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 give instructions to the women of the bedchamber on what their queen wished them to do, or may carry out those duties herself.
The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts (Dutch: Dames du Palais; French: Dames or Dame de Palais; German: Hofstaatsdame or Palastdame; Italian: Dame di Corte; Russian: Hofdame or Statsdame; Spanish: Dueña de honor; Swedish: Statsfru).
History
In the Middle Ages, Margaret of France is noted to have had seven ladies of the bedchamber: the three married ones were called dominæ and the four unmarried ones were known as maids of honour. Their task was simply to act as the companions (see lady's companion) and personal attendants to the royal woman.
In a description from 1728, the task of the ladies of the bedchamber was to act as the go-between for the queen and the women of the bedchamber, who had the task to wait upon the queen by helping her wash, dress and undress, and so forth. A woman of the bedchamber worked independently from a lady of the bedchamber and did not take orders from her. However, if a lady of the bedchamber was present, a woman of the bedchamber would always defer to her. If a lady of the bedchamber was present when a woman of the bedchamber arrived to dress the queen, for example, she would not dress the queen herself, but instead give the garments to the lady of the bedchamber, who in turn helped the queen put it on. The procedure was the same in other issues.
The post of a lady of the bedchamber was considered prestigious, and the appointments have therefore been subjected to controversies. Queen Anne appointed Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, to this position; the Duchess was widely considered an influential royal favourite. In 1839, concerns that Queen Victoria was determined to surround herself with wives of Whig politicians led to the Bedchamber crisis, preventing the installation of a Tory government under Robert Peel.
Ladies of the bedchamber to the queens of England
This is an incomplete list of those who have served as Lady of the Bedchamber in the English royal household. In Tudor England, the lady of the Bedchamber was often called Lady of the Privy Chamber.
Catherine of Aragon, 1509–1536
Anne Bourchier, Lady Dacre of the South Margaret Brent (?), Lady Bergavenny Mabel Dacre, Lady Scrope Mary Grey, Lady Ferrers of Chartley Lady Anne Percy, Lady Maltravers, Countess of Arundel Inez de Venegas, Lady Mountjoy (Lord Mountjoy’s 2nd wife) Elizabeth Willoughby, Lady Maltravers María de Salinas
Anne Boleyn, 1533–1536 Mary Howard, Duchess of Richmond Eleanor Paston, Countess of Rutland Isabel Legh, Lady Baynton
Jane Seymour, 1536–1537 Mary Arundell Eleanor Paston, Countess of Rutland Isabel Legh, Lady Baynton Cecily Arundell
Anne of Cleves, 1540–1540 Mary Arundell Frances Brandon, Marchioness of Dorset Margaret Douglas Elizabeth Grey, Lady Audley Mary Howard, Duchess of Richmond Eleanor Paston, Countess of Rutland Jane Guildford, Lady Dudley Isabel Legh, Lady Baynton Jane Parker, Lady Rochford Katherine Edgcumbe
Catherine Howard, 1540–1541 Eleanor Paston, Countess of Rutland Jane Guildford, Lady Dudley Jane Parker, Lady Rochford
Mary I, 1553–1558 Jane Dormer Cecily Arundell
Elizabeth I, 1558–1603 1558–1565: Katherine Ashley (née Champernowne), Lady Ashley 1559–1569: Catherine Carey, Lady Knollys, also 1st Cousin or half-Sister to Elizabeth I 1564: Catherine Paget, Baroness of Beaudesert 1568–1599: Elizabeth Stafford 1587: Frances Newton, Baroness Cobham 1591: Lady Margaret Hawkins
Anne of Denmark, 1603–1619 Anne of Denmark was Queen Consort to James I of England.
