title: Lady-in-waiting

text: The ladies-in-waiting have historically been chosen by the queen herself from the noblewomen of the Catholic Noble Houses of Belgium. The chief functions at court were undertaken by members of the higher nobility, involving much contact with the royal ladies. Belgian princesses were assigned a lady upon their 18th birthdays. Princess Clementine was given a by her father, a symbolic acknowledgement of adulthood. When the queen entertains, the ladies welcome guests and assist the hostess in sustaining conversation.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: In Cambodia, the term "ladies-in-waiting" refers to high ranking female servants who served food and drink, fanned and massaged, and sometimes provided sexual services to the King. Conventionally, these women could work their way up from maids to ladies-in-waiting, concubines, or even queen. () is the Cambodian term for the Khmer lady-in-waiting.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: The six favorite court ladies of King Sisowath of Cambodia were probably initially drawn from the ranks of classical royal dancers of the lower class. He was noted for having the most classical dancers as concubines. The imperial celestial dancer, Apsara, was one of these. This practice of drawing from the ranks of royal dancers began in the Golden Age of the Khmer Kingdom.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: Several Canadian ladies-in-waiting have also been appointed to the Royal Household of Canada. Canadian ladies-in-waiting are typically appointed in order to assist the Queen of Canada when carrying out official duties in Canada and royal tours in the country. Five Canadian ladies-in-waiting were made Lieutenants of the Royal Victorian Order.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: The ladies-in-waiting in China, referred to as "palace women", "palace ladies" or "court ladies", were all formally, if not always in practice, a part of the Emperor's harem, regardless of their task, and could be promoted by him to the rank of official concubine, consort, or even empress.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: The Emperors of the Han dynasty (202 BC–220 AD) are reported to have had a harem of thousands of 'palace women', although the actual numbers are unconfirmed.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: At least during the Song dynasty (960–1279), palace women were divided in three groups: imperial women (consisting of concubines and consorts), imperial daughters (consisting of daughters and sisters of the Emperor), and the female officials and assistants, who performed a wide range of tasks and could potentially be promoted to the rank of concubine or consort.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: Women from official elite families could be chosen to become Empress, consort or concubine immediately upon their entrance in the palace, but the Emperor could also promote any female court official to that post, as they were officially all members of his harem.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: The female court officials and attendants were normally selected from trusted families and then educated for their task.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: During the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), palace women were sorted into roughly the same three categories as in the Song Dynasty. However, female officials and assistants in the Ming Dynasty were organized into six established government groups, called the Six Bureaus: the Bureau of General Affairs, Bureau of Handicrafts, Bureau of Ceremonies, Bureau of Apartments, Bureau of Apparel, and Bureau of Foodstuffs. These groups were all overseen by the Office of Staff Surveillance, headed by a female official.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: Women workers in the imperial palace were distinguished as either permanent or temporary staff. Permanent palace staff included educated and literate female officials serving in the Six Bureaus, and wet nurses caring for imperial heirs or other palace children. These women received great wealth and social acclaim if their jobs were performed well. Seasonal or temporary palace women included midwives, female physicians, and indentured contractors (these were usually women serving as maids to consorts, entertainers, sewing tutors, or sedan-chair bearers). These women were recruited into the palace when necessary and then released following the termination of their predetermined period of service.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: Throughout the Ming dynasty, there was frequent movement between the palace service industry and the low levels of the Imperial Harem. Although Emperors frequently selected minor consorts from Imperial serving women, few selected women ever reached the higher ranks of the consort structure or gained significant prominence.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: As the Ming dynasty progressed, living and working conditions for palace women began to deteriorate. Lower-ranked serving women working in the Imperial palace were often underpaid and unable to buy food, leaving them to support themselves by selling embroidery at the market outside the palace via eunuchs. Overall, living conditions and punishments for misbehaving eventually grew so bad that there was an assassination attempt against the Jiajing Emperor by a group of serving women. Led by palace maid Yang Jinying in 1542, the failed assassination attempt involved several maids sneaking into the Emperor's bedchamber as he slept, to strangle him with a curtain cord. The attempt ultimately failed, and all the women involved were put to death, although this type of violent revolt by serving women had never been seen before in the Ming Dynasty.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: Due to slanderous literary propaganda written and spread by male officials and Confucian authors, higher-class female officials also saw their power begin to weaken throughout the Ming dynasty. These prominent government men began to disparage having educated women in government and state roles in response to the influence Imperial women had held over the nation in the past. This prompted a gradual overtaking of female official roles by palace eunuchs that continued throughout the remainder of the Dynasty.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: The system of palace women continued mostly unchanged during the Qing dynasty (1644–1912), when a class of imperial women acting as consorts or concubines, who had not previously held other roles, existed. However, female court attendants were also all available for promotion to concubinage or the position of consort by the Emperor. During the Qing dynasty, imperial women were selected from among the teenage daughters of the Manchu official banner families, who were drafted to an inspection before they could marry. Similarly, "palace maids" were drafted from lower official and banner classes before they could marry. After their selection, palace maids were educated as personal attendants to consorts, female officials within court rituals or other tasks, and were also available for the Emperor to promote to consort or concubine. Below the palace maids were the maidservants, who were selected the same way by a draft among the daughters of soldiers.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: The early modern Danish court was organized according to the German court model, in turn inspired by the Austrian imperial court model, from the 16th century onward. The highest rank female courtier to a female royal was the (Court Mistress) or, from 1694/98 onward, (Chief Court Mistress), equivalent to the Mistress of the Robes, normally an elder widow, who supervised the rest of the ladies-in-waiting. The rest of the female courtiers were mainly (Senior Maid of Honour), followed by a group of (Court Lady) and the (Maid of Honour). They were followed by the non-noble female court employees not ranking as ladies-in-waiting, such as the chamber maids.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: This hierarchy was roughly in place from the 16th century until the death of King Christian IX of Denmark in 1906. During the 20th century, most of these titles came of use, and all ladies-in-waiting at the royal Danish court are now referred to as (Court Lady).


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: The Queen of France is confirmed to have had a separate household in the late 12th century, and an ordinance from 1286 notes that Joan I of Navarre, Queen of France, had a group of five ladies () and maids-in-waiting (). In the 1480s, the French ladies-in-waiting were divided into (married ladies-in-waiting) and (Maids of Honour). However, the Queen's household and the number of female courtiers during the Middle Ages was very small in France, as in most European courts.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: It was not until the end of the 15th century and early 16th century that emulation of the new courts of the Italian Renaissance made ladies-in-waiting fashionable in official court ceremonies and representation, and female court offices became more developed and numerous in the French court as well as in other European courts. The introduction of ladies-in-waiting increased in great numbers at the French court at this time: from a mere five in 1286 and still only 23 in 1490, to 39 in 1498 and roughly 54 during the 16th century. This expansion of female presence at court has been attributed to both Anne of Brittany, who encouraged all male courtiers to send their daughters to her, and to Francis I of France, who was criticized for bringing to court "the constant presence" of large crowds of women, who gossiped and interfered in state affairs. Francis I once said: "a court without ladies is a court without a court".


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: During the First Empire, the principal lady-in-waiting of the Empress was the , followed by between 20 and 36 . During the Bourbon Restoration, Marie Thérèse of France restored the pre-revolutionary court hierarchy. During the Second Empire, the female courtiers of the Empress were composed of the first rank, , and the second rank, , followed by six (later twelve) .


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: The early modern princely courts in Germany were modeled after the Austrian imperial court model. This court model divided the ladies-in-waiting in a chief lady-in-waiting named (a widowed or married elder woman) who supervised the (Maids of Honour), of which one or two could be promoted to the middle rank of (Maid of Honour of the Chamber). The German princely courts in turn became the role model of the Scandinavian courts of Denmark and Sweden in the 16th century.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: After the end of the German Holy Roman Empire in 1806, and the establishment of several minor Kingdoms in Germany, the post of (married ladies-in-waiting) were introduced in many German princely and royal courts. At the imperial German court, the ladies-in-waiting were composed of one in charge of several or .


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: During the Byzantine Empire, the Byzantine Empress was attended by a female court (the ), which consisted mostly of the wives of high-ranking male court officials, who simply used the feminine versions of their husbands' titles. The only specifically female dignity was that of the , the chief lady-in-waiting and female attendant of the Empress, who was the head of the women's court and often a relative of the Empress; this title existed at least since the 9th century.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: The Kingdom of Greece was established in 1832 and its first queen, Amalia of Oldenburg, organized the ladies-in-waiting of its first royal court with one "'Grande Maitresse"', followed by the second rank , and the third rank .


