Elizabeth Trevannion, Countess of Monmouth (died 1641), was an English aristocrat and keeper of Prince Charles. Monmouths

Elizabeth Trevannion or Trevanion was a daughter of Hugh Trevannion of St Michael Caerhays and Sybilla Morgan of Lockstowe or Arkestone, Herefordshire. Their home was

Caerhays Castle Caerhays Castle or Carhayes Castle (translation of ''caerhays'' into English: "enclosed castle") is a semi-castellated country house built in 1808, south of the village centre, St Michael Caerhays, Cornwall, England. It overlooks Porthluney Cove ...

Career

She married Robert Carey on 20 Aug 1593. They were first cousins, Robert's mother

Anne Carey Anne Carey is President of Production at Archer Gray, a media production, finance, and venture investment company based in New York City. In her career as an independent producer, Carey has been associated with filmmakers such as Ang Lee, Anton ...

was the elder sister of Sybilla Morgan. After the

Union of Crowns The Union of the Crowns ( gd, Aonadh nan Crùintean; sco, Union o the Crouns) was the accession of James VI of Scotland to the throne of the Kingdom of England as James I and the practical unification of some functions (such as overseas dip ...

in 1603, Prince Charles remained in Scotland at

Dunfermline Palace Dunfermline Palace is a ruined former Scottish royal palace and important tourist attraction in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. It is currently, along with other buildings of the adjacent Dunfermline Abbey, under the care of Historic Environment ...

in the keeping of Alexander Seton. Elizabeth Carey was sworn in as a lady in waiting of the privy chamber and Mistress of her Majesty's Sweet Coffers to

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and Queen of England and Ireland from the union of the Scottish and Eng ...

, in charge of perfuming the queen's wardrobe. The occasion, at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original c ...

, was probably 2 July 1603, when the "great ladies" paid homage to Anne of Denmark in turn, "most sumptuous in apparel, and exceeding rich and glorious in jewels". This event was held in parallel with the installation of King James'

Knights of the Garter A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the G ...

Lady Anne Clifford Lady Anne Clifford, Countess of Dorset, Pembroke and Montgomery, '' suo jure'' 14th Baroness de Clifford (30 January 1590 – 22 March 1676) was an English peeress. In 1605 she inherited her father's ancient barony by writ and became '' suo jure ...

described an "infinite company of lords of ladies" and an "infinite number of ladies sworn of the Queen's Privy Chamber". In November 1603 the Spanish ambassador, the Count of Villamediana, invited the

Duke of Lennox The title Duke of Lennox has been created several times in the peerage of Scotland, for Clan Stewart of Darnley. The dukedom, named for the district of Lennox in Dumbarton, was first created in 1581, and had formerly been the Earldom of Lenno ...

and the

Earl of Mar There are currently two earldoms of Mar in the Peerage of Scotland, and the title has been created seven times. The first creation of the earldom is currently held by Margaret of Mar, 31st Countess of Mar, who is also clan chief of Clan Mar. T ...

to dinner. According to

Arbella Stuart Lady Arbella Stuart (also Arabella, or Stewart; 1575 – 25 September 1615) was an English noblewoman who was considered a possible successor to Queen Elizabeth I of England. During the reign of King James VI and I (her first cousin), she marri ...

, he asked them "to bring the Scottish ladies for he was desirous to see some natural beauties". The women from the Queen's household who accepted this invitation included Jean Drummond (who had been involved in the care of Prince Charles in Scotland), the young Anna Hay, and Lady Carey. The ambassador gave her a present of Spanish leather gloves at the dinner, and afterwards sent a gold chain of little links that went twice about her neck. These were diplomatic gifts intended to leverage support for Spanish policy at court. Alexander Seton and his wife Grizel Leslie brought Prince Charles to England. He met his parents at

Easton Neston Easton Neston is situated in south Northamptonshire, England. Though the village of Easton Neston which was inhabited until around 1500 is now gone, the parish retains the name. At the 2011 Census the population of the civil parish remained le ...

and was lodged at

Oatlands Palace Oatlands Palace is a former Tudor and Stuart royal palace which took the place of the former manor of the village of Oatlands near Weybridge, Surrey. Little remains of the original building, so excavations of the palace took place in 1964 to ...

