a) Lady (in charge) of Queens,
- Gofrner oedd ban oedd yn iau...........A governess she was in her youth.
- Hi a wyddiad yn weddus..................She knew in a fitting manner
- Wybodau iarllesau'r llys,.................The accomplishments of the ladies of the court,
- Gorcheidwad cyn ymadaw...............(And she was the) guardian, before she passed away,
- Tŷ Harri Wyth a'i blant draw.............Of Henry VIII’s household and his children yonder.
- I Edwart Frenin ydoedd,...................To King EdwardEdward VI of EnglandEdward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
she was a true - Uwch ei faeth, goruchaf oedd,..........(And) wise lady of dignity,
- Waetio yr oedd at ei Ras,.................In charge of his fosterage (she was pre-eminent),
- Gywirddoeth wraig o urddas.............(And) she waited upon his Grace.
- Arglwyddys plas a gladden',.............(She, whom) they buried, the Lady of the palace of Troy,
- Troe, a'i llew lletyai'r ieirll hen............And her lion (i.e. William), gave hospitality to the old Earls.
- Bu i frenin, bu fawr unwaith,..............A welcome was given to the King, Henry VII,
- Roeso, a'i ieirll, Harri Saith................And his Earls; he was great once.
- Gweddu y bu tra fu fyw......................She gave service all her life,
- Hon sydd frenhines heddiw................To the one who is Queen today (i.e. Mary I)….