The role of lady-in-waiting, long associated with the late Queen, has existed for centuries but now it could be set to end under plans to pare down and modernise the monarchy.
The position, involving a personal assistant-type role and close relationship with female senior royals, may be no longer seen to have a place in a more modern household being planned by Queen Consort Camilla, in keeping with the view of King Charles, according to reports.
Ladies-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth ll during her record-breaking reign would have been at her side to help her with pickIng out outfits, bathing and dressing while others would have been involved in helping to organise her diary of official engagements and in arranging private family events. Over the years many are believed to have become her close companions and trusted friends.
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But the 75-year-old Queen Consort is said to see a smaller royal staff as being the way forward, with existing staff taking on some different duties in what has been lightheartedly referred to as a 'two for the price of one’ deal, according to the Daily Mail. A royal source is reported as saying: "‘The feeling is that although things have changed dramatically in many respects, she won’t take on an official line-up of ladies-in-waiting."
The source said: "‘The Queen Consort will do things a little differently. She currently has two private secretaries who do some of those traditional duties anyway", adding that she has a lot of friends she could call upon for support if necessary.
"She has a lot of chums in London and Scotland, as well as in the country too. She thinks it’s more with the times." The insider revealed that Camilla is a prolific writer of more than 2,000 letters a year and that she may take on some more staff to deal with an expected rise in correspondence.
Marlene Koenig, a historian who has studied the Royal Family for several years, also raised questions over the future of certain roles, telling the Express : "There are some positions that may no longer be filled. You wonder if the women, especially Queen Camilla, will use ladies-in-waiting as the Queen did.
"She's never had, even as the Duchess of Cornwall, an official lady-in-waiting." Camilla had a former secretary, Angela MacManus, who filled the role of lady-in-waiting but wasn not officially named, she said.
The late Queen Elizabeth is said to have appointed nine ladies-in-waiting from 1953 to 2017 who were mostly "women from aristocratic families". Historically, the role was not a paid one and it was a commitment to serving the sovereign for as long as she lived.
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