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: Prior to the unification, the greatest of the Italian states was the Kingdom of Naples, later called Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. In 1842, the ladies-in-waiting of the Queen of the Two Sicilies were composed of one (Lady of Honor, ranked just below the ), three (Lady Companions, ranked below the ), and a large number of (Court Ladies).


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: In 1861, the Italian Peninsula was united in to the Kingdom of Italy. The ladies-in-waiting of the Queen of Italy were headed by the , followed by the , and finally the . The was nominally the chief lady-in-waiting, but in practice often limited her service to state occasions; the was the regular lady-in-waiting who personally attended to the queen, while the were honorary courtiers attached to the royal palaces in particular cities, such as Florence, Turin, and so forth, and only served temporary when the queen visited the city in question: among these, only the attached to the royal palace of the capital of Rome served more than temporary.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: In Japan, the imperial court offices was normally reserved for members of the court aristocracy and the ladies-in-waiting or 'palace attendants' were commonly educated members of the nobility.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: During the Heian period (794–1185) women could hold court offices of substantial responsibility, managing the affairs of the Emperor. Female palace attendants were employed by the Imperial Bureau of Palace Attendants from among the court aristocracy, but were required to have sufficient education in Chinese classics to be accepted.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: During the Sengoku period (1467–1603), the highest rank of a lady-in-waiting was the 'Female Assistant to the Major Counselor', who ran the affairs of the daily life of the Imperial Household. The second rank was , who acted as intermediary between the Emperor and those seeking an audience and issued his wishes in writing. Ladies-in-waiting acted as imperial secretaries and noted the events at court, visitors and gifts in the official court journals.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: In contrast to China, female palace attendants managed the palace of the imperial harem rather than eunuchs, and could hold high court offices in the Emperor's personal household.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: Female palace attendants were divided in two classes, which in turn had several ranks, signifying their task. The first class consisted of the , or ladies-in-waiting who held court offices: () () and (). The second class were the female palace attendants: , , and . The ladies-in-waiting worked as personal assistants, tending to the Emperor's wardrobe, assisting the emperor's baths, serving meals, performing and attending court rituals. Ladies-in-waiting could be appointed as concubines, consorts or even Empresses by the Emperor or the heir to the throne. The function of a lady-in-waiting as potential concubine was abolished in 1924.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: "Gungnyeo" (literally 'palace women') is a term that refers to women who worked in the palace and waited upon the king and other members of the royal family. It is short for , which translates to 'woman officer of the royal court'.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: "Gungnyeo" consisted of the ladies-in-waiting—both high-ranking court ladies and the ordinary maids (known as "nain") responsible for most of the labour work—who were divided into ranks from 9 to 5 (the ranks from 4 to 1 were the official concubines of the king), with two levels each (senior and junior), the highest attainable rank being "sanggung" (senior 5th), as well as other types of working women who were not included in the classification, such as "musuri" (women from the lowest class who did odd jobs, such as drawing water and distributing firewood), "gaksimi" (also known as "bija" and "bangja", who were personal servants of a "sanggung"), "sonnim" (literally translated to 'guest', were maids brought in the palace to work for the royal concubines, most of the time connected to the families of the concubines) and "uinyeo" (selected from public female slaves, they worked at the royal infirmary or public clinics, and practiced simple medicine skills).


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: Generally, the ladies-in-waiting were chosen from among the young girls of the "sangmin" (commoners) and the private female slaves of the "sadaebu" (governing class). Later, the candidates were also picked from among the government slaves, together with the daughters of noblemen's concubines (who were former courtesans or slaves). The appointment process was different for "nain" associated with the inner quarters for the king and queen, who were recruited by the high ranked court ladies themselves, through recommendations and connections. The "nain" for the departments with specific skills such as sewing and embroidery were from the "jungin" (middle class), with the lowest class of "gungnyeo" coming from the "cheonmin" (vulgar commoners).


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: They could be as young as 4 when entering the palace, and after learning court language and etiquette, they could be elevated to a "nain". When they had served the court for more than 15 years, they would eventually be promoted to higher ranks, however they were eligible for the rank of "sanggung" only after a minimum of 35 years of work.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: Ladies-in-waiting could become concubines if the king favored them. They would be elevated to the highest rank (senior 5th) and would be known as "seungeun sanggung" (or 'favored/special court lady'). If they gave birth to a son, they would become members of the royal family, after being promoted to "sug-won" (junior 4th) and until the 18th century, they could advance as high as becoming queen (the most notable example being Jang Ok-jeong, a concubine of Sukjong of Joseon and mother of Gyeongjong of Joseon).


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: The court of the Duchy of Burgundy, which was situated in the Netherlands in the 15th century, was famous for its elaborate ceremonial court life and became a role model for several other courts of Europe. The Burgundian court model came to be the role model for the Austrian imperial court during the 16th century, when the Burgundian Netherlands and Austria were united through the Habsburg dynasty.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: In the 16th century, the ladies-in-waiting in the courts of the Habsburg governors of the Netherlands, Margaret of Austria and Mary of Hungary, were composed of one (Court Mistress) or who served as the principal lady-in-waiting; one or , who was second in rank and deputy of the as well as being in charge of the (Maids of Honour), also known as , or , and finally the (Chamber Maids), all with different titles depending on language in the multilingual area of the Netherlands.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: The Kingdom of the Netherlands was founded in 1815, signifying the organisation of a royal court. In the 19th century, the ladies-in-waiting of the Dutch court were headed by the (Grand Mistress, equivalent to Mistress of the Robes), of second rank were the (married ladies-in-waiting), followed by the third rank (Court Ladies, equivalent to Maids of Honour).


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: Beatrix of the Netherlands had a total of seven . They accompanied the queen and the other female members of the Royal House during visits and receptions at the royal court. The monarch paid for their expenses, but they did not receive any salary. Not all of these ladies were members of the Dutch aristocracy, but each had a "notable" husband. Excellent social behavior and discretion were the most important recommendations for becoming a . In 2012, the were Letje van Karnebeek-van Lede, Lieke Gaarlandt-van Voorst van Beest, Julie Jeekel-Thate, Miente Boellaard-Stheeman, Reina de Blocq van Scheltinga, Elizabeth Baroness van Wassenaer-Mersmans and Bibi Baroness van Zuylen van Nijevelt, den Beer Poortugael. Queen Maxima reduced the number of to three, hers being: Lieke Gaarlandt-van Voorst van Beest, Pien van Karnebeek-Thijssen and Annemijn Crince le Roy-van Munster van Heuven. After their voluntary retirement, were appointed to the honorary royal household. The honorary royal household still distinguishes between and , but the category is slated for discontinuation.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: The (Grandmistress) is the highest-ranking lady at the royal court. From 1984 until 2014, the position was held by Martine van Loon-Labouchere, descendant of the famous banker family, a former diplomat and the widow of Maurits van Loon of the famous Amsterdam canal estate. The current is Bibi Countess van Zuylen van Nijevelt-den Beer Poortugael (lady-in-waiting between 2011 and 2014).


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: A number of tribes and cultural areas in the African continent, such as the Lobedu people of Southern Africa, had a similar custom on ladies-in-waiting in historic times.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: As a further example, within certain pre-colonial states of the Bini and Yoruba peoples in Nigeria, the queen mothers and high priestesses were considered "ritually male" due to their social eminence. As a result of this fact, they were often attended on by women who belonged to their harems in much the same way as their actually male counterparts were served by women who belonged to theirs. Although these women effectively functioned as ladies-in-waiting, were often members of powerful families of the local nobility in their own right, and were not usually used for sexual purposes, they were none-the-less referred to as their principals' "wives".


