When Queen Camilla is coronated next to husband King Charles III this May 6, she will have two special women by her side. These ladies in attendance will be her sister, Annabel Elliot, and her longtime friend and current queen's companion Lady Lansdowne.
According to reports, Camilla is ditching the tradition and instead opting for six assistants who will be known as 'queen's companions' - modernising the role of women in the royal fold.
And while Queen Elizabeth had a whole fleet of ladies-in-waiting throughout her reign—many of whom had been close with her for more than 60 years—apparently Queen Camilla is ditching the outdated tradition and instead having six assistants who will be known as “queen's companions,” according to reports from Today.
Ladies-in-waiting performed intimate duties such as putting on and removing the queen's clothing and bathing her. They were expected to put her needs above those of their own husbands and children. They spent most of the day with the queen and provided her with companionship and entertainment in her private chambers.
Because Queen Elizabeth II ascended when her father, King George VI died in 1952, she is a Queen, whereas Camilla is a Queen by marriage, making her consort. However, it is thought that the royal family only called her Queen Consort initially to distinguish her from Queen Elizabeth II immediately after her death.
What is the Queen Consort? A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, a position currently held by King Charles's wife, Camilla. A queen consort usually shares her spouse's social rank and status, holding the female equivalent of the king's monarchical titles.
King Charles and Queen Camilla are undoubtedly very much in love, with public appearances always seeing them laughing and joking together, but reports say the couple does not share a bed. There's no trouble in paradise, though. It's customary for royal couples to sleep in different bedrooms.
The role is not typically paid, and it has been reported that Lady Hussey was not given a salary during her time in the position, instead serving the Queen out of loyalty. The Queen had at least five ladies in waiting during her reign, including Lady Hussey.
In the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, a lady-in-waiting is a woman attending a female member of the Royal Family. Ladies-in-waiting are routinely appointed by junior female members of the Royal Family, to accompany them on public engagements and provide other support and assistance.
A lady in waiting would be in charge of waking, dressing and accompanying a lady in her daily activities She helps a queen, a princess, or other noblewoman. A lady-in-waiting is often a noblewoman of a lower rank than the one she attends. She is not thought to be a servant.
The ladies in waiting did not live at the Royal residences on a permanent basis. However, if their duties required they would stay in Royal apartments in London or within Buckingham Palace to be near the Queen, The National reports. Ladies in waiting have been a part of Royal life since the 15th century.
If King Charles dies, will Camilla be Queen? Although Camilla will drop the “consort” from her title, her official role will remain that of the Queen Consort, or the reigning monarch's wife, which means she will never be the reigning Queen.
As NBC royal commentator Daisy McAndrew puts it, a “queen consort is a woman who married a man who is king,” and a “queen is a woman who is born to be queen and is head of state — not the wife of a monarch.”
She must walk a few steps behind King Charles
Prior to their deaths, Prince Philip walked a few steps behind Queen Elizabeth out of respect. And now, the same rule applies to King Charles and his wife.
Technically yes. That's because if a male sovereign is married when they accede the throne, his wife is traditionally anointed and crowned in a short ceremony. That takes place after Charles III is crowned and the homages are paid. On Saturday, Camilla became the 29th Queen Consort to be crowned at Westminster Abbey.
In the Royal Household of the United Kingdom the term Woman of the Bedchamber is used to describe a woman (usually a daughter of a peer) attending either a queen regnant or queen consort, in the role of lady-in-waiting.
Elizabeth disliked eating in public. Food would be sent to her privy chamber and the ladies would wait on her in privacy, carving the meat, and pouring the wine. A favoured one would also sleep in the Queen's bedchamber – to sleep alone was completely unheard of, even for a monarch.
Lords-in-waiting (male) or baronesses-in-waiting (female) are peers who hold office in the Royal Household of the sovereign of the United Kingdom.
They should act, speak, and dress according to the prestige the title deserves. Applicants for Lady-In-Waiting contestants must be female, between the ages of 15 and 18 years old.
As for what the queen kept in her bag, royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith says the items weren't all that different from what normal women carry with them: a mirror, lipstick, mint lozenges and reading glasses. As for the rest of the royal family, they have their own dress code rules they have to follow.
Lady Susan Hussey, the late Queen Elizabeth II's lady-in-waiting, resigned as a royal aide last week after asking 'unacceptable and deeply regrettable' questions about the background of a Black domestic abuse campaigner at a reception hosted by the Queen Consort on Tuesday.
"Toilet"
If you're looking for a restroom in Buckingham Palace, ask for the loo or the lavatory.
The proclamation may have proved less than accurate, but for almost a century between the 1850s and 1950s, separate beds were seen as a healthier, more modern option for couples than the double, with Victorian doctors warning that sharing a bed would allow the weaker sleeper to drain the vitality of the stronger.
On 22 February, Buckingham Palace announced that the Queen would not attend the wedding ceremony, but would attend the church blessing and host the reception afterwards. The reason stated by the palace was the couple wanted to keep the occasion low key.