The Woman of the Bedchamber in King’s Lynn

Ruth Lady Fermoy: A Life of Royal Service

Historically, the role of a Woman of the Queen’s Bedchamber was one of extraordinary intimacy. These attendants were expected to assist the monarch with the most private aspects of daily life – duties that, to modern sensibilities, feel more like those of a personal valet than a courtier. Thankfully, the role has evolved over time.

In today’s royal household, those known as Ladies-in-Waiting serve in far less physically intimate ways, but offer support, companionship, and practical assistance. Even the title itself is changing. Queen Camilla has chosen to style her closest aides as Queen’s Companions, reflecting a shift in both tone and tradition.

These companions carry out a wide range of tasks: accompanying the Queen on official engagements, handling correspondence, assisting with light administrative duties, and offering personal support behind the scenes. The role is a mix of ceremonial presence and quiet efficiency.

Traditionally, such women served on a rotational basis, often for a fortnight at a time, and were not salaried. Their reward was not financial but based on personal loyalty, discretion, and longstanding ties to the Royal Family. Most came from families of means and were motivated by duty, honour, and the unique privilege of serving the Crown from within.

From 1956 to 1989, Ruth Lady Fermoy served as Woman of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother – a role that placed her at the heart of royal life for over three decades.

She accompanied the Queen Mother on official duties and private visits, and her relationship with the royal family was one of mutual respect and affection. Her service was recognised with honours, including Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 1966 and Dame Commander in 1979.

Although many valued her cultural contributions (see below) and admired her determination, not everybody was so generous. One writer (Anthony Holden) described her as the ghastliest woman he had ever encountered in his researches. That may tell us something about Anthony Holden, or his researches, or it may highlight Lady Fermoy’s strict adherence to the social norms of the time.

Ruth, Lady Fermoy: Music, Duty and a Life Intertwined with King’s Lynn

Ruth Sylvia Gill was born on 2 October 1908 at Dalhebity House in Bieldside, Aberdeenshire, into a privileged family with military and business ties. Her father, Colonel William Smith Gill, and mother Ruth Littlejohn, raised her in a world of expectation – and early on, it was clear she was a gifted pianist. Her talent took her to the prestigious Paris Conservatoire in the 1920s, where she studied under Alfred Cortot, one of the great pianists of the day. A professional musical career might have followed, had she not met her future husband.

In 1931, Ruth married Maurice Roche, the 4th Baron Fermoy, nearly twenty years her senior. He was a former MP for King’s Lynn and Lord Mayor of the town at the time of their wedding. After the marriage came a title, three children – Mary, Frances, and Edmund – and a place in Britain’s aristocratic circles. Their Norfolk homes, first Sedgeford Hall and later Park House on the Sandringham Estate, brought the family increasingly close to royal life. Through her daughter Frances, Ruth became the maternal grandmother of Diana, Princess of Wales.

Ruth Lady Fermoy: A Return to Music and the Birth of King’s Lynn Festival

Though marriage put a pause on her public musical ambitions, Ruth’s commitment to the piano remained. In 1950, she performed at the Royal Albert Hall alongside conductor Joseph Krips, reaffirming her place not just as a hostess and aristocrat, but as a serious musician. That same year, she began work that would define her legacy in King’s Lynn.

She was invited by Alex Penrose to help restore St George’s Guildhall, a medieval performance space in the heart of the town. Ruth took the role of Chair of the restoration trust, while her husband travelled to the United States to raise funds.

It was a civic undertaking rooted in cultural passion. In 1951, as part of the Guildhall’s revival, Ruth launched the King’s Lynn Festival. Her ambition was clear: to bring top-tier musicians, writers and performers to a Norfolk port town better known for trade than the arts. Within a year, she’d received an OBE for her work as Chair of the King’s Lynn Arts Festival Society.

Over the next two decades, she would perform at the festival herself no fewer than twelve times. A standout moment came in 1966, when she played in a concert with Sir John Barbirolli and the Hallé Orchestra. Her insistence on standards (summed up in her phrase, “Nothing but the best…”), set the tone for what the festival became: ambitious, professional, and widely respected.

Ruth Lady Fermoy: More Than Music – Buildings and Legacy

Lady Fermoy’s influence went beyond performance. She was deeply involved in the preservation and repurposing of King’s Lynn’s historic buildings, ensuring they continued to serve the town.

• St George’s Guildhall: Saved from dereliction, the Guildhall became a hub for the performing arts.
• Fermoy Gallery: In 1963, she transformed warehouse buildings behind the Guildhall into an exhibition space, dedicated to her late husband.
• Thoresby College: That same year, she and her daughter Frances Shand Kydd purchased and donated the building to the King’s Lynn Preservation Trust, securing its future as a community space.

These were not symbolic gestures. They were tangible acts of civic investment that still shape the cultural geography of King’s Lynn.

Ruth Lady Fermoy: Family and Fracture

Despite her public success, Lady Fermoy’s private life was not without sorrow or controversy. In 1969, she gave evidence in court in support of her son-in-law, Viscount Althorp, during a custody case against her own daughter. Her decision (possibly guided by the social expectations of her generation), damaged her relationship with Frances, and would have lasting consequences within the family.

Her bond with granddaughter Diana was equally fraught. It’s reported that she advised Diana against marrying Prince Charles, a warning that, if true, went unheeded. By the time of her death, Ruth and Diana were no longer in contact.

The 1980s also brought personal grief. Her son Edmund took his own liffe in 1984, and her daughter Mary’s former husband, Sir Anthony Berry MP, was killed in the IRA bombing of the Brighton Grand Hotel later that year.

Ruth Lady Fermoy: Endings and Echoes

Ruth, Lady Fermoy died on 6 July 1993, aged 84. Her funeral took place at St Margaret’s Church, Westminster, and she was buried in the Fermoy family vault at St Martin’s Church, Sandringham.

In King’s Lynn, her legacy endures. The Guildhall, the Fermoy Gallery, and the King’s Lynn Festival remain monuments not just to her patronage, but to her sustained commitment to culture. In 2000, the Ruth Fermoy Memorial Fund was created to support the festival, and in 2001, her portrait by Anthony Devas was restored and unveiled at the festival she helped build.

Ruth, Lady Fermoy was not a sentimental figure, nor easily categorised. She was disciplined, talented, and determined to bring high culture to provincial Norfolk. Her story is one of music and public service, of tradition and modernity, and of a woman navigating – and at times steering – the institutions that shaped her world.

She left behind a festival that flourishes, and a cultural legacy rooted in real, tangible work. For all the complexities of her private life, her contribution to the civic and artistic life of King’s Lynn remains one of lasting value.

© James Rye 2025

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See also St George’s Guildhall.

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Further Reading

• Bradford, S. (2006) Diana, Viking
• Campbell, N.(2017) The Royal House of Windsor, BBC Books
• King’s Lynn Festival Archives (1951-1993) Programmes and Committee Papers. King’s Lynn: Internal Publications
• Moritz, T. (2021) Ruth, Lady Fermoy and the Birth of a Festival. King’s Lynn: Fermoy Trust Publications
• Pimlott, B. (1996)The Queen: Elizabeth II and the Monarchy, HarperCollins
• The Times Digital Archive (1993) Obituary of Ruth, Lady Fermoy, The Times, 8 July
• Walker, T. (2015) Royalty Revealed: A Personal View, Headline