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: During the Denmark–Norway Union, from 1380 until 1814, the Danish royal court in Copenhagen was counted as the Norwegian royal court, and thus there was no royal court present in Norway during this period. During the union between Norway and Sweden from 1814 to 1905, there were Norwegian courtiers who served during the Swedish royal family's visits to Norway. The female courtiers were appointed according to the Swedish court model, that is to say the class of "Hovfröken" (Maid of Honour), "Kammarfröken" (Chief Maid of Honour) and "Statsfru" (Lady of the Bedchamber), all supervised by the "Overhoffmesterinne" (Mistress of the Robes): these posts were first appointed in 1817. When the union between Sweden and Norway was dissolved in 1905, a permanent Norwegian royal court was established.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: In the Ottoman Empire, the word "lady-in-waiting" or court lady has often been used to described those women of the Imperial Harem who functioned as servants, secretaries, and companions of the consorts (concubines), daughters, sisters and mothers of the Ottoman Sultan. These women originally came to the Harem as slaves, captured through the Crimean slave trade, the Barbary slave trade and the White slave trade.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: When they entered the Harem, they were given the position of "Cariye" and were all formally available as concubines to the Sultan, but if they were not chosen to share his bed, they served in a position similar to lady-in-waiting, serving the mother, concubines, sisters, and daughters of the Sultan.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: The (enslaved) ladies-in-waiting of the Ottoman Imperial harem were collectively known as kalfa, of different ranks. Each royal and royal concubine had their own houshold staff of kalfa; a kalfa serving as the servant of the sultan himself was titled "Hünkar Kalfalari".


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: A "Hazinedar" or "Hazinedar Usta" was a kalfa with special assignments rather than just an ordinary attendant, and were ranked under the "Hazinedar Usta".


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: All kalfa belonging to the same household within the court were ranked under their "Daire Kalfasi", who was the supervisor of the kalfa's belonging to a specific royal person. All "Daire Kalfasi" of the harem were rankend under the "Büyük Kalfa", who in turn was the supervisor of all the "Daire Kalfasi" of the court.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: The highest ranked kalfa was the "Saray Ustas", who supervised all the kalfa of the entire court (harem).


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: In early modern Poland, the queen's ladies-in-waitings were collectively referred to as the "fraucimer". The queen's household mirrored that of the king, but was smaller. The queen's male courtiers were supervised by the Ochmistrz, a nobleman, and the women of her court were supervised by the chief lady-in-waiting, the Ochmistrzyni (magister curiae). The Ochmistrzyni was defined as a state office and it was the only state office in Poland prior to the partition of Poland which was held by a woman. She was always to be a noblewoman married to a nobleman of senatorial rank. The Ochmistrzyni supervised a large number of unmarried ladies-in-waiting, maids of honour. The queen's court was a larger version of the courts of the Polish magnate noblewomen, and it was the custom in the Polish nobility to send their teenage daughters to be educated as ladies-in-waitings in the household of another noblewoman or preferably the queen herself in order to receive an education and find someone to marry.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: In the Court of Muscovite Russia, the offices of ladies-in-waiting to the Tsarina were normally divided among the "Boyarinas" (widows or wives of Boyars), often from the family and relatives of the Tsarina. The first rank among the offices of the ladies-in-waiting was the Tsarina's treasurer. The second was the group of companions. The third were the royal nurses to the princes and princesses (where the nurses of the male children outranked); among the nurses, the most significant post was that of the "Mamok", the head royal governess, who was normally selected from elder widows, often relatives to the Tsar or Tsarina. All offices were appointed by royal decree. The group of ladies-in-waiting were collectively above the rank of the "Svetlichnaya" (the Tsarina's sewing women), the "Postelnitsy" (the Tsarina's Chamber Women and Washing Women) and the officials who handled the affairs of the staff.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: In 1722, this system was abolished and the Russian imperial court was reorganized in accordance with the reforms of Peter the Great to westernize Russia, and the old court offices of the Tsarina were replaced with court offices inspired by the German model (see lady-in-waiting of the Imperial Court of Russia).


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: The royal court of Castile included a group of ladies-in-waiting for the queen named "Camarera" in the late 13th century and early 14th century, but it was not until the 15th century that a set organisation of the ladies-in-waiting is confirmed. This characteristic organisation of the Spanish ladies-in-waiting, roughly established during the reign of Isabella I of Castile (r. 1474–1504), was kept by Isabella of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress and Queen of Spain, during the 16th century, and became the standard Spanish court model for ladies-in-waiting.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: The early modern Swedish court, as well as the Danish equivalent, were re-organized in the early 16th century according to the German court model, in turn inspired by the Austrian imperial court model. This model roughly organized the female noble courtiers in the class of the unmarried "Hovfröken" (Maid of Honour, until 1719 "Hovjungfru") which could be promoted to "Kammarfröken" (Chief Maid of Honour, until 1719 "Kammarjungfru"). They were supervised by the "Hovmästarinna" (Court Mistress, equivalent to Mistress of the Robes), normally a married or widowed elder noblewoman. Under this class of female noble courtiers, were the non-noble female servants. They were headed by the normally married "Kammarfru" (Mistress of the Chamber, roughly equivalent to a Lady's Maid), often of burgher background, who supervised the group of "Kammarpiga" (Chamber Maids).


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: From the reign of Queen Christina, the "Hovmästarinna" was supervised by the "Överhovmästarinna" (Chief Court Mistress). In 1774, the post of "Statsfru" (Mistress of the State) was introduced, which was the title for the group of married ladies-in-waiting with a rank between the "Hovmästarinna" and the "Kammarfröken". The Swedish court staff was reduced in size in 1873. The new court protocols of 1911 and 1954 continued this reduction, and many court posts were abolished or no longer filled.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: With the exception of the "Statsfru" and the "Överhovmästarinna", none of the titles above are in use today. At the death of Queen Louise in 1965, her "Överhovmästarinna" was employed by the King. From 1994, the "Överhovmästarinna" is the head of the court of the King rather than the Queen, while the court of the Queen is headed by the "Statsfru". There is now only one "Statsfru", and the other ladies-in-waiting are simply referred to as "Hovdam" (Court Lady). Queen Silvia of Sweden has only three "Hovdamer" (Court Ladies). Her chief lady-in-waiting is the "Statsfru".


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: In the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, a lady-in-waiting is a woman attending a female member of the Royal Family. Ladies-in-waiting are routinely appointed by junior female members of the Royal Family, to accompany them on public engagements and provide other support and assistance. A woman attending on a queen regnant or queen consort is also often referred to by this title (including in official notices), but is more formally styled as either "Woman of the Bedchamber" or "Lady of the Bedchamber" (depending on which of these offices she holds).


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: On more formal occasions ladies in waiting wear a badge of office, which usually takes the form of a jewelled or enamelled monogram of the relevant member of the Royal Family beneath the appropriate crown or coronet, suspended from a coloured ribbon.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: The senior lady of a queen's household (whether queen regnant or queen consort) is the Mistress of the Robes, who (as well as being in attendance herself on occasion) has traditionally been responsible for arranging all the duties of the queen's ladies in waiting.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: During the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, one of the Women of the Bedchamber was always in daily attendance; each served for a fortnight at a time, in rotation. In the Court Circular the phrase 'Lady in Waiting to the Queen' referred to the women on duty at a given time.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: The Ladies of the Bedchamber were not in daily attendance, but were called upon for more formal or important public occasions and events.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: After the death of Elizabeth II and the accession of Charles III, it was announced that the King would be retaining the late Queen's ladies-in-waiting, with their titles changing to "Ladies of the Household". They will help with hosting events at Buckingham Palace.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: In November 2022, it was announced that Camilla, the Queen Consort, would end the tradition of having ladies-in-waiting. Instead, she will be helped by "Queen's companions". Their role will be informal and they will not be involved in tasks such as replying to letters or developing schedules.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: In the Middle Ages, Margaret of France, Queen of England is noted to have had seven ladies-in-waiting: three married ones, who were called "Domina", and four unmarried maids of honour, but no principal lady-in-waiting is mentioned, and until the 15th century, the majority of the office holders of the Queen's household were still male.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: As late as in the mid-15th century, Queen Elizabeth Woodville had only five ladies-in-waiting, but in the late 15th century and early 16th century, ladies-in-waiting were given a more dominant place at the English court, in parallel with developments in France and the continental courts. The court life of the Duchy of Burgundy served as an example when Edward IV created the "Black Book of the Household" in 1478, and the organisation of the English royal household was essentially set from that point onward.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: Elizabeth of York, Queen of England had numerous ladies-in-waiting, which was reported by the Spanish ambassador, Rodrigo de Puebla, as something unusual and astonishing: "the Queen has thirty-two ladies, very magnificent and in splendid style". She reportedly had 36 ladies-in-waiting, 18 of them noblewomen; in 1502, a more complete account summarised them as 16 'gentlewomen', seven maids of honour and three 'chamberers-women', who attended to her in the bedchamber. Aside from the women formally employed as ladies-in-waiting, the Queen's female retinue in reality also consisted of the daughters and the ladies-in-waiting of her ladies-in-waiting, who also resided in the Queen's household.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: The duties of ladies-in-waiting at the Tudor court were to act as companions for the queen, both in public and in private. They had to accompany her wherever she went, to entertain her with music, dance or singing and to dress, bathe and help her use the toilet, since a royal person, by the standards of the day, was not supposed to do anything for herself, but was always to be waited upon in all daily tasks as a sign of their status.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: Ladies-in-waiting were appointed because of their social status as members of the nobility, on the recommendation of court officials, or other prominent citizens, and because they were expected to be supporters of the royal family due to their own family relationships. When the queen was not a foreigner, her own relations were often appointed as they were presumed to be trustworthy and loyal. Lady Margaret Lee was a Lady of the Privy Chamber to Queen Anne Boleyn, just as Lady Elizabeth Seymour-Cromwell was to Queen Jane Seymour.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: The organisation of the Queen's ladies-in-waiting was set in the period of the Tudor court. The ladies-in-waiting were headed by the Mistress of the Robes, followed in rank by the First Lady of the Bedchamber, who supervised the group of Ladies of the Bedchamber (typically wives or widows of peers above the rank of Earl), in turn followed by the group of Women of the Bedchamber (usually the daughters of peers) and finally the group of maids of honour, whose service entitled them to the style of "The Honourable" for life.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: The system had formally remained roughly the same since the Tudor period. However, in practice, many offices have since then been left vacant. For example, in recent times, maids of honour have only been appointed for coronations.


