A name that has resonated throughout the pages of the colourful tableau that is the historical record from earliest times, Parry is of uniquely Welsh origin.
• While some served as loyal servants of royalty, others were involved in high intrigue and dark conspiracy, while the Parrys have also gained fame and acclaim in endeavours and pursuits ranging from the worlds of art, music and scholarship to sport and exploration.
• Born in about 1508 in Herefordshire, Blanche Parry served as a ‘gentlewoman’ to Queen Elizabeth I from the time she had been a three-year-old princess. Ranked as ‘first gentlewoman’ to the monarch, she was one of her most trusted friends and confidantes.
• In music Joseph Parry, born in Merthyr Tydfil in 1848, is noted as the composer of Aberystwyth, the hymn tune used in the South African national anthem Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika.
