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

Elizabeth Trevannion or Trevanion was a daughter of Hugh Trevannion of
St Michael Caerhays
St Michael Caerhays () is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is about south-southwest of St Austell. The population as of the 2011 census was 96
St Michael Caerhays lies within the Cornwall Area of Out ...
and Sybilla Morgan of Lockstowe or Arkestone, Herefordshire. Their home was
Caerhays Castle
Caerhays Castle or Carhayes Castle () is a semi-castellated country house built in 1808, south of the village centre, St Michael Caerhays, Cornwall, England. It overlooks Porthluney Cove on the English Channel. The garden has a large collection ...
.
Career
She first married Sir Henry Widdrington of
Widdrington Castle. After his death in 1592, 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 C ...
was the elder sister of Sybilla Morgan. According to Carey's memoir, she came to live with him at
Carlisle Castle
Carlisle Castle is a stone keep medieval fortress located in the city of Carlisle near the ruins of Hadrian's Wall. First built during the reign of William II in 1092 and rebuilt in stone under Henry I in 1122, the castle is over 930 yea ...
, where he was deputy to the border official
Lord Scrope. Carey left this employment shortly after the birth of their daughter. They lived at Widdrington for a time, and then at
Denham near
Uxbridge
Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London, England, and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon, northwest of Charing Cross. Uxbridge formed part of the parish of Hillingdon in the county of Middlesex. As part ...
, where their son was born in January 1596.
After the
Union of Crowns
The Union of the Crowns (; ) 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 diplomacy) of the two separate realms under a single i ...
in 1603,
Prince Charles
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms.
Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...
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 Environmen ...
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. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...
, in charge of perfuming the queen's wardrobe. The occasion, at
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...
, 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
The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, it is outranked in precedence only by the decorations of the Victoria ...
.
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
Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (histo ...
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. Th ...
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 marrie ...
, 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 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 t ...
. On 23 February 1605 Lady Carey was made the governess of Prince Charles, who was now known as the "
Duke of York
Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs ...
". 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
Coombe Abbey (also Combe Abbey) is a former Cistercian abbey at Combe Fields in the Borough of Rugby, in the countryside of Warwickshire, England. The abbey was converted to a country house in the 16th century and now operates as a hotel. It i ...
, 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 non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne.
Initially a smal ...
and was buried at
Rickmansworth
Rickmansworth () is a town in south-west Hertfordshire, England, located approximately north-west of central London, south-west of Watford and inside the perimeter of the M25 motorway. The town is mainly to the north of the Grand Union Canal ( ...
.
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 an unsuccessful attempted regicide against James VI and I, King James VI of Scotland and I of England by a group of English ...
conspirators
Thomas Percy had asked her questions about Charles' lodging at
Whitehall Palace
The Palace of Whitehall – also spelled White Hall – at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, with the notable exception of Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, ...
and his activities. She recognised Percy because she had seen him before with Lady Carey at
Greenwich Palace
Greenwich ( , , ) is an area in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross.
Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian ...
. 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 is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
. 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 King of Norway, Norway and List of rulers of Schleswig-Holstein, Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years and 330 days is th ...
, 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 ha ...
(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.
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
Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...
People associated with the Gunpowder Plot
People from Cornwall