title: Lady-in-waiting

text: "This is a list of particularly well known and famous ladies-in-waiting of each nation listed. More can be found in their respective category."


title: M61 Vulcan

text: The M61 Vulcan is a hydraulically, electrically, or pneumatically driven, six-barrel, air-cooled, electrically fired Gatling-style rotary cannon which fires rounds at an extremely high rate (typically 6,000 rounds per minute). The M61 and its derivatives have been the principal cannon armament of United States military fixed-wing aircraft for over sixty years.


title: M61 Vulcan

text: The M61 was originally produced by General Electric. After several mergers and acquisitions, it is currently produced by General Dynamics.


title: M61 Vulcan

text: At the end of World War II, the United States Army Air Forces began to consider new directions for future military aircraft guns. The higher speeds of jet-powered fighter aircraft meant that achieving an effective number of hits would be extremely difficult without a much higher volume of fire. While captured German designs (principally the Mauser MG 213C) showed the potential of the single-barrel revolver cannon, the practical rate of fire of such a design was still limited by ammunition feed and barrel wear concerns. The Army wanted something better, combining an extremely high rate of fire with exceptional reliability. In 1947, the Air Force became a separate branch of the military. The new Air Force made a request for a new aircraft gun. A lesson of World War II air combat was that German, Italian, and Japanese fighters could attack American aircraft from long range with their cannon main armament. American fighters with .50 caliber (12.7 mm) main armament, such as the P-51 and P-47, had to be close to enemy aircraft in order to hit and damage them. The Hispano cannon carried by the P-38 and P-61, while formidable against propeller-driven planes, had a relatively low rate of fire in the age of jets, while other cannons were notoriously unreliable.


title: M61 Vulcan

text: In response to this requirement, the Armament Division of General Electric resurrected an old idea: the multi-barrel Gatling gun. The original Gatling gun had fallen out of favor because of the need for an external power source to rotate the barrel assembly, but the new generation of turbojet-powered fighters offered sufficient electric power to operate the gun, and electric operation was more reliable than gas-operated reloading. With multiple barrels, the rate of fire per barrel could be lower than a single-barrel revolver cannon while providing a greater overall rate of fire. The idea of powering a Gatling gun from an external electric power source was not a novel idea at the end of World War II, as Richard Jordan Gatling himself had done just that with a patent he filed in 1893. During World War I, a similar 12-barreled Fokker-Leimberger aircraft rotary machine gun, powered by either the aircraft engine or an electric motor, had been under development by the German Empire.


title: M61 Vulcan

text: In 1946, the Army issued General Electric a contract for "Project Vulcan", a six-barrel weapon capable of firing 7,200 rounds per minute (rpm). Although European designers were moving towards heavier weapons for better hitting power, the U.S. initially concentrated on a powerful cartridge designed for a pre-war anti-tank rifle, expecting that the cartridge's high muzzle velocity would be beneficial for improving hit ratios on high-speed targets.


title: M61 Vulcan

text: The first GE prototypes of the caliber T45 were ground-fired in 1949; it achieved 2,500 rpm, which was increased to 4,000 rpm by 1950. By the early 1950s, the USAF decided that high velocity alone might not be sufficient to ensure target destruction and tested alternatives based on the caliber cartridge. These variants of the T45 were known as the T171 and T150 respectively and were first tested in 1952. Eventually, the standard 20×102 mm cartridge was determined to have the desired balance of projectile/explosive mass and muzzle velocity, resulting in an optimum balance of range, accuracy and kinetic energy on target.


title: M61 Vulcan

text: The development of the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter revealed that the T171 Vulcan (later redesignated "M61") suffered problems with its linked ammunition, being prone to misfeed and presenting a foreign object damage hazard with discarded links. A linkless ammunition feed system was developed for the upgraded "M61A1", which subsequently became the standard cannon armament of U.S. fighters.


title: M61 Vulcan

text: In 1993, General Electric sold its aerospace division, including GE Armament Systems along with the design and production tooling for the M61 and GE's other rotary cannon, to Martin Marietta. After Martin's merger with Lockheed, the rotary cannon became the responsibility of Lockheed Martin Armament Systems. Lockheed Martin Armament Systems was later acquired by General Dynamics, who currently produce the M61 and its variants.


title: M61 Vulcan

text: Each of the cannon's six barrels fires once in turn during each revolution of the barrel cluster. The multiple barrels provide both a very high rate of fire – around 100 rounds per second—and contribute to prolonged weapon life by minimizing barrel erosion and heat generation. The average time between jams or failures is in excess of 10,000 rounds, making it an extremely reliable weapon. The success of the Vulcan Project and its progeny, the very-high-speed Gatling gun, has led to guns of the same configuration being referred to as "Vulcan cannons", which can sometimes confuse nomenclature on the subject.


title: M61 Vulcan

text: Most aircraft versions of the M61 are hydraulically driven and electrically primed. The gun rotor, barrel assembly and ammunition feed system are rotated by a hydraulic drive motor through a system of flexible drive shafts. The round is fired by an electric priming system where an electric current from a firing lead passes through the firing pin to the primer as each round is rotated into the firing position.


title: M61 Vulcan

text: The self-powered version, the GAU-4 (called M130 in Army service), is gas-operated, tapping gun gas from three of the six barrels to operate the gun gas-driven mechanism. The self-powered Vulcan weighs about more than its electric counterpart, but requires no external power source to operate, except for an electric inertia starter to initiate gun rotation, allowing the first rounds to be chambered and fired.


title: M61 Vulcan

text: The initial "M61" used linked ammunition, but the ejection of spent links created considerable (and ultimately insuperable) problems. The original weapon was soon replaced by the "M61A1", with a linkless feed system. Depending on the application, the feed system can be either single-ended (ejecting spent cases and unfired rounds) or double-ended (returning casings back to the magazine). A disadvantage of the M61 is that the bulk of the weapon, its feed system, and ammunition drum make it difficult to fit it into a densely packed airframe.


title: M61 Vulcan

text: The feed system must be custom-designed for each application, adding to the complete weapon. Most aircraft installations are double-ended, because the ejection of empty cartridges can cause a foreign-object damage hazard for jet engines and because the retention of spent cases assists in maintaining the center of gravity of the aircraft. The first aircraft to carry the M61A1 was the C model of the F-104, starting in 1959.


title: M61 Vulcan

text: A lighter version of the Vulcan developed for use on the F-22 Raptor, designated M61A2, is mechanically the same as the M61A1, but with thinner barrels to reduce overall weight to . The rotor and housing have also been modified to remove any piece of metal not absolutely needed for operation and replaces some metal components with lighter-weight materials. The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet also uses this version.


title: M61 Vulcan

text: The Vulcan's rate of fire is typically 6,000 rounds per minute, although some versions (such as that of the AMX and the F-106 Delta Dart) are limited to a lower rate, and others (A-7 Corsair, F-15 Eagle) have a selectable rate of fire of either 4,000 or 6,000 rounds per minute. The M61A2's lighter barrels allow a somewhat higher rate of fire, up to 6,600 rounds per minute.


