Lady-in-waiting

A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a noble court, attending to a queen, a princess or other noblewoman. A lady-in-waiting is often a noblewoman of lower rank (i.e., a lesser noble) than the one she attends to, and is not considered a servant or other commoner. Their duties varied from monarchy to monarchy.

Old England

In Tudor England they were divided into four separate caste systems - great ladies, ladies of the privy chamber, Maids of Honour and chamberers. The ladies of the privy chamber were the ones who were closest to the queen, but most of the other women were the maids of honour. Female relatives were often appointed because they could be trusted confidantes to the queen; Lady Margaret Lee was a Lady of the Privy Chamber to Queen Anne Boleyn, just as Lady Elizabeth Seymour-Cromwell was to Queen Jane Seymour. The duties of ladies-in-waiting at the Tudor court were to act as royal companions, and to accompany the Queen wherever she went. Tudor queens often had a large degree of say in who became their ladies-in-waiting. Sometimes Ladies-in-Waiting would be a lady's older sister who never got married and came to keep her sister company.

France

This attitude was very different to ladies-in-waiting to French queens under the later Bourbon dynasty. Ladies-in-waiting often acted as glorified but distant companions to the Spanish and Polish wives of Louis XIV and Louis XV. Under France's last Bourbon queen, Marie-Antoinette several of her favourite ladies-in-waiting - namely Yolande, duchesse de Polignac acquired huge influence and wealth for themselves. In later years, the ladies-in-waiting became discreet companions to the royal ladies of Europe, a practice which continues in contemporary practices.

Modern England

In the Royal Household of the United Kingdom the term Lady-in-Waiting is used to describe a woman attending a female member of the Royal Family other than the Queen Regnant or Queen Consort. An attendant upon one of the latter is styled Lady of the Bedchamber or Woman of the Bedchamber, and the senior Lady in Waiting is the Mistress of the Robes. The Women are in regular attendance, but the Mistress of the Robes and the Ladies of the Bedchamber are normally only required for ceremonial occasions. There were formerly other offices, including Maids of Honour.

Japan

In Imperial Japan before World War II, official ladies-in-waiting traditionally could serve as concubines (additional wives or consorts) for the Emperor. If the Empress failed to produce a male heir that survived long enough to succeed the Emperor, then the Emperor’s son by one of the official ladies-in-waiting could be named his heir and would be adopted by his wife. In 1901, when then-Crown Princess Sadako gave birth to a son, the future Emperor Hirohito, she was the first official wife of a Crown Prince or Emperor to do so since 1720.

Other

The term is also used in film and stage, to describe an actress whose role consists of very little action or involvement.

Notable ladies-in-waiting

• Mary Boleyn
  • Younger sister of the more famous Anne
  • Mistress to King Henry VIII in the 1520s

• Three of Henry VIII's wives
  • Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour and Catherine Howard were all ladies-in-waiting before they became queen

• Jane Parker, Lady Rochford
  • sister-in-law of Henry's second queen, Anne Boleyn
  • lady-in-waiting to Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves and Catherine Howard
  • She was executed along with Catherine Howard at the Tower of London.

• Jane Dormer
  • Devout Catholic and lady-in-waiting to Queen Mary I of England

• Katherine Ashley
  • governess and devoted lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth I

• Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
  • a favourite of Princess Anne, later Queen Anne of Great Britain.
  • She married John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, and wielded immense political power until she fell out of favour with the queen.

• Gabrielle de Polastron, comtesse de Polignac
  • Favourite courtier of Queen Marie-Antoinette
  • Hugely influential member of the queen's household
  • She became greatly unpopular and later fled into exile in Switzerland after the Revolution of 1789

• Louise-Elisabeth, Marquise de Tourzel
  • Ultra-royalist aristocrat in the time of Louis XVI
  • She was the last governess to the royal children, the Princess Royal and Louis XVII
  • She was later made a duchess by Louis XVI's younger brother Charles X

• Countess Sophie Chotek
  • Czech aristocrat and a lady-in-waiting to a Habsburg Archduchess Isabella
  • She married the emperor's nephew, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and had four children
  • She was shot to death along with her husband. Their assassination in Sarajevo triggered World War I.

• Anna Vyrubova
  • Best friend of the last Russian tsarina, Alexandra Fyodorovna.

• Murasaki Shikibu
  • Attendant to the Japanese Empress Shoshi (Akiko) in 11th century Japan.
  • Author of the world's first novel, The Tale of Genji.

• Shonagon Sei
  • Attendant to the Japanese Empress Fujiwara no Teishi from about 993-1000 C.E.
  • Author of the notable early Japanese prose collection, Pillow Book.

• Ruth, Lady Fermoy
  • A long-time friend and a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.
  • Maternal grandmother of Diana, Princess of Wales.

See also

• Lady's companion