Françoise de Paroy facts for kids

Françoise d'Estamville, also known as Madame de Paroy, was an important French court official. She served in the royal court during the 1500s. She is best known for being the governess to Mary, Queen of Scots, when Mary was a young girl living in France.

A Life at Court

Françoise d'Estamville married Jean de Vienne in 1544. He was the Baron de Chevreaux.

Serving a Young Queen

In 1551, Françoise de Paroy became the governess for Mary, Queen of Scots. Mary was still a child at this time. A governess was like a main teacher and supervisor for a young royal. Paroy took over this role from Janet Stewart, Lady Fleming. She stayed in this important job until 1557.

As Mary grew older, around 1553, she started attending court more like an adult. Paroy's role then became more like a chief lady-in-waiting. This meant she was Mary's main female attendant and helper.

Caring for Mary's Health and Studies

In 1553, Paroy wrote a letter from Villers-Cotterêts to Mary of Guise. Mary of Guise was Mary, Queen of Scots' mother. Paroy explained that the young queen had been ill. Her doctors had suggested rhubarb as a medicine. Paroy also mentioned that a Mademoiselle de Curel had left the household. This meant Paroy was the only person left to help style the queen's hair.

Another letter from 1554 shared good news. It said the young queen was in good health. Paroy had found a painter for Mary's portrait. This painter had worked for François de Lorraine before. The portrait would show how much Mary had grown.

Paroy also wrote about Mary's progress in learning Latin. She asked for money for Mary's needs. She also requested mules for transport. Most importantly, she asked for a special costume of cloth-of-gold. Mary needed this outfit for a wedding at Fontainebleau. This was the wedding of Nicolas, Count of Vaudémont and Princess Joanna of Savoy-Nemours. Paroy also asked if she could buy two diamonds. She wanted to make a "touret" headband longer. She planned to use rubies and pearls that Mary already owned.

Challenges at Court

Françoise de Paroy was known for her good character. However, she did not always get along with Queen Mary. Paroy often asked Mary of Guise for more money. This money was needed to cover Mary Stuart's expenses. Scotland's royal funds were not very rich at the time. This made it hard to provide all the money Paroy asked for. Some people also suggested that Paroy might have been partly responsible for the financial difficulties.

Paroy was favored by Queen Catherine de Medici. Because of this, Mary started to view Paroy with suspicion. Mary even accused Paroy of speaking badly about her to Catherine.

Leaving Her Role

A final disagreement happened in April 1556. Paroy did not like it when Mary gave away her old dresses to relatives. Paroy felt this took away her own right to Mary's old clothes. This also caused arguments between them. As a result, Paroy was mostly relieved of her duties. She was not officially fired, but her main work ended.

In 1556, Paroy became ill with dropsy. This forced her to leave the court. People began talking about finding a replacement for her. It was not considered proper for Mary to be without a female supervisor. However, Françoise de Paroy formally kept her title until a year before Mary's wedding in 1558. After the wedding, Mary was given an official lady-in-waiting named Guillemette de Sarrebruck.

Françoise de Paroy passed away in Paris on June 24, 1557.