Lucy Percy was the second daughter of Henry Percy, the 9th Earl of Northumberland. In 1617 she married James Hay despite her father’s opposition to the union. Gifted with great charm and a sharp mind, she quickly became a prominent figure at the court of King Charles I of England. Admired by the poets of her time she earned the trust of the Queen, who granted her considerable political influence.
In 1625, when Richelieu learned of the transfer of the “ferrets” (jewels) to Buckingham, he saw an opportunity to discredit the Queen and prove her frivolity, a suspicion already hinted at during the Amiens incident. The cardinal relied on Lucy Hay, Countess of Carlisle and formerly Buckingham’s mistress, whose jealousy might serve his purpose. At a ball the countess cut the ribbons holding the ferrets, and Buckingham, sensing danger, closed England’s ports to prevent the jewels from reaching Richelieu. He had copies made and sent them to the Queen.
Suspected of communicating with political opponents, Lucy was arrested on 15 March 1649 and imprisoned in the Tower of London. She was released three years later but gradually lost her political influence. Widowed since 1636, she never remarried and left no descendants. She died on 5 November 1660.
Dumas' world
Alexandre Dumas faithfully retells this story, assigning d’Artagnan the mission of bringing the ferrets back to France. For this he drew on the memoirs of Loménie de Brienne and the writings of La Rochefoucauld, which reveal the Countess of Carlisle’s involvement in the affair. In his novel Dumas merges this historical figure with the Englishwoman loved by d’Artagnan who had been created by Courtilz de Sandras in his Memoirs of Monsieur d’Artagnan to create the complex and ruthless character of Milady.
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