1603–1619: Lucy Russell, Countess of Bedford 1603–1607: Penelope Blount, Countess of Devonshire 1603–1619: Anne Livingstone, Countess of Eglinton 1603–1619: Elizabeth Schaw, Countess of Annandale 1603–1617: Jane Drummond, Countess of Roxburghe 1603–1619: Bridget Annesley 1603–1609: Cecily Bulstrode 1603–1619: Dorothy Bulstrode 1604–1609: Bridget Markham 1603–1618: Jane Meautys 1604–1619: Mary Middlemore 1608–1619: Dorothy Silking
Henrietta Maria of France, 1625–1649 Henrietta Maria was Queen Consort to Charles I of England. Queen Henrietta Maria had a French Household when she first arrived in England in 1625, and it was not until her French entourage was sent home in 1626-1627 that her English Household was fully installed.Wolfson, S. J. (2013). "The Female Bedchamber of Queen Henrietta Maria: Politics, Familial Networks and Policy, 1626–40". In The Politics of Female Households. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004258396_014
1626: Elizabeth Conquest (née Thimbelby), daughter of Sir Richard Thimelby of Irnham, married Sir Richard Conquest of Houghton Conquest 1626: Lucy Hay, Countess of Carlisle 1626: Katherine Villiers, Duchess of Buckingham 1626: Mary Hamilton, Marchioness of HamiltonWolfson, S. J. (2013). "The Female Bedchamber of Queen Henrietta Maria: Politics, Familial Networks and Policy, 1626–40". In The Politics of Female Households. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. doi: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004258396_014 1626: Mary Beaumont, Countess of Buckinham 1626: Isabella Rich, Countess of Holland 1626: Elisabeth, Viscountess Savage, Countess of Rivers
Catherine of Braganza, 1662–1692 Catherine of Braganza was Queen Consort to Charles II of England 1663–1667: Katherine Stanhope, Countess of Chesterfield 1663–1673: Barbara Palmer, Countess of Castlemaine 1663–1681: Barbara Howard, Countess of Suffolk 1663–1688: Mary Villiers, Duchess of Buckingham 1663–1688: Jane Granville, Countess of Bath
Mary of Modena, 1673–1688 Mary of Modena was Queen Consort to James II of England Elizabeth Herbert, Marchioness of PowisMosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003. vol 2. Page 3208
Mary II, 1689–1694 1689–1694 : Mary Sackville, Countess of Dorset (1669–1691) 1689–1694 : Gertrude Savile, Marchioness of Hallifax 1689–1694 : Frances Lumley, Viscountess Lumley 1689–1694 : Elizabeth Windsor, Countess of Plymouth 1689–1694 : Frances Paulet, Countess of Wiltshire 1691–1694 : Anne Finch, Countess of Nottingham
Ladies of the bedchamber to the queens of Great Britain
Anne, 1702–1714 1702: Mary Butler, Duchess of Ormonde 1702: Marchioness of Hartington 1702: Juliana Boyle, Countess of Burlington 1702: Countess of Scarbrough 1702–1712: Lady Spencer 1702: Elizabeth Seymour, Duchess of Somerset 1702: Lady Hyde 1702: Lady Frescheville 1702: Lady H. Godolphin 1702–1705: Anne Venables-Bertie, Countess of Abingdon 1702: Lady C. Boeverwart 1704–1714: Abigail Masham, Baroness Masham 1704–1712: Lady Spencer 1712–1714: Anne Venables-Bertie, Countess of Abingdon 1712: Lady Catharine Hyde
Caroline of Ansbach, 1714–1737
Caroline of Ansbach was Queen Consort to George II of Great Britain 1714–1717: Louisa Berkeley, Countess of Berkeley 1714–1717 & 1726: Diana Beauclerk, Duchess of St Albans 1714–1717: Henrietta Paulet, Duchess of Bolton 1714–1717: Mary Montagu, Duchess of Montagu 1714–1724: Mary Cowper, Countess Cowper 1714–1726: Adelhida Talbot, Duchess of Shrewsbury 1714–1737: Elizabeth Sackville, Duchess of Dorset 1717–1717: Elizabeth Montagu, Viscountess Hinchingbrooke 1718–1721: Barbara Herbert, Countess of Pembroke 1718–1724: Henrietta d'Auverquerque, Countess of Grantham 1718–1737: Elizabeth Hervey, Countess of Bristol 1718–1720: Anne Scott, Countess of Deloraine 1722–1722: Jane Capell, Countess of Essex 1724–1737: Frances Seymour, Countess of Hertford 1724–1737: Sarah Lennox, Duchess of Richmond 1725–1737: Anne van Keppel, Countess of Albemarle 1725–1737: Henrietta Fermor, Countess of Pomfret 1725–1737: Mary Herbert, Countess of Pembroke (extra) 1727–1737: Henrietta Louisa Fermor 1727–1737: Dorothy Boyle, Countess of Cork (extra)