title: M61 Vulcan

text: Practically no powered rotary cannon is supplied with sufficient ammunition for a full minute of firing, due to its weight (at 6,000 rpm, the projectiles alone would represent a mass of about for one minute of firing; and by including the brass shell, filling and primer the weight is slightly double that at ). In order to avoid using the 600 to 1000 rounds carried by aircraft all at once, a burst controller is generally used to limit the number of rounds fired at each trigger pull. Bursts of from two or three up to 40 or 50 can be selected. The size of the airframe and available internal space limits the size of the ammunition drum and thus limits the ammunition capacity. When vehicle-mounted, the only limiting factor is the vehicle's safe carry weight, so commensurately larger ammo storage is available.


title: M61 Vulcan

text: Until the late 1980s, the M61 primarily used the M50 series of ammunition in various types, typically firing a projectile at a muzzle velocity of about . A variety of Armor-Piercing Incendiary (API), High Explosive Incendiary (HEI), and training rounds are available.


title: M61 Vulcan

text: The new PGU-28/B round was developed in the mid-1980s. It is a semi-armor-piercing high-explosive incendiary (SAPHEI) round, providing improvements in range, accuracy, and power over the preceding M56A3 HEI round. PGU-28/B is a "low-drag" round designed to reduce in-flight drag and deceleration, and has a slightly increased muzzle velocity of . However, the PGU-28/B has not been without problems. A 2000 USAF safety report noted 24 premature detonation mishaps (causing serious damage in many cases) in 12 years with the SAPHEI round, compared to only two such mishaps in the entire recorded history of the M56 round. The report estimated that the current PGU-28/B had a potential failure rate 80 times higher than USAF standards permit. Due to safety issues, it was limited to emergency wartime use in 2000.


title: M61 Vulcan

text: The Vulcan was first used in aerial combat on 4 April 1965, when four North Vietnamese Air Force MiG-17s (J-5s) attacked a force of 10 North American F-100 Super Sabres (two of which were assigned weather reconnaissance duties) escorting 48 Vulcan-armed and "bomb-laden" F-105 Thunderchiefs, shooting down two of the latter. The MiG Leader and only survivor from the four MiGs, Captain Tran Hanh, reported that U.S. jets had pursued them and that F-105s had shot down three of his aircraft, killing Lieutenants Pham Giay, Le Minh Huan, and Tran Nguyen Nam. Capt. Donald Kilgus piloting an F-100 received an official probable kill with his four M39 20 mm cannons during the engagement; however no other US pilot reported destroying any MiGs during the battle, leaving open the possibility that at least two of the MiG-17s may have been downed by their own anti-aircraft fire.


title: M61 Vulcan

text: The first confirmed Vulcan gun kill occurred on 29 June 1966 when Major Fred Tracy, flying his F-105 Thunderchief with the 421st TFS, fired 200 rounds of 20 mm into a MiG-17 that had just fired a 23 mm shell which entered one side of his cockpit and exited the other. When the NVAF MiG flew in front of him after making his pass, Maj. Tracy opened fire on him.


title: M61 Vulcan

text: The gun was installed in the Air Force's A-7D version of the LTV A-7 Corsair II where it replaced the earlier United States Navy A-7's Colt Mk 12 cannon and was adopted by the Navy on the A-7C and A-7E. It was integrated into the newer F-4E Phantom II variants. The F-4 was originally designed without a cannon as it was believed that missiles had made guns obsolete. Combat experience in Vietnam showed that a gun could be more effective than guided missiles in many combat situations and that an externally carried gun pod was less effective than an internal gun; the first generation of gun pods such as the SUU-16 were not oriented with the sights of the fighter. The improved pods were self-powered and properly synchronized to the sights, while the USAF versions of the F-4 were hastily fitted with internal M61 cannon in a prominent fairing under the nose, well before the war ended (Navy Phantoms never received a cannon, continuing to rely on air-to-air missiles alone). The next generation of fighters built post-Vietnam incorporated the M61 gun internally.


title: M61 Vulcan

text: The Vulcan was later fitted into the weapons bay of some Convair F-106 Delta Dart and General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark models. It was also adopted as standard in the "teen"-series air superiority fighters, the Grumman F-14 Tomcat, the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon and McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. Other aircraft include the Italian/Brazilian AMX International AMX (on Italian aircraft only), and the F-22 Raptor. It was fitted in a side-firing installation on the Fairchild AC-119 and some marks of the Lockheed AC-130 gunships, and was used in the tail turrets of both the Convair B-58 Hustler and Boeing B-52H Stratofortress bombers. Japan's Mitsubishi F-1 carried one internally mounted JM61A1 Vulcan with 750 rounds.


title: M61 Vulcan

text: Two gun pod versions, the SUU-16/A (also designated M12 by the US Army) and improved SUU-23/A (US Army M25), were developed in the 1960s, often used on gunless versions of the F-4. The SUU-16/A uses the electric M61A1 with a ram-air turbine to power the motor. This proved to cause serious aerodynamic drag at higher speeds, while speeds under did not provide enough airflow for the maximum rate of fire.


title: M61 Vulcan

text: The subsequent SUU-23/A uses the "GAU-4/A" self-powered Vulcan, with an electric inertia starter to bring it up to speed. Both pods ejected empty cases and unfired rounds rather than retaining them. Both pods contained 1,200 rounds of ammunition, with a loaded weight of respectively. During service in the Vietnam War, the pods proved to be relatively inaccurate: the pylon mounting was not rigid enough to prevent deflection when firing, and repeated use would misalign the pod on its pylon, making matters worse.


title: M61 Vulcan

text: A variant with much shorter barrels, designated the M195, was also developed for use on the M35 Armament Subsystem for use on the AH-1G Cobra helicopter. This variant fed from ammunition boxes fitted to the landing skid and was developed to provide the AH-1 helicopter with a longer-range suppressive fire system before the adoption of the M97 Universal Turret mounting the M197 cannon.


title: M61 Vulcan

text: The M61 is also the basis of the US Navy Mk 15 Phalanx Close-in weapon system and the M163 VADS Vulcan Air Defense System, using the M168 variant.


title: Alexis Texas

text: Alexis Texas (born May 25, 1985) is an American pornographic actress. In 2020, Texas was characterized as one of "the most popular porn performers", based on her Instagram following of around 3.8 million followers. She was inducted into the AVN Hall of Fame in 2022.


title: Alexis Texas

text: Texas spent her early life in Castroville, Texas. She is of Puerto Rican, Norwegian, and German descent. She attended Texas State University, studying respiratory care therapy, and received an associate's degree. At age 21, while working at a restaurant, she was offered a job in the adult industry.


title: Alexis Texas

text: Texas's first scene was with Jack Venice in Shane's World's "College Amateur Tour in Texas", filmed in October 2006, followed by several scenes for Bang Bros in Florida. She moved to Los Angeles and began shooting scenes for LA Direct Models in March 2007. Adult performer Belladonna directed "Discovering Alexis Texas", released in February 2008. Later that year, she won the NightMoves Award for Best New Starlet. "Genesis" magazine featured Texas on its cover in April 2009, as did "Hustler" on the magazine's 35th anniversary edition in June 2009. "Best of Hustler Magazine" and "Hustler XXX" featured Texas on their covers that year. Texas launched her official website and formed her own company, Alexis Texas Entertainment, as a subsidiary of Starlet Entertainment Group, in 2009. Her website won an XBIZ Award for Performer Site of the Year. In 2010, "Maxim" named her one of the 12 top female stars in porn. She was credited the same year with an acting role in the film "Bikini Frankenstein".


title: Alexis Texas

text: In 2011, Texas starred in the comedy horror film "Bloodlust Zombies". Credited with the lead role in the film, it was her first performance in mainstream cinema. She also appeared in the music video for "Bandz a Make Her Dance" by Juicy J in 2012. By 2012, Texas had appeared in over 400 adult films. That year, she signed an exclusive, one-year contract with the company Adam & Eve. "The Big Butt Book", published in 2010, featured her as the cover model. In its review of the book, "Erotic Review" called Texas "arguably the most celebrated butt in porn nowadays". In 2013, she was one of the 16 actresses portrayed in Deborah Anderson's documentary film "Aroused". In its review of the film, "The Hollywood Reporter" described her as a "well-known" porn star. The "Los Angeles Times" was critical of "Aroused", writing, "Completist fans of such performers as Alexis Texas, Katsuni, and Misty Stone are the only likely viewers liable to find the documentary satisfying." She subsequently appeared, via archival footage, in the 2013 romantic comedy film "Don Jon", written and directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. In 2014, "International Business Times" placed her among "the most popular names in the adult industry". "Best of Hustler Magazine" featured her again as its cover girl for in 2014.


