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A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom she attended. Although she may either have received a retainer or may not have received compensation for the service she rendered, a lady-in-waiting was considered more of a secretary, courtier, or companion to her mistress than a domestic worker.
In some other parts of the world, the lady-in-waiting, often referred to as palace woman, was in practice a servant or a slave rather than a high-ranking woman, but still had about the same tasks, functioning as companion and secretary to her mistress. In courts where polygamy was practiced, a court lady might have been formally available to the monarch for sexual services, and she could become his wife, Queen consort, courtesan, or Concubinage.
Lady-in-waiting or court lady is often a generic term for women whose relative rank, title, and official functions varied, although such distinctions were also often honorary. A royal woman may or may not be free to select her ladies, and, even when she has such freedom, her choices are usually heavily influenced by the sovereign, her parents, her husband, or the sovereign's ministers (for example, in the Bedchamber crisis).
In the late 12th century, the queens of France are confirmed to have had their own household, and noblewomen are mentioned as ladies-in-waiting. During the Middle Ages, however, the household of a European queen consort was normally small, and the number of actually employed ladies-in-waiting, rather than wives of noblemen accompanying their husbands to court, was very small: in 1286, the queen of France had only five ladies-in-waiting in her employment, and it was not until 1316 that her household was separated from that of the royal children.
The role of ladies-in-waiting in Europe changed dramatically during the age of the Renaissance, when a new ceremonial court life, where women played a significant part, developed as representation of power in the courts of Italy, and spread to Burgundy, from Burgundy to France, and to the rest of the courts of Europe. The court of the Duchy of Burgundy was the most elaborate in Europe in the 15th century and became an example for France when the French royal court expanded in the late 15th century and introduced new offices for both men and women to be able to answer to the new renaissance ideal.
From small circle of married Femmes and unmarried Filles, with a relatively humble place in the background during the Middle Ages, the number of French ladies-in-waiting were rapidly expanded, divided into an advanced hierarchy with several offices and given an important and public role to play in the new ceremonial court life in early 16th century France. This example was followed by other courts in Europe, when courts expanded and became more ceremonial during the 16th century, and the offices, numbers and visibility of women expanded in the early modern age.
During the late 19th century and the early 20th century, however, most European courts started to reduce their court staff, often due to new economic and political circumstances which made court representation more questionable.
The court model of the Duchy of Burgundy, as well as the Spanish court model, came to influence the organisation of the Austrian imperial court during the 16th century, when the Burgundian Netherlands, Spain and Austria were united through the House of Habsburg. In the early and mid-16th century, the female courtiers kept by female Habsburgs in the Netherlands and Austria was composed of one Hofmesterees (Court Mistress) or Dame d'honneur who served as the principal lady-in-waiting; one Hofdame or Mere de Filles, who was second in rank and deputy of the Hofmesterees, as well as being in charge of the Eredames (Maids of Honour), also known as Demoiselle d'honneur, Fille d'honneur or Junckfrauen depending on language (Dutch language, French language and Austrian German respectively), and finally the Kamenisters (Chamber Maids). However, during the tenure of Maria of Austria, Holy Roman Empress in the mid-16th century, the court of the empress was organised in accordance with the Spanish court model, and after she left Austria, there was no further household of an empress until the 1610s. This resulted in a mix of Burgundian and Spanish customs when the Austrian court model was created.
In 1619, a set organisation was finally established for the Austrian imperial court, which came to be the characteristic organisation of the Austrian-Habsburg court roughly kept from this point onward. The first rank of the female courtiers was the Obersthofmeisterin (Mistress of the Robes), who was second in rank after the empress herself, and responsible for all the female courtiers. Second rank belonged to the Ayas, essentially governesses of the imperial children and heads of the children's court. Third in rank was the Fräuleinhofmeisterin, who was the replacement of the Obersthofmeisterin when necessary, but otherwise had the responsibility of the unmarried female courtiers, their conduct and service. The rest of the female noble courtiers consisted of the Hoffräulein (Maid of Honour), unmarried women from the nobility who normally served temporarily until marriage. The Hoffräulein could sometimes be promoted to Kammerfräulein (Maid of Honour of the Chamber). The Austrian court model was the role model for the princely courts in Germany. The German court model in turn became the role model of the early modern Scandinavian courts of Denmark and Sweden.
