Matthew Steeples offers offers a tribute to the late Robert Troyan
I first met the larger than life Bostonian character Robert Troyan (1950 – 2013) with his partner Anthony Feldman in the early 2000s at their impressive apartment in Mayfair. Though I did not come to know them well, I fondly recall a number of evenings that they hosted there planning an event for a charity we were all involved in named Marine Conservation and several dinner parties.
The pair were generous hosts and their home was impeccably styled. Decorated in neutral colours by Feldman, an architect and designer who had worked for both Princess Michael of Kent and former Conservative minister, Jonathan Aitken, Feldman and Troyan’s top floor duplex in Hertford Street was a jolly place. I remember much laughter during our meetings and also lots of champagne. It flowed freely and the affable pair recounted many stories of their lives together.
Feldman tragically died of pancreatic cancer in 2005 and having sadly lost touch with Troyan, I was horrified this morning to learn that he had been bludgeoned to death at his new home, an £800 per week flat, in Mount Street last Friday. He was found later that day by his Filipino housemaid.
It is with regret that I share this news with our readers. Many of you no doubt also knew him and I hope that he can now be at peace with his beloved Anthony.
I am sure I speak for many in stating that our thoughts are with Anthony’s mother, Marie, and her family at this incredibly sad time.