Dame ''Dame'' is a traditionally British honorific title given to women who have been admitted to certain orders of chivalry. It is the female equivalent of ''Sir'', the title used by knights. Baronet, Baronetesses Suo jure, in their own right also u ...

Sarah Rose Troughton (''née'' Colman; born 3 May 1953) is the

Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of the English county of Wiltshire. From 1750, all Lord Lieutenants have also been Custos Rotulorum of Wiltshire. Lord Lieutenants of Wiltshire * William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke 1 ...

, appointed with effect from February 2012. She is the first woman to hold the position since it was created in the 16th century. A second cousin of

King Charles III 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 ...

, for ten years she was lady-in-waiting to

Katharine, Duchess of Kent Katharine, Duchess of Kent (born Katharine Lucy Mary Worsley; 22 February 1933) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, a grandson of King George V. The Duchess of Kent converted to Catholicism i ...

. In 2022, she became one of the six women appointed "Queen's companions" to

Queen Camilla Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. Camilla was raised in East ...

Early life

Troughton was born in

Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...

in 1953. She is the eldest of the five children of Sir Timothy Colman KG, a past

Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk This is an incomplete list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk. Since 1689, all Lord Lieutenants have also been Custos Rotulorum of Norfolk. * William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton, 1549 – *Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of S ...

,Charles Mosley, ed., ''Burke's Peerage and Baronetage'', 107th edition, vol. 2 (2003), p. 1639‘COLMAN, Sir Timothy (James Alan)’, in '' Who's Who 2012'' (London: A & C Black, 2012) and Lady Mary Cecilia Bowes-Lyon, a granddaughter of

Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne Claude George Bowes-Lyon, 14th and 1st Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, (14 March 1855 – 7 November 1944), styled as Lord Glamis from 1865 to 1904, was a British peer and landowner who was the father of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and ...

. Her maternal grandfather Michael Bowes-Lyon, who died two days before her birth, was a brother of

Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was al ...

, so that she is a second cousin once removed of the present

Earl of Strathmore Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne is a title in the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The earl is also Chief of Clan Lyon. History The established history of Clan Lyon states that the family is of French origin, with ...

and a first cousin once removed of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

. Her ancestor

Jeremiah Colman Jeremiah Colman (1777–1851) was an English miller who founded Colman's Mustard, a business which merged into the conglomerate Reckitt & Colman, and is now owned by Unilever. Life He was born in Norfolk in 1777 to Robert Colman (1749-1807) an ...

(1777–1851) made a fortune from

Colman's Colman's is an English manufacturer of mustard and other sauces, formerly based and produced for 160 years at Carrow, in Norwich, Norfolk. Owned by Unilever since 1995, Colman's is one of the oldest existing food brands, famous for a limited ra ...

mustard, a business which eventually grew into

Reckitt & Colman Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC, currently branded as Reckitt, formerly known as Reckitt Benckiser, is a British multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Slough, United Kingdom. It is a producer of health, hygiene and nutrition produ ...

, of which her father was a director until 1989.

Public life

From 1990 to 2000, Troughton was

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility, noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was o ...

to the

Duchess of Kent Duchess of Kent is the principal Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom, courtesy title used by the wife of the Duke of Kent. There have been four titles referring to Kent since the 18th century. The current duchess is Katharine, Duchess of Kent ...

. Living at Wanborough, near

Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...

, she became a trustee of the Community Foundation for Wiltshire and Swindon, a role in which she still serves, and is also President of Community First/Youth Action Wiltshire.Morwenna Blake
Queen appoints new Lord Lieutenant
from ''

Salisbury Journal The ''Salisbury Journal'' is the local newspaper for the Salisbury area of England. History Founded in 1729, it was revived by William Collins in 1736, who used it to oppose the government of Sir Robert Walpole. Benjamin Collins took over th ...

'', 3 December 2011 online at salisburyjournal.co.uk, accessed 7 May 2012 She became a Deputy Lieutenant of Wiltshire in 2006.''

London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Western Europe, with a population of 14.9 million. London stands on the River Tha ...