The ladies-in-waiting have historically been chosen by the queen herself from the noblewomen of the Catholic Belgian nobility. The chief functions at court were undertaken by members of the higher nobility, involving much contact with the royal ladies. Belgian princesses were assigned a lady upon their 18th birthdays. Princess Clementine was given a Dame by her father, a symbolic acknowledgement of adulthood. When the queen entertains, the ladies welcome guests and assist the hostess in sustaining conversation.
The six favorite court ladies of King Sisowath of Cambodia were probably initially drawn from the ranks of classical royal dancers of the lower class. He was noted for having the most classical dancers as concubines. The imperial celestial dancer, Apsara, was one of these. This practice of drawing from the ranks of royal dancers began in the Golden Age of the Khmer Kingdom.
The emperors of the Han dynasty (202 BC–220 AD) are reported to have had a harem of thousands of 'palace women', although the actual numbers are unconfirmed.
Women from official elite families could be chosen to become empress, consort or concubine immediately upon their entrance in the palace, but the emperor could also promote any female court official to that post, as they were officially all members of his harem.
The female court officials and attendants were normally selected from trusted families and then educated for their task.
Women workers in the imperial palace were distinguished as either permanent or temporary staff. Permanent palace staff included educated and literate female officials serving in the Six Bureaus, and caring for imperial heirs or other palace children. These women received great wealth and social acclaim if their jobs were performed well. Seasonal or temporary palace women included midwives, female physicians, and indentured contractors (these were usually women serving as maids to consorts, entertainers, sewing tutors, or sedan-chair bearers). These women were recruited into the palace when necessary and then released following the termination of their predetermined period of service.
Throughout the Ming dynasty, there was frequent movement between the palace service industry and the low levels of the Imperial Harem. Although emperors frequently selected minor consorts from Imperial serving women, few selected women ever reached the higher ranks of the consort structure or gained significant prominence.
As the Ming dynasty progressed, living and working conditions for palace women began to deteriorate. Lower-ranked serving women working in the Imperial palace were often underpaid and unable to buy food, leaving them to support themselves by selling embroidery at the market outside the palace via . Overall, living conditions and punishments for misbehaving eventually grew so bad that there was an assassination attempt against the Jiajing Emperor by a group of serving women. Led by palace maid Yang Jinying in 1542, the failed assassination attempt involved several maids sneaking into the emperor's bedchamber as he slept, to strangle him with a curtain cord. The attempt ultimately failed, and all the women involved were put to death, although this type of violent revolt by serving women had never been seen before in the Ming dynasty.
Due to slanderous literary propaganda written and spread by male officials and Confucian authors, higher-class female officials also saw their power begin to weaken throughout the Ming dynasty. These prominent government men began to disparage having educated women in government and state roles in response to the influence Imperial women had held over the nation in the past. This prompted a gradual overtaking of female official roles by palace eunuchs that continued throughout the remainder of the dynasty.
This hierarchy was roughly in place from the 16th century until the death of King Christian IX of Denmark in 1906. During the 20th century, most of these titles came of use, and all ladies-in-waiting at the royal Danish court are now referred to as Hofdame (Court Lady).
It was not until the end of the 15th century and early 16th century that emulation of the new courts of the Italian Renaissance made ladies-in-waiting fashionable in official court ceremonies and representation, and female court offices became more developed and numerous in the French court as well as in other European courts. The introduction of ladies-in-waiting increased in great numbers at the French court at this time: from a mere five in 1286 and still only 23 in 1490, to 39 in 1498 and roughly 54 during the 16th century. This expansion of female presence at court has been attributed to both Anne of Brittany, who encouraged all male courtiers to send their daughters to her, and to Francis I of France, who was criticized for bringing to court "the constant presence" of large crowds of women, who gossiped and interfered in state affairs. Francis I once said: "a court without ladies is a court without a court".
