Ladies-in-waiting

LADIES~IN~WAITING

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Ladies-in-waiting weren’t just friend to their rich mistresses, these women were also trusted as discrete messengers, state spies, household accountants, and personal stylists.

In rare occasions, a lady-in-waiting’s intimate knowledge of intrigue could grow so great, she could threaten to eclipse the queen herself.

In the household of Marie Antoinette, her ladies were more than welcome to wear discarded clothes of their most generous mistress.

They were also “allowed” to take home unused candles, a perk that actually netted a healthy profit for the lucky maids.

In England, the number of ladies-in-waiting could vary greatly from Queen to Queen.

For example: the mid-15th-century queen, Elizabeth Woodville, had just five ladies-in waiting.

Her daughter, Elizabeth of York, had as many as 36.

The Tudor period marked the beginning of more formal ranks among ladies-in-waiting.

In order, the “greatest” ranks were:

The Mistress of the Robes~

As the highest ranked lady-in-waiting in the English monarchy, the Mistress of the Robes used to be in charge of her mistress’s clothing and jewels.

The First Lady of the Bedchamber.

The Ladies of the Bedchamber.

The Women of the Bedchamber, and then finally the Maids of Honor.

For the record, most ladies worked on seasonal rotation.

Although “Maid of Honor” is the lowest rank among a queen’s ladies, these girls are legally entitled to style themselves as “The Honorable” for the rest of their lives.

The “glory days” of being a Queen’s Maid of Honor are over.

These days, Maids of Honor are almost exclusively used to attend to queens, at their coronation ~ which doesn't happen very often, anymore.

In 1286, the French royal court only had five ladies-in-waiting. However, this changed under the queenship of Anne of Brittany, who encouraged all the men at court to also send daughters to her service.

By the 16th century, the number grew to 54 ladies.

Ladies~in~waiting could also catch the eye of their mistresses husband.

Three wives of Henry VIII were ladies-in-waiting to the queens whom they would, eventually, replace.

In order, these rising stars were Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, and Catherine Howard.

Katharine of Aragon’s parents specifically asked her English in-laws to hire only beautiful women to attend upon their daughter. We hope they lived to regret it, when lady-in-waiting Anne Boleyn caught Henry VIII's eye, and his fixation on her forced him to do everything in his power to supplant Katharine.

Francis I, the philandering Valois King of France, surrounded himself with his own informal “staff” of beautiful and accomplished serving women.

These were known as “la petite bande des dames de la Cours.”

Just a few of these women became his mistresses, such as Anne de Pisselieu.

Reportedly, one of la petite bande, Diane de Poitiers, tried to attract the king’s attention, but he wasn’t interested......

She eventually settled on being mistress to Francis’s son, Henri, instead.

Being a Lady~in~Waiting came with its own perils too.

Jane, Lady Rochford, nee Parker, served as a lady-in-waiting to all but the last of Henry VIII’s wives.

Why didn’t she serve the sixth?

Jane was exEcuted in 1542, for allegedly abetting treason with Henry's fifth wife, Catherine Howard.

Historically, European queens did not have much choice in the appointment of their own ladies.

In theory, they had the “right” to choose, but the actual hiring was heavily at the mercy of many factors, including their husbands, their parents, and factions at court, who were entitled to representation in the royal household.

In her youth, Queen Elizabeth I of England was a pretty undemanding mistress, who was known to give her ladies-in-waiting as much time off as they needed.

In her later years, however, Elizabeth was rumored to be much more irritable toward her younger maids.

It was even said, that the occasional object was flung from the royal hand, in their direction.

Queen Elizabeth’s ladies-in-waiting were one of the few people allowed to see her eat on a regular basis.

For a such a grand dame, Gloriana did not like to eat in public. Instead, Elizabeth had food directly sent to her private chamber, where her ladies had the honorable extra job of carving up the meat for their mistress.

Female monarchs rarely slept alone, she rarely went to bed without a maid to sleep in her bedchamber and attend on her as needed.

In fact, to be part of this sleepover was an honorable position, and usually given to the current “favorite.”

Ladies~in~Waiting still had other things going on in their lives.

Eleanor Paston, Countess of Rutland, gave birth to eleven kids between 1523 and 1539.

She still managed to serve as a lady-in-waiting to four of Henry VIII’s wives!

For centuries, ladies-in-waiting had no formal pay structure. Some went without wages, others were given a salary; some were given quarterly payments, while others lived on casual cash rewards.

With this kind of “stability,” it becomes pretty clear these women were not doing it for the money ~ this job had other perks.

Susan Clarencieux was the Mistress of the Robes and closest friend of Queen Mary I of England.

Susan Clarencieux also had a reputation for being greedy and underhanded.

Apparently, the lady-in-waiting convinced the Venetian ambassador to give Queen Mary his own coach and horses as a gift.

Queen Mary subsequently passed this gift over…

To Susan Clarencieux.

Lettice Knollys was the granddaughter of King Henry VIII’s mistress, Mary Boleyn, and she was Queen Elizabeth I’s relation and also her lady-in-waiting.

This put Knollys in a place of favor, where should would have stayed…if Elizabeth’s favorite Robert Dudley hadn’t married Knollys without his royal sweetheart’s permission.

Elizabeth was furious and had them both banned from court.

One of Queen Elizabeth I's ladies, Margaret Radcliffe, had the “honor” of being one of the few noble Elizabethan autopsies on record.

Margaret Radcliffe was so distraught at the death of her twin brother, she fell into a catatonic state and refused to eat.

Margaret continued to deteriorate and eventually died.

The Queen then ordered an autopsy, which was incredibly rare for this time.

But according to sources, there was nothing ostensibly wrong with Margaret.

One of Elizabeth I of England’s chief ladies was her cousin, Catherine Carey.

But was she also her sister?

Catherine was the daughter of Mary Boleyn; while it was not confirmed, there were rumors that she was the secret child between her mother and Elizabeth’s own father, Henry VIII.

Catherine de Medici, Queen Regent of France, weaponized her ladies-in-waiting right into the beds of powerful male courtiers, using her girls' good looks to gather up secrets from powerful members of the court.

These ladies were known as the “flying squadron.”

Anne Boleyn's Lady-in-waiting Jane Seymour, was more than happy to show off her new necklace that Henry had given her, at court.

Inside was a portrait of Henry VIII.

Whether it was by accident or design, wearing it in public was also kind of a power move directed at Anne Boleyn, who would have had to notice it, and notice it she did.

Anne's reaction was just about what you’d expect from a humiliated wife.

She allegedly flew into a rage and tore the necklace from around Jane’s neck, hurting her own hand in the process.

Later, when Jane was queen, she banned all of her ladies from wearing French fashions, and insisted they cover their shameful hair with the modest and house-like headdress known as the English gable hood.

We can’t blame Jane too much; her predecessor was the French-hooded, attractive, and ultimately b~headed Anne Boleyn.

Jane wanted to set herself apart in every way possible.

Sometimes, ladies-in-waiting were trusted as royal jailers.

Bess of Hardwick was one of the most powerful ladies-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth I.

In 1569, Elizabeth asked Hardwick and her husband to “hold” Mary, Queen of Scots on behalf of the law.

The couple performed this duty for 15 years!

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https://www.factinate.com/people/facts-ladies-in-waiting

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https://ko-fi.com/thetudorintruders