'', issue 57993 of 26 May 2006
p. 7299
/ref> In December 2011, with effect from February 2012, she was promoted to the Lord Lieutenancy.

Charles Petty-Fitzmaurice, 9th Marquess of Lansdowne Charles Maurice Petty-Fitzmaurice, 9th Marquess of Lansdowne, (born 21 February 1941), styled Earl of Shelburne between 1944 and 1999, is a British peer, landowner and army officer. He was Vice-Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire from 2012 to 2016, ...

, was her Vice-Lord-Lieutenant until 2016, and William Wyldbore-Smith now has that role.Lord-Lieutenant of Wiltshire
wiltshire.gov.uk, accessed 12 September 2022 In 2011, she was chairman of the

Chelsea Physic Garden The Chelsea Physic Garden was established as the Apothecaries' Garden in London, England, in 1673 by the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries to grow plants to be used as medicines. This four acre physic garden, the term here referring to the scie ...

, but retired from that role in 2020. As Lord Lieutenant, Troughton's public duties include overseeing arrangements for visits to Wiltshire by members of the Royal Family and escorting royal visitors; representing the King at events and presenting awards and medals on his behalf; liaising with the Wiltshire units of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

and

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

; leading the local

magistracy A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings. Courts * Magistrates' court (England and Wales) * Magistrates' cour ...

as chairman of the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Committee on Justices of the Peace; and advising on nominations for national honours. In January 2013, Troughton was appointed a

Commander of the Order of St John The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (), commonly known as the Order of St John, and also known as St John International, is an order of chivalry constituted in 1888 by royal charter from Queen Victoria and dedica ...

by the Queen, and advanced to Dame of Grace of the order in 2021. In 2022, she was one of the first six women appointed as "Queen's companions" (replacing the traditional ladies-in-waiting) to

.Sean Coughlan
"Camilla scraps ladies-in-waiting in modernising move"

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, 27 November 2022, accessed 27 November 2022 A

article described Troughton as one of Camilla's longstanding personal friends. Troughton was appointed a

Dame Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

in the

2025 New Year Honours The 2025 New Year Honours are appointments by King Charles III among the 15 Commonwealth realms to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The ...

Personal life

In 1977 she married Peter Troughton (born 1948), a member of

HM Diplomatic Service His Majesty's Diplomatic Service (HMDS) is the diplomatic service of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, dealing with foreign affairs and representing British interests overseas, as opposed to the Civil Service, which deals ...

, and the eldest son of Sir Charles Troughton, chairman of

W H Smith WH Smith plc, trading as WHSmith (also written WH Smith and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son), is a British retailer, with headquarters in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of railway station, airport, port, hospital and motorway service st ...

. They have a son and two daughters. Her grandson, Nicholas Barclay, son of her daughter Rose, was a

page of honour A Page of Honour is a ceremonial position in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It requires attendance on state occasions, but does not now involve the daily duties which were once attached to the office of page. The only ...

at the

coronation of King Charles III The Coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Charles III and his wife, Queen Camilla, Camilla, as Monarchy of the United Kingdom, king and List of British royal consorts, queen of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth re ...

. Her husband was later a director of the Lowland Investment Company PLC in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

,"Troughton, Peter John Charles" in ''The Directory of Directors'' (1997), p. 734 a trustee of the

Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic List of British royal residences, royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King ...

and Pro-Chancellor of the

University of Bath The University of Bath is a public research university in Bath, England. Bath received its royal charter in 1966 as Bath University of Technology, along with a number of other institutions following the Robbins Report. Like the University ...

. He is now a trustee of the Rothschild Foundation and a member of the

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

Diocesan Board of Finance A Diocesan Board of Finance, often abbreviated to DBF, is an institution of the Church of England which owns land and controls a number of financial matters in each of the Church's dioceses. Such boards have existed in every diocese of the Church s ...

Honours

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Troughton, Sarah Rose 1953 births Living people Dames of the Order of St John Dames Commander of the Royal Victorian Order Deputy lieutenants of Wiltshire Lord-lieutenants of Wiltshire

Sarah Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch, prophet, and major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pious woma ...

British ladies-in-waiting