During the First Empire, the principal lady-in-waiting of the empress was the Dame d'honneur, followed by between 20 and 36 Dames du Palais. During the Bourbon Restoration, Marie Thérèse of France restored the pre-revolutionary court hierarchy. During the Second Empire, the female courtiers of the empress were composed of the first rank, Grand Maitresse, and the second rank, Dame d'honneur, followed by six (later twelve) Dames du Palais.
After the end of the German Holy Roman Empire in 1806, and the establishment of several minor kingdoms in Germany, the post of Staatsdame (married ladies-in-waiting) were introduced in many German princely and royal courts. At the imperial German court, the ladies-in-waiting were composed of one Oberhofmeisterin in charge of several Hofstaatsdamen or Palastdamen.
The Kingdom of Greece was established in 1832 and its first queen, Amalia of Oldenburg, organized the ladies-in-waiting of its first royal court with one 'Grande Maitresse
During the Heian period (794–1185) women could hold court offices of substantial responsibility, managing the affairs of the emperor. Female palace attendants were employed by the Imperial Bureau of Palace Attendants from among the court aristocracy, but were required to have sufficient education in Chinese classics to be accepted.
During the Sengoku period (1467–1603), the highest rank of a lady-in-waiting was the 'Female Assistant to the Major Counselor', who ran the affairs of the daily life of the Imperial Household. The second rank was , who acted as intermediary between the emperor and those seeking an audience and issued his wishes in writing. Ladies-in-waiting acted as imperial secretaries and noted the events at court, visitors and gifts in the official court journals.
In contrast to China, female palace attendants managed the palace of the imperial harem rather than , and could hold high court offices in the emperor's personal household.
Female palace attendants were divided into two classes, which in turn had several ranks, signifying their task. The first class consisted of the , or ladies-in-waiting who held court offices: () () and (). The second class were the female palace attendants: , , and . The ladies-in-waiting worked as personal assistants, tending to the emperor's wardrobe, assisting the emperor's baths, serving meals, performing and attending court rituals. Ladies-in-waiting could be appointed as concubines, consorts or even empresses by the emperor or the heir to the throne. The function of a lady-in-waiting as potential concubine was abolished in 1924.
Gungnyeo consisted of the ladies-in-waiting—both high-ranking court ladies and the ordinary maids (known as nain) responsible for most of the labour work—who were divided into Naemyeongbu from 9 to 5 (the ranks from 4 to 1 were the official concubines of the king), with two levels each (senior and junior), the highest attainable rank being sanggung (senior 5th), as well as other types of working women who were not included in the classification, such as musuri (women from the lowest class who did odd jobs, such as drawing water and distributing firewood), gaksimi (also known as bija and bangja, who were personal servants of a sanggung), sonnim (literally translated to 'guest', were maids brought in the palace to work for the royal concubines, most of the time connected to the families of the concubines) and uinyeo (selected from public female slaves, they worked at the royal infirmary or public clinics, and practiced simple medicine skills).
Generally, the ladies-in-waiting were chosen from among the young girls of the sangmin (commoners) and the private female Nobi of the Yangban (governing class). Later, the candidates were also picked from among the government slaves, together with the daughters of noblemen's concubines (who were former Kisaeng or slaves). The appointment process was different for nain associated with the inner quarters for the king and queen, who were recruited by the high ranked court ladies themselves, through recommendations and connections. The nain for the departments with specific skills such as sewing and embroidery were from the jungin (middle class), with the lowest class of gungnyeo coming from the cheonmin (vulgar commoners).