title: Alexis Texas

text: In June 2015, Elegant Angel signed her to an exclusive directing contract. Her directorial debut, "Big Booty Tryouts", was released the following month. She appeared in all the film's scenes, which were the first ones she had shot after a nearly two-year hiatus from performing. Texas directed a cast that included Anikka Albrite, Abella Danger, AJ Applegate, Keisha Grey, and Dani Daniels. She also directed "The Real Buttwoman Returns", which featured her first gangbang scene. Texas was selected as co-host of the 2015 AVN Awards. She signed an exclusive acting deal with Elegant Angel in 2016.


title: Alexis Texas

text: In 2021, Texas played as a dancer in a music video for "Tehran, Tokyo" by Iranian pop/hip-hop musician Sasy. The music video features actresses, including Texas, gyrating atop cars and inside bars. This clip racked up about 18 million views within one week, and has also been criticized by Iranians for exposing Sasy's fans to porn.


title: Alexis Texas

text: In her 2018 book "Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery", gender studies scholar Camille Nurka described Texas as "one of the most successful porn stars of the last decade". The same year, in the song "Yacht Club" on the album "Nuthin' 2 Prove", rapper Lil Yachty included her as a pop culture reference. Texas directed Kleio Valentien, Jenna Foxx, Sammie Six, Dava Foxx, Jayde Cole, Ana Foxxx, and Zoey Monroe in the 2019 Elegant Angel release "Alexis Texas: Lesbian House Party". "Las Vegas Weekly" observed in 2019 that Texas was a sought-after guest and "perennially popular" at the annual AVN Adult Entertainment Expo. In his 2020 book "Human Resource Management in the Pornography Industry" author David M. Kopp noted Texas was one of "the most popular porn performers", according to her large following on Instagram – 3.8 million followers. In 2020, Texas said she had not filmed any new adult scenes for four years, focusing instead on evolving her career and her podcast, "Private Talk With Alexis Texas". She released her podcast via Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Podbay.fm. Texas interviewed singer-songwriter and record producer Ne-Yo on her podcast in February 2020.


title: Kherson Oblast

text: Kherson Oblast (, ), also known as Khersonshchyna (, ), is an oblast (province) in southern Ukraine, currently claimed and partly occupied by Russia. It is located just north of Crimea. Its administrative center is Kherson, on the west bank of the Dnieper which bisects the oblast. The area of the region is 28,461 km and the population It is considered the 'fruit basket' of the country, as much of its agricultural production is dispersed throughout the country, with production peaking during the summer months.


title: Kherson Oblast

text: Most of the area of the oblast has been under Russian military occupation since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Territory in the northwest, including Kherson city, was recaptured by Ukraine in the southern counteroffensive.


title: Kherson Oblast

text: On 30 September 2022 Russia annexed the Donetsk (Donetsk People's Republic), Luhansk (Luhansk People's Republic), Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson Oblasts. However, the referendums and subsequent annexations are internationally unrecognized.


title: Kherson Oblast

text: During the 1991 referendum, 90.13% of votes in Kherson Oblast were in favor of the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine.


title: Kherson Oblast

text: A survey conducted in December 2014 by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology found that 90.9% of the oblast's population opposed their region joining Russia, 1% did support the idea, and the rest were undecided or did not respond.


title: Kherson Oblast

text: Since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February, Kherson city and most of the oblast had been occupied by Russian forces as the "Kherson military–civilian administration".


title: Kherson Oblast

text: On 27 July 2022 the Ukrainian army destroyed the Antonovsky Bridge, as part of its wider campaign to isolate the Russian 49th Combined Arms Army on the right bank of the Dnipro river.


title: Kherson Oblast

text: On 31 August it was reported that the defenders of the ill-gotten Kherson territory were the 49 Combined Arms Army and what was left of the 35 Combined Arms Army.


title: Kherson Oblast

text: On 5 September it was announced that the newly-installed Russian administration had postponed its plans to hold a referendum on the planned secession from Ukraine. The plebiscite had been scheduled to occur on 11 September, in order to coincide with the Russian electoral calendar. Due to the contestation of the oblast by the Ukrainian forces, it was found to be impractical to hold at this time.


title: Kherson Oblast

text: On 23–27 September 2022, the Russian Federation held referendums in the occupied territories of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts for "independence and subsequent entry into the Russian Federation", recognized by most states to be staged and against international law. On September 29, the Russian Federation recognized Kherson Oblast as an independent state. On 30 September, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced the annexation of the Kherson Oblast and three other Ukrainian territories, and signed "accession decrees" that are widely considered to be illegal. At that time, Russia was not in control of the province as a whole. The United Nations General Assembly subsequently passed a resolution calling on countries not to recognise what it described as an "attempted illegal annexation" and demanded that Russia "immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw".


title: Kherson Oblast

text: On 9 November 2022, the city of Kherson and a pocket of land on the left bank of the Dniper river were was re-captured by Ukrainian forces. The remaining territory of the oblast on the river's right bank is still under Russian control.


title: Kherson Oblast

text: Kherson Oblast is bordered by Dnipropetrovsk Oblast to the north, the Black Sea and Crimea to the south, Mykolaiv Oblast to the west, and the Azov Sea and Zaporizhzhia Oblast to the east. The Dnieper River, which includes the Kakhovka Reservoir, runs through the oblast.


title: Kherson Oblast

text: Before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, two bridges spanned the Dniper: the Khakovsky Bridge near Nova Kakhovka and the Antonovsky Bridge at Kherson. Another significant bridge, the Daryivka Bridge crosses the Inhulets river and connects Kherson via the M14 highway to Beryslav, the other abutment of the Khakovsky Bridge.


title: Kherson Oblast

text: The oblast's Henichesk Raion includes the northern portion of the Arabat Spit, a thin strip of land between the brackish Syvash and the Sea of Azov that is geographically part of the Crimean Peninsula. Due to Russia gaining "de facto" control of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in 2014, this strip within Kherson Oblast was the only part of the Crimean Peninsula under Ukrainian control immediately prior to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.


title: Kherson Oblast

text: Until the 2020 re-organisation, the Kherson Oblast was administratively subdivided into 18 "raions" (districts) and 3 municipalities. The municipalities – Kherson (administrative center of the oblast), Nova Kakhovka, and Kakhovka – were directly subordinate to the oblast government. The Kherson municipality was subdivided into 3 urban districts. All information below was current as of 2015.


title: Kherson Oblast

text: .* Note: Though the administrative center of the raion is housed in the city/town that it is named after, cities do not answer to the raion authorities only towns do; instead they are directly subordinated to the oblast government and therefore are not counted as part of raion statistics.


title: Kherson Oblast

text: The local administration of the oblast is controlled by the Kherson Oblast Rada. The governor of the oblast is the Kherson Oblast Rada speaker, appointed by the President of Ukraine.


title: Kherson Oblast

text: The population of the oblast is 1,083,367 (2012), which is 2.4% of the total population of Ukraine. It is also ranked 21st by its population. The population density is 38 per km.


title: Kherson Oblast

text: About 61.5% or 745,400 people live in urban areas of the Oblast and 38.5% or 467,600 people live in agricultural centers/villages. Men make up 46.7% or 565,400 people of the population, women make up 53.3% or 644,600 people, and pensioners make up 26.2% or 317,400 people of the Oblast population.


title: Kherson Oblast

text: A 2014 survey by the Kyiv Institute of international Sociology found that 90% of the population opposes the idea of joining Russia, 1% supported the idea, and the rest was undecided or did not respond.


title: Vivisection

text: Vivisection () is surgery conducted for experimental purposes on a living organism, typically animals with a central nervous system, to view living internal structure. The word is, more broadly, used as a pejorative catch-all term for experimentation on live animals by organizations opposed to animal experimentation, but the term is rarely used by practising scientists. Human vivisection, such as live organ harvesting, has been perpetrated as a form of torture.


title: Vivisection

text: Research requiring vivisection techniques that cannot be met through other means is often subject to an external ethics review in conception and implementation, and in many jurisdictions use of anesthesia is legally mandated for any surgery likely to cause pain to any vertebrate.


