THE ROLE OF A LADY IN WAITING

 WHAT DOES A  "LADY IN WAITING" ACTUALLY DO?

The answer may be "everything." Sometimes called a "maid" I can't promise you if you get a job/role being a Lady In Waiting you won't do some house work, but a Personal Assistant is more like it. Except the at the women who do this work don't get paid.  They are usually from rich families or in rich marriages and of the nobility themselves and don't "need" to work for pay. It's an honor and a tradition. So is paying what's called "room and board" or for travel expenses. Usually a Queen or a Princess (at least the ones who are working) has several. Some of these women travel with the Woman of higher rank or perform certain functions such as attending to public duties while others might be on what's called "a two week rotation" followed by four weeks off, so it's part-time, yet not too flexible. Sure there are perks. Seeing close up the work of the Queen or traveling the world with a Princess can mean seeing history in the making or watching a marriage fall apart.

According to an article in Women and Home, entitled "Who is the Queen's Trusted Lady-In-Waiting And What Exactly Does She Do?" by Laura Harmon, published in April of this year, the Queen, Elizabeth II, has had a trusted Lady-In-Waiting by her side for decades and this woman even attended the funeral of Prince Phillip, the Queen's husband, with the Queen. (We all know how restricted the attendance was for that event.) Her name is Lady Susan Hussey, a Baroness, who first came into the Queen's employ about the time Prince Andrew was born and the Queen needed someone to do the secretarial duty of making out Thank You notes. Lady Susan was made a Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order in 2013 and this is the highest rank personally granted by the sovereign. Just as our Mistress of the Month, Lady Elizabeth Georgiana Alice Cavendish was, for her work for Princess Margaret.

According to Cheatsheet.com, an article called "The Surprising Duties of Royal Family Ladies in Waiting", by Milla Henson, published in May of this year, The Mistress of Robes takes care of the Queens wardrobe - including what tiara she might wear, while the Mistress of the Bedchamber is the Queens Best friend, because she helps her dress, undress, bathe, and get ready for bed. Since the women who work at Waiting are considered friends and worthy of trust, they never retire.

How many of you would like to try this line of work?

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SIR JOHN NOT QUITE A CHARACTER IN NETFLIX's THE CROWN

Just a note.  I was rewatching The Crown, which is an excellent series about the British Royal Family.  I know it cannot be "accurate" and must be considered fiction based on much of what is known about the Royal Family, but if you haven't seen it, well, try to. Excellent production values.  Historical content. Terrific acting. Truly an achievement for all involved.

In Season Two, Episode Four, which is about Princess Margaret's introduction to the photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones through a Lady In Waiting, she is invited to a dinner party attended by "unconventional" people.  Margaret has had a tough love life thus far, being unable to marry her first true love because he was a divorced man. She is starting to go nutty and so, to help her get out of the house (the castle) she attends this dinner party.

She notes that the poet John Betjeman is at the party.  She says, "Is it true he has two wives?"  and Armstrong-Jones says, "Better he has three."

Ever since I saw that, I've been wondering - WHO WAS THE POSSIBLE THIRD WIFE OF POET SIR JOHN BETJEMAN?  If you know, please leave a comment!

LADY ELIZABETH CAVENDISH AND HER SERVICE TO PRINCESS MARGARET

According to multiple obituaries in newspapers (and on the Internet) it may be that Lady Elizabeth Georgiana Alice Cavendish was the person to introduce Princess Margaret to her husband Antony Armstrong Jones, who was to be ennobled with the name First Lord Snowden. Snowden would divorce Princess Margaret when he got his Mistress pregnant!

At her funeral, to represent The Queen (Elizabeth II) Lady Sarah Chatto, Princess Margaret's daughter stood in. 

Lady Elizabeth was known for her zippered lips, but another of Princess Margaret's Ladies In Waiting, Anne Glenconner, eventually wrote a book about her times with the Princess who was known to have her "Royal Moments," was a hard partier, and whose marriage to the First Lord Snowden was chaotic.

Anne Glenconner was in an awful marriage herself. I have not read this book but.... Here's a great interview with Glenconner:  THE GUARDIAN : I'M NO SNOWFLAKE : INTERVIEW WITH ANNE GLENCONNER by Hadley Freeman

She mentions that she married a man of a slightly lower rank in the aristocracy.

EXCERPT: Glenconner's family has a long relationship with the royal family; her paternal grandmother was Edward VIII's mistress and her father was equerry to George VI.  Glenconner was Princess Margaret;s devoted lady-in-waiting for more than 30 years, and this is what spurred her into writing her book, as she was horrified by a recent biography about the princess, which she describes as "that horrible book, we won't mention the name of the somebody...

  

According to an October 5, 2018 article in RoyalCentraco.uk by Charlie Proctor, Lady Elizabeth was also a godmother to Princess Margaret's son, who is the current 2nd Lord Snowden. 

In a Daily Mail UK article dated June 29, 2007 entitled Very Contrary Princess - Why Did The Charming Margaret Turn Into The Most Unpopular Royal by Tim Heald, there is this:

EXCERPT:

Above all, she (Margaret) craved kitchen meals and intelligent small-talk. What she particularly loathed were occasions when a hostess would suddenly announce she had friends coming in for drinks or a meal; then the Princess would feel correctly that she was being exploited and "shown off."

"The people who knew her best were devoted to her," said Lady Elizabeth Cavendish, daughter of the Duke of Devonshire. "She was, I think, the most loyal person I have ever met and, of course, to me a wonderful friend."

"I know that no matter what I had done, she would have been there."

But even those who saw the Princess often acknowledged that she could be contrary and contradictory.

DAILY MAIL UK - MARGARET UNPOPULAR ROYAL

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Besides the linked to articles, reference for this post also came from Hello Magazine, an April 19, 2020 article called Why The Queens Ladies In Waiting Do Not Receive a Salary by Gemma Strong.