Ruth Sylvia Roche, Baroness Fermoy, (''née'' Gill; 2 October 1908 – 6 July 1993) was a friend and confidante of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and the maternal grandmother of Diana, Princess of Wales. She was one of the Queen Mother's

ladies-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

Biography

Lady Fermoy was born Ruth Sylvia Gill at Dalhebity House,

Bieldside Bieldside is a suburb to the west of Aberdeen City Centre, Scotland. Together with the neighbouring suburb of Cults, it is the wealthiest area in Scotland. It has one pub/restaurant, The Bieldside, a foodstore, a hairdresser, a tea room and a c ...

, Aberdeenshire, the daughter of Colonel William Smith Gill and his wife, Ruth (''née'' Littlejohn, daughter of David Littlejohn, DL).Williamson, D ''The Ancestry of Lady Diana Spencer'' In: ''Genealogist’s Magazine'', 1981; vol. 20 (no. 6) pp. 192–199 and vol. 20 (no. 8) pp. 281–282 She showed early promise as a pianist and studied under Alfred Cortot at the

Paris Conservatoire The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

in the 1920s.''The Times (London)'', Thursday, 8 July 1993; p. 4 col. D and p. 19 col. A Her musical career was cut short when she met the wealthy and much older Maurice Roche, 4th Baron Fermoy. They married on 17 September 1931 at St. Devenick's Church in

, Aberdeenshire. Lord and Lady Fermoy had three children, including

Frances Frances is a French and English given name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'free one.' The male version of the name in English is Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "Frenchman", comes from the F ...

, who would become the mother of Diana, Princess of Wales. Lady Fermoy did play the piano in public occasionally after her marriage, most notably with

Josef Krips Josef Alois Krips (8 April 1902 – 13 October 1974) was an Austrian conductor and violinist. Life and career Krips was born in Vienna. His father was Josef Jakob Krips, a medical doctor and amateur singer, and his mother was Aloisia, née Seit ...

at the Royal Albert Hall in 1950, and with Sir

John Barbirolli Sir John Barbirolli ( Giovanni Battista Barbirolli; 2 December 189929 July 1970) was a British conductor and cellist. He is remembered above all as conductor of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, which he helped save from dissolution in 194 ...

and the Hallé Orchestra at King's Lynn in 1966. She founded the King's Lynn Festival in 1951 and remained closely involved with the Festival for 25 years, persuading Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother to become its patron. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in January 1952 for her services as Chairman of the King's Lynn Arts Festival Society. In 1956, the Queen Mother appointed Lady Fermoy an Extra Woman of the Bedchamber. The Queen Mother, being a widow herself, showed a preference for appointing widows to her household, and four years later Lady Fermoy was promoted to Woman of the Bedchamber, a post she held for the next 33 years. She was appointed a

Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

in June 1966, and a

Dame Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

in June 1979. Lady Fermoy was a firm believer in the sanctity of marriage. In 1969, her daughter Frances and John Spencer, Viscount Althorp, divorced after Frances left her husband for Peter Shand Kydd. Lady Fermoy testified against her daughter, which allowed Viscount Althorp to retain custody of their children. The Queen Mother and Lady Fermoy became confidantes, and it was assumed by many that the two women engineered the match between their grandchildren,

Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

and Lady Diana Spencer. However, when asked about it, Lady Fermoy remarked: "You can say that if you like – but it simply wouldn't be true". She was also said to have counselled her granddaughter against the marriage, saying: "Darling, you must understand that their sense of humour and their lifestyle are different, and I don't think it will suit you." Lady Fermoy died at her home at 36

Eaton Square Eaton Square is a rectangular, residential garden square in London's Belgravia district. It is the largest square in London. It is one of the three squares built by the landowning Grosvenor family when they developed the main part of Belgra ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, on 6 July 1993, aged 84. It was reported that she was not on speaking terms with Diana when she died.

Ancestry

Lady Fermoy's great-grandmother, Kitty Forbes, was the daughter of Eliza Kewark. Eliza's father, Hakob Kevork or Kevorkian, was

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

n; her Indian mother was probably Muslim. She is variously described in contemporary documents as "a dark-skinned native woman" and "an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

woman from Bombay".

Popular culture

Lady Fermoy is portrayed by Georgie Glen in ''The Crown''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fermoy, Ruth Roche, Baroness 1908 births 1993 deaths British ladies-in-waiting People from Aberdeenshire British people of Armenian descent British people of Indian descent Officers of the Order of the British Empire Dames Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Irish baronesses 20th-century British women 20th-century British people

Ruth Ruth (or its variants) may refer to: Places France * Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France Switzerland * Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny United States * Ruth, Alabama * Ruth, Ar ...