A maid of honour is a junior attendant of a queen in royal households. The position was and is junior to the

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting (alternatively written lady in waiting) or court lady is a female personal assistant at a Royal court, court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking nobility, noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was o ...

. The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts.

Tudors and Stuarts

Traditionally, a

queen regnant A queen regnant (: queens regnant) is a female monarch, equivalent in rank, title and position to a king. She reigns ''suo jure'' (in her own right) over a realm known as a kingdom; as opposed to a queen consort, who is married to a reigning ...

had eight maids of honour, while a

queen consort A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, and usually shares her spouse's social Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but hi ...

had four. Queen

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the Wives of Henry VIII, second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and execution, by beheading ...

had seven maids of honour and one mother of maids. MaryFitton

A maid of honour was a maiden, meaning that she had never been married (and therefore was ostensibly a

virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

), and was usually young and a member of the nobility. Maids of honour were commonly in their sixteenth year or older, although

Lady Jane Grey Lady Jane Grey (1536/1537 – 12 February 1554), also known as Lady Jane Dudley after her marriage, and nicknamed as the "Nine Days Queen", was an English noblewoman who was proclaimed Queen of England and Ireland on 10 July 1553 and reigned ...

served as a maid of honour to Queen

Catherine Parr Catherine Parr ( – 5 September 1548) was Queen of England and Ireland as the last of the six wives of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 12 July 1543 until Henry's death on 28 January 1547. Catherine was the final queen consort o ...

in about 1546–48, when Jane was only about ten to twelve years old. Under

Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She made vigorous a ...

and

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

, maids of honour were at court as a kind of finishing school, with the hope of making a good marriage. Elizabeth Knollys was a maid of the court at the age of nine. Elizabeth gave gifts of clothing to her maids of honour, including the sisters Elizabeth and Anne Knollys, Margaret,

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and

Catherine Carey Catherine Carey, after her marriage Catherine Knollys and later known as both Lady Knollys and Dame Catherine Knollys, ( – 15 January 1569), was chief Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth I, who was her first cousin. Biography Cather ...

, and

Frances Frances is an English given name or last name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'the French.' The male version of the name in English is Francis (given name), Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "F ...

and Elizabeth Howard. Elizabeth I's maids of honour danced in a

masque The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A mas ...

in June 1600 at the marriage of Anne Russell and Henry Somerset, and

Mary Fitton Mary Fitton (or Fytton) (baptised 25 June 1578 – 1647) was an Elizabethan gentlewoman who became a maid of honour to Queen Elizabeth. She is noted for her scandalous affairs with William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, Vice-Admiral Sir Richar ...

had a speaking part. This is an early record of female theatrical performance in this context. The other masque dancers were "Lady Dougherty" (Dorothy Hastings), Mistress Carey, Mistress Onslow, Mistress Southwell, Bess Russell, Mistress Darcy, and Blanche Somerset. The queen herself joined the dance. An ordinance for the English household of

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...

made on 20 July 1603 allowed for six maids and a supervisory mother of maids, with four

chamberer A chamberer was a female attendant of an English queen regnant, queen consort, or princess. There were similar positions in aristocratic households. Chamberers at court At court, the position was similar to a male groom of the privy chamber. The n ...

s. The Earl of Worcester discussed the appointments in a 1604 letter: "for the presence hamberthere ar nowe 5 maydes, Cary, Myddellmore, Woodhowse,

Gargrave Gargrave is a large village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is located along the A65 road, A65, north-west of Skipton. The village is situated on the very edge of the Yorkshire Dales; the River Aire and the Leeds ...

, Roper, the sixt is determyned but not come". In 1632, six maids of honour at the court of

Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria of France (French language, French: ''Henriette Marie''; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland from her marriage to K ...

took part in the masque '' The Shepherd's Paradise''. The maids of honour did not always receive a fee or salary beyond their board and lodging. Some maids received £10 yearly in the 17th century. There were also grants and rewards, including property leases which provided an income known as "annual rent". In 1630, Cecilia Crofts gained pensions and an income from duty on coal mines near Benwell. Some of the maids received dowries from the monarch.

Twentienth century

In the 19th and 20th centuries, the term ''maid of honour in waiting'' was sometimes used. The

queen mother A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the monarch, reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also ...

often also had maids of honour. In 1912, for example, Ivy Gordon-Lennox was appointed a maid of honour to

Queen Alexandra Alexandra of Denmark (Alexandra Caroline Marie Charlotte Louise Julia; 1 December 1844 – 20 November 1925) was List of British royal consorts, queen-consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, from 22 Januar ...

. In 1912, King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

granted maids of honour the style of

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (Commonwealth English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style ...

, with precedence next after daughters of barons. At her

coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

, Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

had six maids of honour who attended her throughout the ceremony, especially carrying the trains of her robes. They were: * Lady Moyra Hamilton, daughter of James Hamilton, Marquess of Hamilton; * Lady Anne Coke, daughter of

Thomas Coke, 5th Earl of Leicester Major Thomas William Edward Coke, 5th Earl of Leicester (16 May 1908 – 3 September 1976), styled Viscount Coke from 1941 to 1949, was a British hereditary peer. cited in Early life Thomas William Edward Coke, 5th Earl of Leicester, was born ...

; * Lady Jane Vane-Tempest-Stewart, daughter of Robin Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 8th Marquess of Londonderry; * Lady Mary Baillie-Hamilton, daughter of George Baillie-Hamilton, 12th Earl of Haddington; * Lady Jane Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, daughter of

James Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 3rd Earl of Ancaster Gilbert James Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, 3rd Earl of Ancaster, (8 December 1907 – 29 March 1983) styled Lord Willoughby de Eresby from 1910 to 1951, was a British Conservative politician. Early life Gilbert James Heathcote-Drummond-Will ...

; and * Lady Rosemary Spencer-Churchill, daughter of John Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough.

Terminology

A ''

'' is a woman who attends a female member of the

Royal Family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...

other than the queen regnant or queen consort. An attendant upon one of the latter is a ''

Lady of the Bedchamber Lady of the Bedchamber is the title of a lady-in-waiting holding the official position of personal attendant on a British queen regnant or queen consort. The position is traditionally held by the wife of a peer. A lady of the bedchamber would gi ...

'' or '' Woman of the Bedchamber'', and the senior lady-in-waiting is the ''

Mistress of the Robes The mistress of the robes was the senior lady in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, who would, by appointment, attend on the Queen (whether queen regnant or a queen consort). Queens dowager retained their own mistresses of the robes. In ...

''. The women of the bedchamber are in regular attendance, but the mistress of the robes and the ladies of the bedchamber are normally only required for ceremonial occasions. At the Tudor and Stuart courts, the women in attendance included gentlewomen, maids of honour, and

s. The gentlewoman in charge of the maids of honour was known as the Mother of the Maids.William Tighe, 'Familia reginae: the Privy Court', Susan Doran & Norman Jones, ''The Elizabethan World'' (Routledge, 2011), pp. 76, 79. The term ''maid of honour'' is the origin of the

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lang ...

term ''

maid of honor Bridesmaids are members of the bride's party at some Western traditional wedding ceremonies. A bridesmaid is typically a young woman and often the bride's close friend or relative. She attends to the bride on the day of a wedding or marriage ce ...

'', usually the best friend of a bride who leads her bridal party.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maid of Honour Positions within the British Royal Household