Anne de Courcy

The hazards of attending a queen

Ladies in waiting had to be highly skilled in diplomacy — and prepared to succumb to the advances of the monarch and his own courtiers

Barbara, Countess of Castlemaine, lady in waiting to Catherine of Braganza, and mistress of Charles II. Credit: Alamy 
issue 20 June 2020

  • Ladies in Waiting: From the Tudors to the Present Day

    Anne Somerset

    riverrun, pp. 496, £12

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