Queen Camilla Won't Have Ladies-in-Waiting
Queen Camilla is ending the ladies-in-waiting tradition. Instead, the Queen Consort will be assisted by "Queen's companions."
The six woman assistants will serve a more modern role to Camilla. Per the BBC, "The honorary positions involve helping the Queen Consort at public events. Unlike the ladies-in-waiting, this slimmed-down role will not involve correspondence or administration. Replacing the role of lady-in-waiting will end a feature of court life going back to the middle ages, with such close personal helpers of a Queen often coming from aristocratic families and, over the centuries, sometimes caught up in court intrigue."
The new companions, who will not receive a salary, will be more informal than the ladies-in-waiting of decades past.
The first six companions will be the Marchioness of Lansdowne, Jane von Westenholz, Lady Katharine Brooke, Sarah Troughton, Lady Sarah Keswick, and Baroness Chisholm, a former Conservative whip. Their first appearance with Queen Camilla will be at a reception for those working to combat domestic violence and violence against women at Buckingham Palace this week.
"Some of the Queen’s Companions will be in attendance for the first time at Her Majesty’s Violence Against Women and Girls Reception at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday," Buckingham Palace said in a statement. "The role of Queen’s Companion will be to support The Queen Consort in some of her key official and State duties, in addition to her Private Secretary/Deputy Private Secretary."
The late Queen Elizabeth's ladies-in-waiting will remain part of the royal household, and will now be called "ladies of the household," according to the Palace. They will help King Charles host events at Buckingham Palace.
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