They could be as young as 4 when entering the palace, and after learning court language and etiquette, they could be elevated to a nain. When they had served the court for more than 15 years, they would eventually be promoted to higher ranks; however, they were eligible for the rank of sanggung only after a minimum of 35 years of work.
Ladies-in-waiting could become concubines if the king favored them. They would be elevated to the highest rank (senior 5th) and would be known as seungeun sanggung (or 'favored/special court lady'). If they gave birth to a son, they would become members of the royal family, after being promoted to sug-won (junior 4th) and until the 18th century, they could advance as high as becoming queen (the most notable example being Jang Ok-jeong, a concubine of Sukjong of Joseon and mother of Gyeongjong of Joseon).
In the 16th century, the ladies-in-waiting in the courts of the Habsburg governors of the Netherlands, Margaret of Austria and Mary of Hungary, were composed of one Hofmeesteres (Court Mistress) or Dame d'honneur who served as the principal lady-in-waiting; one Hofdame or Mere de Filles, who was second in rank and deputy of the Hofmeesteres as well as being in charge of the Eredames (Maids of Honour), also known as Demoiselle d'honneur, Fille d'honneur or Junckfrauen, and finally the Kameniersters (Chamber Maids), all with different titles depending on language in the multilingual area of the Netherlands.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands was founded in 1815, signifying the organisation of a royal court. In the 19th century, the ladies-in-waiting of the Dutch court were headed by the Grootmeesteres (Grand Mistress, equivalent to Mistress of the Robes), of second rank were the Dames du Palais (married ladies-in-waiting), followed by the third rank Hofdames (Court Ladies, equivalent to Maids of Honour).S Gravenhaagsche Stads-Almanak: voor 1857
Beatrix of the Netherlands had a total of seven Hofdames. They accompanied the queen and the other female members of the Royal House during visits and receptions at the royal court. The monarch paid for their expenses, but they did not receive any salary. Not all of these ladies were members of the Dutch aristocracy, but each had a "notable" husband. Excellent social behavior and discretion were the most important recommendations for becoming a Hofdame. In 2012, the Hofdames were Letje van Karnebeek-van Lede, Lieke Gaarlandt-van Voorst van Beest, Julie Jeekel-Thate, Miente Boellaard-Stheeman, Jonkheer]] Reina de Blocq van Scheltinga, Elizabeth Baroness van Wassenaer-Mersmans and Bibi Baroness van Zuylen van Nijevelt, Jonkvrouwe den Beer Poortugael. Queen Maxima reduced the number of Hofdames to three, hers being: Lieke Gaarlandt-van Voorst van Beest, Pien van Karnebeek-Thijssen and Annemijn Crince le Roy-van Munster van Heuven. After their voluntary retirement, Hofdames were appointed to the honorary royal household. The honorary royal household still distinguishes between Dames du Palais and Hofdames, but the category Dames du Palais is slated for discontinuation.
The Grootmeesteres (Grandmistress) is the highest-ranking lady at the royal court. From 1984 until 2014, the position was held by Martine van Loon-Labouchere, descendant of the famous banker family, a former diplomat and the widow of Jonkheer Maurits van Loon of the famous Amsterdam canal estate. The current Grootmeesteres is Bibi Countess van Zuylen van Nijevelt-den Beer Poortugael (lady-in-waiting between 2011 and 2014).
As a further example, within certain pre-colonial states of the Bini people and in Nigeria, the queen mothers and were considered "Honorary male" due to their social eminence. As a result of this fact, they were often attended to by women who belonged to their in much the same way as their actually male counterparts were served by women who belonged to theirs. Although these women effectively functioned as ladies-in-waiting, were often members of powerful families of the local nobility in their own right, and were not usually used for sexual purposes, they were nonetheless referred to as their principals' "wives".
