King Charles III is not the only one looking to “slim down” The Firm.
In an attempt to modernize the royal family, Queen Camilla is replacing the role of ladies-in-waiting with six assistants referred to as the queen’s companions. Like the traditional ladies-in-waiting, these companions will apparently still assist the queen consort at public events…just less. Meanwhile, the position will no longer include administrative duties, per BBC News. Though they will not receive a salary, their expenses will be paid.
“Replacing the role of lady-in-waiting will end a feature of court life going back to the middle ages, with such close personal helpers of a Queen often coming from aristocratic families and, over the centuries, sometimes caught up in court intrigue,” BBC reported on November 27. “The new ‘companions’ will be a more occasional and informal position, supporting the Queen Consort at official engagements and not involved in replying to letters or day-to-day planning.”
The Marchioness of Lansdowne, Jane von Westenholz, Lady Katharine Brooke, Sarah Troughton, Lady Sarah Keswick, and Baroness Chisholm will now assist Queen Camilla alongside her private secretary and deputy private secretary. It was Jane von Westenholz’s daughter Violet von Westenholz who introduced Prince Harry to his now wife, Meghan Markle.
Queen Elizabeth’s former ladies-in-waiting will now be known as the ladies of the household and help with events hosted at Buckingham Palace.
In other recent royal news, seven-year-old Princess Charlotte is likely receiving a new title of her own. Per , the king is reportedly planning to name his granddaughter the Duchess of Edinburgh, a title was last held by his late mother. According to the source, it would be a “fitting” title for Charlotte, who is third in the line of succession behind her father, Prince William, and brother Prince George.
