HIGHLIGHTING the importance of a Herefordshire woman at the heart of Tudor England has brought to light a lost portrait of the Virgin Queen.

Retired lecturer Ruth Richardson’s highly regarded study of Mistress Blanche Parry, chief gentlewoman of Elizabeth I’s Privy Chamber and keeper of Her Majesty’s jewels, has given her due status in history. Since its publication, an unrecorded painting of the queen has been discovered in America, while an altar cloth from Blanche’s parish church has proved to be of great historic significance.

These developments have called for a “substantially” revised edition of Mistress Blanche, Queen Elizabeth I’s Confidante. Published by Logaston Press, the book delves into the life of a woman born into a noble family at Bacton in the Golden Valley, who was to be a constant presence in Elizabeth’s life for 56 years.

Research by the Historic Royal Palaces’ team has shown that the Bacton altar cloth is the only known part of a dress from the queen’s extensive wardrobe to have survived anywhere in the world. Now removed from St Faith’s it is to be the subject of a major Historic Royal Palaces’ exhibition.

As a result of the first edition of the book, a portrait of the queen has emerged in a private collection in the US, while the search is now on for a lost portrait of Blanche herself.

A retired lecturer, Ruth Richardson said she feels “immensely privileged” to have brought to life the day-to-day realities of Elizabeth’s household, revealing the selfless and influential role played for so long by the previously overlooked Blanche. Her place at Elizabeth’s side came as a result of her aunt, Lady Troy’s position as Lady Mistress to the queen.

“Blanche was central in Elizabeth’s life,” she explained. “She was by Elizabeth’s side from the queen’s birth until Blanche’s own death, the year after the Spanish Armada.” She continued: “A maiden herself, her Bacton epitaph is primary evidence that the queen really did remain a virgin too.”

She insisted that no relevant history, book or film could claim accuracy without mention of Blanche Parry and Lady Troy.

Mistress Blanche, Queen Elizabeth’s Confidante by Ruth Elizabeth Richardson is available in paperback at £12.95.