Lady In Waiting

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. A lady-in-waiting (also called waiting maid) 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, but is not considered a servant. Their duties varied from court to court. In Tudor England, ladies-in-waiting were divided into four separate 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 and thought to be the highest level of unpaid ladies-in-waiting. Most of the other women were considered Maids of Honour. The Maids of honour were the single, unmarried ladies-in-waiting. 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, just as Lady Elizabeth Seymour-Cromwell was to Queen Jane Seymour.