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Lady-in-Waiting

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A '''lady-in-waiting''' is a female personal assistant at a noble court, attending to a Monarch queen, a princess or other nobility 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. 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 Anne Boleyn Queen Anne Boleyn, just as Elizabeth Seymour 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. The term is also used in film and stage, to describe an actress whose role consists of very little action or involvement. This attitude was very different to ladies-in-waiting to France French queens under the later House of Bourbon Bourbon dynasty. Ladies-in-waiting often acted as glorified but distant companions to the Spain Spanish and Poland Polish wives of Louis XIV of France Louis XIV and Louis XV of France Louis XV. Under France's last Bourbon queen, Marie Antoinette Marie-Antoinette several of her favourite ladies-in-waiting - namely Gabrielle de Polastron, comtesse de Polignac 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 to this day. 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 British Royal Family Royal Family other than the Queen Regnant or Queen Consort. An attendant upon one of the latter is style ''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.

Notable ladies-in-waiting
* Mary Boleyn ** Elder sister of the more famous Anne Boleyn Anne ** Mistress to King Henry VIII of England Henry VIII in the 1520s * Three of Henry VIII of England 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 Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves and Catherine Howard ** She was executed along with Queen Catherine 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 Marie-Antoinette ** Hugely influential member of the queen's household ** She became greatly unpopular and later fled into exile in Switzerland after the French Revolution Revolution of 1789 * Louise-Elisabeth, Marquise de Tourzel ** Ultra-royalist aristocrat in the time of Louis XVI of France Louis XVI ** She was the last governess to the royal children, Princess Marie-Thérèse-Charlotte the Princess Royal and Louis XVII of France Louis XVII ** She was later made a duchess by Louis XVI of France Louis XVI's younger brother Charles X of France Charles X * Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg Countess Sophie Chotek ** Czech aristocrat and a lady-in-waiting to a Habsburg Archduchess Archduchess Isabella of Austria 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 of Hesse Alexandra Fyodorovna. **She is popularly credited with having introduced her to Rasputin and with being Rasputin's mistress. Category:Nobility Category:Positions within the British Royal Household de:Hofdame nl:Hofdame see Lady-in-waiting

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