The (enslaved) ladies-in-waiting of the Ottoman Imperial harem were collectively known as kalfa, of different ranks. Each royal and royal concubine had their own household staff of kalfa; a kalfa serving as the servant of the sultan himself was titled Hünkar Kalfalari.Brookes, Douglas Scott (2010). The Concubine, the Princess, and the Teacher: Voices from the Ottoman Harem. University of Texas Press. . s. 293–301 A Hazinedar or Hazinedar Usta was a kalfa with special assignments rather than just an ordinary attendant, and was ranked under the Hazinedar Usta.Brookes, Douglas Scott (2010). The Concubine, the Princess, and the Teacher: Voices from the Ottoman Harem. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-78335-5. s. 293–301 All kalfa belonging to the same household within the court were ranked under their Daire Kalfasi, who was the supervisor of the kalfa's belonging to a specific royal person. All Daire Kalfasi of the harem were rankend under the Büyük Kalfa, who in turn was the supervisor of all the Daire Kalfasi of the court. The highest ranked kalfa was the Saray Ustas, who supervised all the kalfa of the entire court (harem).
The court register of 1896 noted the Camareira-mór as the senior of all the ladies-in-waiting of the Portuguese court, followed by the Dama Camarista Mulher do mordomo mór de S. a Rainha, and the Dama honoraria Mulher do mestre sala. All three positions were at that date occupied by one person. The fourth rank was the Dona camarista (there were five in 1896), and the lowest rank of ladies-in-waiting was the Dona honoraira, of which there were 21 in 1896.
In 1722, this system was abolished and the Russian imperial court was reorganized in accordance with the reforms of Peter the Great to Westernization Russia, and the old court offices of the tsarina were replaced with court offices inspired by the German model.
From the reign of Queen Christina, the Hovmästarinna was supervised by the Överhovmästarinna (Chief Court Mistress). In 1774, the post of Statsfru (Mistress of the State) was introduced, which was the title for the group of married ladies-in-waiting with a rank between the Hovmästarinna and the Kammarfröken. The Swedish court staff was reduced in size in 1873. The new court protocols of 1911 and 1954 continued this reduction, and many court posts were abolished or no longer filled.
With the exception of the Statsfru and the Överhovmästarinna, none of the titles above are in use today. At the death of Queen Louise in 1965, her Överhovmästarinna was employed by the king. From 1994, the Överhovmästarinna is the head of the court of the king rather than the queen, while the court of the queen is headed by the Statsfru. There is now only one Statsfru, and the other ladies-in-waiting are simply referred to as Hovdam (Court Lady). Queen Silvia of Sweden has only three Hovdamer (Court Ladies). Her chief lady-in-waiting is the Statsfru.
On more formal occasions ladies in waiting wear a badge of office, which usually takes the form of a jewelled or enamelled monogram of the relevant member of the royal family beneath the appropriate crown or coronet, suspended from a coloured ribbon.
Prior to the Accession of Charles III, a woman attending on a queen (whether queen regnant, queen consort or queen dowager) was also often referred to as a lady-in-waiting (including in official notices), although she would more formally be called either a woman of the bedchamber or a lady of the bedchamber (depending on which of these offices she held). The senior lady of a queen's household was the mistress of the robes, who (as well as being in attendance herself on occasion) was responsible for arranging all the duties of the queen's ladies in waiting.
The ladies of the bedchamber were not in daily attendance, but were called upon for the more important public occasions and events. Two ladies-in-waiting used to accompany the Queen on overseas tours, one of whom was usually a Lady of the Bedchamber. For many years the Queen was always attended by three ladies-in-waiting at the State Opening of Parliament (the Mistress of the Robes, a Lady of the Bedchamber and a Woman of the Bedchamber), but in 1998 the number attending was reduced to two.
Towards the end of her reign, the ladies-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth II were:
Mistress of the Robes
Ladies of the Bedchamber
Women of the Bedchamber
After the death of Elizabeth II and the accession of Charles III, it was announced that the King would be retaining the late Queen's ladies-in-waiting, with their titles changing to "Ladies of the Household". They will help with hosting events at Buckingham Palace.