title: Vivisection

text: In the United States, the Animal Welfare Act explicitly requires that any procedure that may cause pain use "tranquilizers, analgesics, and anesthetics" with exceptions when "scientifically necessary". The act does not define "scientific necessity" or regulate specific scientific procedures, but approval or rejection of individual techniques in each federally funded lab is determined on a case-by-case basis by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, which contains at least one veterinarian, one scientist, one non-scientist, and one other individual from outside the university.


title: Vivisection

text: In the United Kingdom, any experiment involving vivisection must be licensed by the Home Secretary. The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 "expressly directs that, in determining whether to grant a licence for an experimental project, 'the Secretary of State shall weigh the likely adverse effects on the animals concerned against the benefit likely to accrue.


title: Vivisection

text: In Australia, the Code of Practice "requires that all experiments must be approved by an Animal Experimentation Ethics Committee" that includes a "person with an interest in animal welfare who is not employed by the institution conducting the experiment, and an additional independent person not involved in animal experimentation."


title: Vivisection

text: Anti-vivisectionists have played roles in the emergence of the animal welfare and animal rights movements, arguing that animals and humans have the same natural rights as living creatures, and that it is inherently immoral to inflict pain or injury on another living creature, regardless of the purpose or potential benefit to mankind.


title: Vivisection

text: At the turn of the 19th century, medicine was undergoing a transformation. The emergence of hospitals and the development of more advanced medical tools such as the stethoscope are but a few of the changes in the medical field. There was also an increased recognition that medical practices needed to be improved, as many of the current therapeutics were based on unproven, traditional theories that may or may not have helped the patient recover. The demand for more effective treatment shifted emphasis to research with the goal of understanding disease mechanisms and anatomy. This shift had a few effects, one of which was the rise in patient experimentation, leading to some moral questions about what was acceptable in clinical trials and what was not. An easy solution to the moral problem was to use animals in vivisection experiments, so as not to endanger human patients. This, however, had its own set of moral obstacles, leading to the anti-vivisection movement.


title: Vivisection

text: One polarizing figure in the anti-vivisection movement was François Magendie. Magendie was a physiologist at the Académie Royale de Médecine in France, established in the first half of the 19th century. Magendie made several groundbreaking medical discoveries, but was far more aggressive than some of his other contemporaries with his use of animal experimentation. For example, the discovery of the different functionalities of dorsal and ventral spinal nerve roots was achieved by both Magendie, as well as a Scottish anatomist named Charles Bell. Bell used an unconscious rabbit because of "the protracted cruelty of the dissection", which caused him to miss that the dorsal roots were also responsible for sensory information. Magendie, on the other hand, used conscious, six-week-old puppies for his own experiments. While Magendie's approach was more of an infringement on what would today be referred to as animal rights, both Bell and Magendie used the same justification for vivisection: the cost of animal lives and experimentation was well worth it for the benefit of humanity.


title: Vivisection

text: Many viewed Magendie's work as cruel and unnecessarily torturous. One note is that Magendie carried out many of his experiments before the advent of anesthesia, but even after ether was discovered it was not used in any of his experiments or classes. Even during the period before anesthesia, other physiologists expressed their disgust with how he conducted his work. One such visiting American physiologist describes the animals as "victims" and the apparent sadism that Magendie displayed when teaching his classes. The cruelty in such experiments actually even led to Magendie's role as an important figure in animal-rights legislation, such as his experiments being cited in the drafting of the British Cruelty to Animals Act 1876 and Cruel Treatment of Cattle Act 1822, otherwise known as Martin's Act, with its namesake, Irish MP and well known anti-cruelty campaigner Richard Martin describing Magendle as "disgrace to Society" after one of Magendle's public vivisections, described by Martin as "anatomical theatres", which was widely commented on at the time reportedly involving a greyhounds dissection potentially over two days. Magendle faced widespread opposition in British society, among the general public but also his contemporaries, including Dr. William Sharpey who described his experiments aside from cruel as "purposeless" and “without sufficient object", a feeling he claimed was shared among other physiologists


title: Vivisection

text: The Cruelty to Animals Act, 1876 in Britain determined that one could only conduct vivisection on animals with the appropriate license from the state, and that the work the physiologist was doing had to be original and absolutely necessary. The stage was set for such legislation by physiologist David Ferrier. Ferrier was a pioneer in understanding the brain and used animals to show that certain locales of the brain corresponded to bodily movement elsewhere in the body in 1873. He put these animals to sleep, and caused them to move unconsciously with a probe. Ferrier was successful, but many decried his use of animals in his experiments. Some of these arguments came from a religious standpoint. Some were concerned that Ferrier's experiments would separate God from the mind of man in the name of science. Some of the anti-vivisection movement in England had its roots in Evangelicalism and Quakerism. These religions already had a distrust for science, only intensified by the recent publishing of Darwin's Theory of Evolution in 1859.


title: Vivisection

text: Neither side was pleased with how the Cruelty to Animals Act 1876 was passed. The scientific community felt as though the government was restricting their ability to compete with the quickly advancing France and Germany with new regulations. The anti-vivisection movement was also unhappy, but because they believed that it was a concession to scientists for allowing vivisection to continue at all. Ferrier would continue to vex the anti-vivisection movement in Britain with his experiments when he had a debate with his German opponent, Friedrich Goltz. They would effectively enter the vivisection arena, with Ferrier presenting a monkey, and Goltz presenting a dog, both of which had already been operated on. Ferrier won the debate, but did not have a license, leading the anti-vivisection movement to sue him in 1881. Ferrier was not found guilty, as his assistant was the one operating, and his assistant did have a license. Ferrier and his practices gained public support, leaving the anti-vivisection movement scrambling. They made the moral argument that given recent developments, scientists would venture into more extreme practices to operating on "the cripple, the mute, the idiot, the convict, the pauper, to enhance the 'interest' of [the physiologist's] experiments".


title: Vivisection

text: It is possible that human vivisection was practised by some Greek anatomists in Alexandria in the 3rd century BC. Celsus in "De Medicina" states that Herophilos of Alexandria vivisected some criminals sent by the King, with the early Christian writer Tertullian states that Herophilos vivisected at least 600 live prisoners although the accuracy of this claim is disputed by many historians.


title: Vivisection

text: Unit 731, a biological and chemical warfare research and development unit of the Imperial Japanese Army, undertook lethal human experimentation during the period that comprised both the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Second World War (1937–1945). In Mindanao, Moro Muslim prisoners of war were subjected to various forms of vivisection by the Japanese, in many cases without anesthesia.


title: Vivisection

text: Nazi human experimentation involved many medical experiments on live subjects, such as vivisections by Josef Mengele, usually without anesthesia.


title: Vivisection

text: Vivisection without anesthesia was an execution method employed by the Khmer Rouge at the Tuol Sleng prison. Only seven people out of an estimated 20,000 prisoners survived the four-year run of the prison before its liberation by the Vietnamese army in January 1979.


title: 1408 (film)

text: 1408 is a 2007 American psychological horror film based on Stephen King's 1999 short story of the same name. It is directed by Mikael Håfström and stars John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson. The film was released in the United States on June 22, 2007.


title: 1408 (film)

text: The film follows Mike Enslin, an author who investigates allegedly haunted houses and rents the titular room 1408 at a New York City hotel. Although skeptical of the paranormal, he is soon trapped in the room where he experiences bizarre events.


title: 1408 (film)

text: Mike Enslin is a cynical and skeptical author of niche books debunking supernatural events, in which he has no belief. While promoting his latest book, he receives an anonymous postcard depicting The Dolphin, a hotel on Lexington Avenue in New York City, bearing the message: "Don't enter 1408." Viewing this as a challenge, Mike travels to The Dolphin and requests room 1408. The hotel manager, Gerald Olin, attempts to discourage him. He explains to Mike that in the last 95 years, no one has lasted more than an hour inside of 1408; the latest count is 56 deaths. Olin attempts to dissuade and even bribe Mike, but at Mike's insistence and threat of legal action against the hotel, preparations are reluctantly made.