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, 1761–1818
Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was Queen Consort to King George III of Great Britain 1761–1768: Diana St John, Viscountess Bolingbroke 1761–1770: Elizabeth Percy, Countess of Northumberland (Duchess of Northumberland from 1766) 1761–1784: Elizabeth Campbell, Duchess of Hamilton (Duchess of Argyll from 1770) 1761–1791: Elizabeth Howard, Countess of Effingham 1761–1793: Elizabeth Thynne, Viscountess Weymouth (Marchioness of Bath from 1789) 1761–1794: Alicia Wyndham, Countess of Egremont 1768–1782: Isabella Seymour, Countess of Hertford 1770–1801: Mary Darcy, Countess of Holderness 1783–1818: Elizabeth Herbert, Countess of Pembroke and Montgomery 1784–1818: Elizabeth Harcourt, Countess Harcourt 1791–1818: Elizabeth Townshend, Viscountess Sydney 1793–1807: Elizabeth Brudenell, Countess of Cardigan 1794–1818: Jane Stanhope, Countess of Harrington 1801–1818: Mary Parker, Countess of Macclesfield 1807–1813: Henrietta Stanhope, Countess of Chesterfield 1813–1818: Anne Dundas, Viscountess Melville
Ladies of the bedchamber to the queens of the United Kingdom
Caroline of Brunswick, 1795–1821
Caroline of Brunswick was the wife of George, Prince of Wales, Prince Regent and from 1820 Queen Consort to George IV of the United Kingdom. They separated in 1796 and she died in 1821. 1795–1796: Frances Villiers, Countess of Jersey 1795–1821: Countess of Carnarvon 1795–1821: Marchioness Townshend 1795–1802: Countess Cholmondeley 1808–1817: Lady Charlotte Lindsay 1809–1821: Lady Charlotte Campbell 1809–1813 & 1820–1821: Lady Ann Hamilton 1820–1821: Lady Emma Caroline Wood
Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, 1830–1837
Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen was Queen Consort to William IV of the United Kingdom 1830–1837: Emily Nugent, Marchioness of Westmeath 1830–1837: Arabella Bourke, Countess of Mayo 1830–1849: Marianne Wellesley, Marchioness Wellesley 1830–1834: Anna Loftus, Marchioness of Ely (extra 1834–1837) 1830–1837: Emma Brownlow, Countess Brownlow 1830–1837: Lady Harriet Clinton 1833–1836: Harriet Howe, Countess Howe 1836–1837: Harriet Holroyd, Countess of Sheffield
Victoria, 1837–1901
1837–1838: Louisa Petty-FitzMaurice, Marchioness of Lansdowne 1837–1838: Louisa Lambton, Countess of Durham 1837–1841: Maria Phipps, Marchioness of Normanby 1837–1841: Anna Russell, Duchess of Bedford 1837–1842: Sarah Lyttelton, Baroness Lyttelton, then Governess (Lady Superintendent) of the Royal Children 1842–1850. 1837–1842: Frances Noel, Countess of Gainsborough 1837–1851: Emma Portman, Baroness Portman 1837–1854: Anne Caulfield, Countess of Charlemont 1838–1840: Blanche Cavendish, Countess of Burlington 1839-1839: Elizabeth Campbell, Marchioness of Breadalbane 1839–1842: Mary Montagu, Countess of Sandwich 1840–1854 & 1863–1865: Carolina Edgcumbe, Countess of Mount Edgcumbe 1841–1845: Catherine Murray, Countess of Dunmore 1841–1867: Frances Jocelyn, Viscountess Jocelyn (extra 1867–1880) 1842–1842: Susan Broun-Ramsay, Countess of Dalhousie 1842–1843: Charlotte Fitzalan-Howard, Duchess of Norfolk 1842–1855: Charlotte Canning, Countess Canning 1843–1858: Elizabeth Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington 1845–1864: Elizabeth Cuffe, Countess of Desart 1851–1889: Jane Loftus, Marchioness of Ely 1854–1897: Anne Murray, Duchess of Atholl 1854–1900: Jane Spencer, Baroness Churchill 1855–1863: Maria Bosville-Macdonald, Baroness Macdonald 1858–1878: Jane Alexander, Countess of Caledon 1864–1890: Elizabeth Cavendish, Baroness Waterpark 1865–1895: Susanna Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe 1867–1872: Eliza Agar-Ellis, Viscountess Clifden 1872–1874: Blanche Bourke, Countess of Mayo 1873–1901: Eliza Hay, Countess of Erroll 1874–1885: Julia Abercromby, Baroness Abercromby 1878–1901: Ismania FitzRoy, Baroness Southampton