This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.
Far from just being servants or decorative accessories in court, ladies-in-waiting competed for real positions of power. Many achieved both great success and great notoriety. Lucy, Countess of Carlisle, for instance, succeeded in acquiring the confidence of Charles I's French wife, Henrietta Maria, only to betray the Queen to her enemies in Parliament. Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, at one time Queen Anne#65533;s most intimate friend, destroyed herself by her relentless attempts to dominate the Queen. Other ladies-in-waiting became royal mistresses, such as the rapacious Lady Castlemaine, who amassed a fortune and flaunted her hold over Charles II; or the downtrodden Countess of Suffolk, mistress of George II, who was constantly humiliated by both her lover and his wife. Drawing on a wide variety of primary sources, this is the first full-scale study of its kind. Combining anecdote with searching analysis, it is social history at its most colourful and entertaining.… (more)
Author's Note An attempt to cover more than four centuries of English history, albeit from the somewhat specialized point of view of court ladies was an ambitious -- at times I felt too ambitious -- project , requiring research on a daunting array of periods and personalities.
Quotations
Last words
In 1947 King George VI was overheard remarking sadly that his eldest daughter would be 'lonely all her life', but since the Queen's accession her ladies-in-waiting have ensured that, far from having to discharge her responsibilities in solitary splendour, she can always rely on the support of a group of utterly dependable women, whose loyalty is beyond question, and who have dedicated their lives to her service.
Far from just being servants or decorative accessories in court, ladies-in-waiting competed for real positions of power. Many achieved both great success and great notoriety. Lucy, Countess of Carlisle, for instance, succeeded in acquiring the confidence of Charles I's French wife, Henrietta Maria, only to betray the Queen to her enemies in Parliament. Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, at one time Queen Anne#65533;s most intimate friend, destroyed herself by her relentless attempts to dominate the Queen. Other ladies-in-waiting became royal mistresses, such as the rapacious Lady Castlemaine, who amassed a fortune and flaunted her hold over Charles II; or the downtrodden Countess of Suffolk, mistress of George II, who was constantly humiliated by both her lover and his wife. Drawing on a wide variety of primary sources, this is the first full-scale study of its kind. Combining anecdote with searching analysis, it is social history at its most colourful and entertaining.
Google Books — Loading...
(3.68)
Wikipedia in English (2)
2