Camilla Parker Bowles, wife of King Charles, breaks after three months with an age-old tradition in the British royal family.
Members of the British royal family have been looked after by ladies-in-waiting since the Middle Ages. Ladies-in-waiting they call them overseas. They are in the service of royalty on official occasions. Thanks to them, the Queen has something to drink, something to eat and the ability to talk to enough people at receptions or events. For example, they also accept bouquets and gifts that the Queen receives so you don’t have to keep them all the time. Duties also included answering letters to the Queen and drawing up the daily schedule. The ladies-in-waiting received no salary, but their expenses were reimbursed. Until her death, Queen Elizabeth II had seven. Some had done that job for more than sixty years.
The ladies-in-waiting are faced with the highest-ranking Britons at their best and worst. This became clear two years ago when Lady Anne Glenconner published her explosive memoirs after 30 years as Princess Margaret’s lady-in-waiting. In it, she unhesitatingly and directly described how everything went and how not all royals treated each other in a civilized manner.
• Mia Doornaert: Finally rehab for Camilla Parker-Bowles
You didn’t just become a lady-in-waiting. There has always been a long selection procedure and women from the aristocracy have always been chosen.
Companions
But the era of ladies-in-waiting is coming to an end. Queen Consort Camilla, 75, had previously indicated she wants a more contemporary royal family and that these tough economic times require fewer staff. She immediately looked at the ladies-in-waiting. Now she puts the words into practice: from Monday she will no longer be assisted by the six ladies-in-waiting. They come instead The Queen’s Companions, as the role will be officially called. Those six companions will play a more casual and informal role, it seems in the royal family. They will accompany the Queen on official matters – trips abroad, for example – but no longer have to deal with administration, plan the day or answer letters.
The first companions become people who are friends with Camila for a long time. Queen Elizabeth II’s former ladies-in-waiting aren’t just fired. They will henceforth assist King Charles III in organizing events at Buckingham Palace and will be known as ‘ladies of the house’ there.