As late as in the mid-15th century, Elizabeth Woodville had only five ladies-in-waiting, but in the late 15th century and early 16th century, ladies-in-waiting were given a more dominant place at the English court, in parallel with developments in France and the continental courts. The court life of the Duchy of Burgundy served as an example when Edward IV created the Black Book of the Household in 1478, and the organisation of the English royal household was essentially set from that point onward.
Elizabeth of York had numerous ladies-in-waiting, which was reported by the Spanish ambassador, Rodrigo de Puebla, as something unusual and astonishing: "the Queen has thirty-two ladies, very magnificent and in splendid style". She reportedly had 36 ladies-in-waiting, 18 of them noblewomen; in 1502, a more complete account summarised them as 16 'gentlewomen', seven maids of honour and three 'chamberers-women', who attended to her in the bedchamber. Aside from the women formally employed as ladies-in-waiting, the Queen's female retinue in reality also consisted of the daughters and the ladies-in-waiting of her ladies-in-waiting, who also resided in the Queen's household.
The duties of ladies-in-waiting at the Tudor court were to act as companions for the queen, both in public and in private. They had to accompany her wherever she went, to entertain her with music, dance or singing and to dress, bathe and help her use the toilet, since a royal person, by the standards of the day, was not supposed to do anything for herself, but was always to be waited upon in all daily tasks as a sign of their status.
Ladies-in-waiting were appointed because of their social status as members of the nobility, on the recommendation of court officials, or other prominent citizens, and because they were expected to be supporters of the royal family due to their own family relationships. When the queen was not a foreigner, her own relations were often appointed as they were presumed to be trustworthy and loyal. Margaret Lee was a lady of the privy chamber to Anne Boleyn, just as Elizabeth Seymour was to Jane Seymour.
The organisation of the queen's ladies-in-waiting was set in the period of the Tudor court. The ladies-in-waiting were headed by the mistress of the robes, followed in rank by the first lady of the bedchamber, who supervised the group of ladies of the bedchamber (typically wives or widows of peers above the rank of earl), in turn followed by the group of women of the bedchamber (usually the daughters of peers) and finally the group of maids of honour, whose service entitled them to the style of The Honourable for life.
The system had formally remained roughly the same since the Tudor period. However, in practice, many offices have since then been left vacant. For example, in recent times, maids of honour have only been appointed for .
United Kingdom
In the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, a lady-in-waiting is a woman attending a female member of the royal family. Ladies-in-waiting are routinely appointed by junior female members of the royal family, to accompany them on public engagements and provide other support and assistance.
Queen Elizabeth II
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, one of the women of the bedchamber was always in daily attendance; each served for a fortnight at a time, in rotation. In the Court Circular the phrase 'Lady in Waiting to the Queen' referred to the women on duty at a given time.e.g. "Mrs. Fiona Henderson has succeeded Mrs. Robert de Pass as Lady in Waiting to The Queen" ( Court Circular, 29 October 2002 ).
Queen Camilla
In November 2022, it was announced that Queen Camilla would end the tradition of having ladies-in-waiting. Instead, she would be helped by "Queen's companions". Their role would be informal and they would not be involved in tasks such as replying to letters or developing schedules.
her companions are:
Historic
In the Middle Ages, Margaret of France is noted to have had seven ladies-in-waiting: three married ones, who were called Domina, and four unmarried maids of honour, but no principal lady-in-waiting is mentioned,William J. Thoms: The Book of the Court: Exhibiting the History, Duties, and Privileges of the English Nobility and Gentry. Particularly of the Great Officers of State and Members of the Royal Household, 1844 and until the 15th century, the majority of the officeholders of the queen's household were still male.Alison Weir:
Notable examples
This is a list of particularly well known and famous ladies-in-waiting of each nation listed. More can be found in their respective category.
Austria
Canada
Denmark
England and Scotland
Egypt
France
Germany
Hungary
Japan
Korea
China
Ottoman
Poland
Russia
Sweden
Thailand
In fiction
See also
Notes
External links
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