. On 23 February 1605 Lady Carey was made the governess of Prince Charles, who was now known as the " Duke of York". Between 1604 and 1611, the young prince flourished with the Careys, learning to both ride and shoot. Lady Carey's daughter, Philadelphia, was brought up in the household of Princess Elizabeth at Coombe Abbey, in the care of Lord Harington. Robert Carey was made

Earl of Monmouth Earl of Monmouth was a title that was created twice in the Peerage of England. The title was first created for English courtier Robert Carey, 1st Baron Carey in 1626. He had already been created Baron Carey, of Leppington, in 1622, also in the P ...

in 1626. Their main residence was Moor Park. Elizabeth Carey, Countess of Monmouth died in 1641 at Monmouth House in

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

and was buried at

Rickmansworth Rickmansworth () is a town in southwest Hertfordshire, England, about northwest of central London and inside the perimeter of the M25 motorway. The town is mainly to the north of the Grand Union Canal (formerly the Grand Junction Canal) and ...

The gunpowder plot and the household of Prince Charles

Several Scottish servants came south with the Prince from Dunfermline, including his laundry-woman Agnes Fortune and the elder George Kirke. In 1605 Agnes Fortune testified that one of the

Gunpowder Plot The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or the Jesuit Treason, was a failed assassination attempt against King James I by a group of provincial English Catholics led by Robert Catesby who sough ...

conspirators Thomas Percy had asked her questions about Charles' lodging at

Whitehall Palace The Palace of Whitehall (also spelt White Hall) at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, except notably Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, were destroyed by fire. H ...

and his activities. She recognised Percy because she had seen him before with Lady Carey at

Greenwich Palace Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

. Percy asked her about the way from the Hall to the Duke's private lodging, and she mentioned that Lady Carey had altered the access route to make it more secure and private. Fortune told Percy if he stayed a "bonnie while" he could meet the Duke and Sir Robert Carey. According to Thomas Winter's confession, Percy was planning to "carry the Duke safe away" after the explosion at the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

. The plan to capture Charles was mentioned in a Latin narrative of the discovery of the Gunpowder plot sent to

Christian IV of Denmark Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian mon ...

, and was said to have been abandoned in favour of taking Princess Elizabeth. The incident seems not to have affected Agnes Fortune's career, as she remained "laundress for the Prince's body" until the household broke up in 1611. In October 1607 Lady Carey heard there would be an investigation of the management of Prince Henry's household. She wrote to King James asking that the Duke of York's household should also be reviewed, since there was not always enough money allowed for food.''HMC Salisbury Hatfield'', vol. 19 (London, 1965), pp. 278, 413: ''Calendar State Papers Domestic, 1603-1610'' (London, 1857), p. 400.

Family

Her children included: *

Henry Carey, 2nd Earl of Monmouth Henry Carey, 2nd Earl of Monmouth, KB (15 January 1596 – 13 June 1661) was an English nobleman and translator. Life He was born in Denham, Buckinghamshire, to Robert Carey, 1st Earl of Monmouth, and Elizabeth Trevannion. He appears to have ...

(1596–1661) * Thomas Carey (1598–1634), who married Margaret Smith, daughter of Thomas Smith. * Philadelphia Carey (d. 1655), who married Sir Thomas Wharton and was the mother of

Philip Wharton, 4th Baron Wharton Philip Wharton, 4th Baron Wharton (18 April 1613 – 4 February 1696) was an English soldier, politician and diplomat. He was a Parliamentarian during the English Civil War. Wharton was the son of Sir Thomas Wharton of Aske Hall and his wife ...

References

External links

The 1st Earl of Monmouth and his family, Paul van Somer, National Portrait Gallery

'Rocking horse associated with the childhood of Charles I, V&A
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trevannion, Elizabeth 1641 deaths Household of Anne of Denmark English governesses Monmouth People associated with the Gunpowder Plot