In British Royal Households, First Lady of the Bedchamber is the title of the highest of the ladies of the bedchamber, those holding the official position of personal attendants on a queen or princess. The title had its equivalent in several European royal courts. The position is traditionally held by a female member of a noble family.
History In the Middle Ages, Margaret of France, Queen of England, is noted to have had seven ladies-in-waiting: the three married ones were called Domina and the four unmarried maid of honour, but no principal lady-in-waiting is mentioned.William J. Thoms: The Book of the Court: Exhibiting the History, Duties, and Privileges of the English Nobility and Gentry. Particularly of the Great Officers of State and Members of the Royal Household, 1844
During the Tudor dynasty (1485–1603), the First Lady of the Bedchamber was called Chief Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber. She had the highest rank among the Ladies of the bedchamber, and their role was to act as the attendants and companions of the royal woman. The First Lady of the Bedchamber of a queen consort was the equivalent of the post of First Lord of the Bedchamber to a king.
First ladies of the bedchamber to English queens Elizabeth I Under Elizabeth the role was also known as "Chief Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber", for example during Parry's tenure of it. 1558–1565: Kat Ashley 1565–c.1572: Blanche Parry (as Chief Gentlewoman of the Privy Chamber) by 1572: Catherine Howard, Countess of Nottingham
Anne of Denmark 1603–1617: Jane Drummond.Anne Somerset, Ladies in Waiting: a history of court life from the Tudors to the present day (London, 1984). 1617–1619: Elizabeth Grey, Lady Ruthin.Jemma Field, Anna of Denmark: The material and visual culture of the Stuart courts, 1589–1619 (Manchester, 2020), p. 178.
Henrietta Maria of France 1626–1652: Susan Feilding, Countess of DenbighSandy Riley, Charlotte de La Trémoïlle, the Notorious Countess of Derby. Books.google.se (also called mistress of the RobesCarole Levin, Anna Riehl Bertolet: [A Biographical Encyclopedia of Early Modern Englishwomen: Exemplary Lives and Memorable Acts, 1500-1650], New York, 2017 and Groom of the Stool 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)
Catherine of Braganza 1660–1681: Barbara Howard, Countess of Suffolk 1681–1685: Isabella de Nassau, Countess of Arlington
Mary of Modena Lady Penelope O'Brien, Countess of Peterborough (also with title Groom of the Stool) 1688–1691: Elizabeth Herbert, Marchioness of Powis
First ladies of the bedchamber to British queens and princesses of Wales During the 17th and 18th centuries role often overlapped with or were retitled as Mistress of the Robes, until the latter role replaced it in the 1760s.
Anne, Queen of Great Britain dates unknown: Flower Backhouse
Caroline of Ansbach 1714–1717: Diana Beauclerk, Duchess of St Albans
Augusta of Saxe-Gotha dates unknown: Lady Jane Hamilton
See also Première dame d'honneur, French equivalent Camarera mayor de Palacio, Spanish equivalent
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