title: 1408 (film)

text: While Mike describes the room's boring appearance and absence of supernatural behavior on his mini-cassette recorder, the clock radio suddenly starts playing The Carpenters' "We've Only Just Begun", and the digital display changes to a countdown starting from 60:00. Mike begins to see ghosts of the room's past victims, along with flashbacks of his deceased daughter Katie and his terminally ill father. Mike makes numerous attempts to leave the room, all in vain. As the temperature in the room starts to rapidly increase, Mike uses his laptop to contact his estranged wife Lily and ask for help. The heat activates the sprinkler system, short circuiting the laptop, which starts to work again when the temperature drops to subzero. A doppelgänger of Mike appears in a video chat window, urging Lily to come to the hotel room herself and giving Mike a sly wink.


title: 1408 (film)

text: The room starts to shake violently, causing Mike to crash into a picture of a ship in a storm, from which water floods the room. He finds himself reliving a surfing accident from before he entered the room. Recovering in hospital, he reconciles with Lily and assumes his experience in 1408 was just a nightmare; Lily encourages him to write a book about it. When visiting the post office to send the manuscript to his publisher, he recognizes members of a construction crew as Dolphin Hotel staff, who start destroying the walls, revealing that Mike is still trapped inside 1408. Katie's ghost confronts him, and when the countdown ends, the room restores itself and the clock radio resets to 60:00.


title: 1408 (film)

text: A female voice calling herself "hotel operator" calls Mike. Mike asks why he has not been killed yet and she informs him that guests enjoy free will: he can relive the past hour over and over again, or use their "express checkout system". A hangman's noose appears, but he refuses to give in. Mike improvises a Molotov cocktail and sets the room on fire. He then lies down and laughs in victory upon destroying the room. The hotel is evacuated and Olin, in his office, praises Mike for his actions.


title: 1408 (film)

text: There are four endings to this film. In addition to the ending that appears in the theatrical release (also the default ending of the DVD), three other alternative endings were shot. The incentive for this was based on the director's belief that King's intention, in his original short story, was to leave the conclusion ambiguous. None of the four endings matches the ending of King's original short story.


title: 1408 (film)

text: This is the default ending of the theatrical release and its theatrical release DVD. It is also used on the Amazon Prime, Netflix UK, and the YouTube Movies version of the film.


title: 1408 (film)

text: Mike survives and reconciles with Lily, though Lily is skeptical of his experience. She finds a box of Mike's possessions that were rescued from 1408 and Mike takes the damaged mini-cassette recorder from it, saying, "Sometimes you can't get rid of bad memories. You've just got to live with them." Mike briefly tampers with the recorder, making it work again. Suddenly, they hear Katie's voice coming from it, confirming Mike's account.


title: 1408 (film)

text: An alternate version of this ending has the same events but Lily does not acknowledge hearing Katie's voice on the tape and only Mike's reaction is shown.


title: 1408 (film)

text: Director Mikael Håfström said that the ending for "1408" was reshot because test audiences felt that the original ending was too much of a "downer."


title: 1408 (film)

text: The original discarded ending had Mike dying in the fire, but happy to see the room destroyed. He spitefully laughs as the room screams in agony, and everything burns and crashes on top of him. At Mike's funeral, Olin approaches Lily and Mike's publisher Sam Farrell. He unsuccessfully attempts to give her a box of Mike's possessions, including the tape recorder. Olin claims that the room was successfully destroyed and that it will no longer hurt anyone else. He later listens to the recording in his car and becomes upset when he hears Katie's voice on the tape. He sees a little girl in a dress walking on the cemetery grass behind the car, calling out as if she is lost. He then sees Mike's burnt corpse in the backseat. Then he sees the same girl holding hands with her father as they walk away. Olin places the tape recorder back in the box and drives off. The final scene is of the gutted room, where an apparition of Mike assesses the death of the entity while smoking a cigarette. He hears his daughter calling for him and disappears as he walks towards the door. A door is heard closing and the scene fades.


title: 1408 (film)

text: This ending is the default ending on the Blu-ray release and two-disc collector's edition. Canadian networks Space and The Movie Network, and U.S. network FX broadcast this version of the film. Space broadcast the theatrical ending on July 23, 2012. This ending is also used on the U.K. and Australian DVDs, and the U.S. iTunes and Netflix versions of the film.


title: 1408 (film)

text: Mike dies in the fire. Instead of the funeral scene from the director's cut, the sounds of a funeral are dubbed over shots of Los Angeles. Lily and Sam sort through Mike's effects. Sam returns to his New York office and discovers the manuscript that Mike wrote while he was in room 1408. As Sam reads the story, audio from Mike's experiences in the room is heard. In a final scene, Sam's office doors slam shut and Mike's father's voice says, "As you are, I was. As I am, you will be."


title: 1408 (film)

text: In November 2003 and 2004, Dimension Films optioned the rights to the 1999 short story "1408" by Stephen King. The studio hired screenwriter Matt Greenberg to adapt the story into a screenplay. In October 2005, Mikael Håfström was hired to direct "1408", with the screenplay being rewritten by screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. In March 2006, actor John Cusack was cast to star in the film, joined by actor Samuel L. Jackson the following April. In July, actress Kate Walsh was cast to star opposite Cusack as the protagonist's ex-wife, but she was forced to exit in August due to scheduling conflicts with her role on "Grey's Anatomy". She was replaced by actress Mary McCormack. According to Cusack, the Roosevelt Hotel in New York was used for some of the exterior shots of the Dolphin. The lobby scenes were filmed at the Reform Club in London.


title: 1408 (film)

text: On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 79% based on 175 reviews, with an average rating of 6.70/10. The site's critical consensus reads "Relying on psychological tension rather than overt violence and gore, "1408" is a genuinely creepy thriller with a strong lead performance by John Cusack." On Metacritic, the film had an average score of 64 out of 100, based on 27 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.


title: 1408 (film)

text: James Berardinelli awarded the film three stars out of four, praising it as "the best horror film of the year." He offered significant praise for Cusack's performance as Mike Enslin, writing that "this is John Cusack's movie to carry, and he has no problem taking it where it needs to go." He found the film to be a refreshing experience, believing it "reminds us what it's like to be scared in a theater rather than overwhelmed by buckets of blood and gore". Many critics believed the film to be far superior to other adaptations of Stephen King novels and stories. Mick LaSalle of the "San Francisco Chronicle" wrote a very positive review, describing the film as "one of the good Stephen King adaptations, one that maintains its author's sly sense of humor and satiric view of human nature". He ultimately believed the film to be a "more genuinely scary movie than most horror films".


title: 1408 (film)

text: Several critics, however, found the film to be underwhelming. Wesley Morris of "The Boston Globe" wrote a mixed review, describing the film as "a lot of consonants and no vowels." He went on to compare the film unfavorably to "The Shining", a similar King adaptation, believing "1408" lacked that film's "lunging horror and dramatic architecture." Although he believed the film "conjures a wonderful anticipatory mood of dread in the first 30 minutes," he ultimately believed the film "then blows it to stylish smithereens". Rob Salem of the "Toronto Star" awarded the film two stars out of four, believing it to be a predictable, "hit and miss" production. Like Morris, Salem wrote that "Even as haunted hotel King movies go, "1408" is certainly no "Shining". Not even the TV-movie version."


title: 1408 (film)

text: In its opening weekend, the film opened in second place at the box office, grossing US$20.6 million in 2,678 theaters. "1408" had a production budget of US$25 million. The film went on to gross US$132 million, of which US$71.9 million was from Canada and the United States.


title: 1408 (film)

text: The DVD was released on October 2, 2007, by Genius Products with a standard 1-Disc Edition (widescreen or fullscreen), and a 2-Disc Collector's Edition that contains both versions of the ending and an unrated edition of the film which restored 6 more minutes of the film.


title: Kristin Cavallari

text: Kristin Elizabeth Cavallari (born January 5, 1987) is an American television personality, fashion designer, actress and author. She first rose to fame in 2004 as a cast member on the popular MTV reality television series "" (2004–2006), then on the spin-off MTV reality television series "The Hills" (2009–2010), and was later given her own E! reality series to star in, "Very Cavallari" (2018–2020). She also starred as an actress on television shows and in films, including "". In 2017, Cavallari founded the company Uncommon James, which sells jewelry, homeware, skincare and beauty products.


title: Kristin Cavallari

text: Cavallari was born in Denver, Colorado, one of two children born to Judith Eifrig and Dennis Cavallari, the other being her late older brother, Michael Cavallari. She is of Italian heritage through her father and of German heritage through her mother. After her parents divorced, she moved with her mother from Denver to Barrington, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, where she lived until her junior year of high school, after which she moved to Laguna Beach, California, to live with her father and brother. She graduated from Laguna Beach High School in 2005.


title: Kristin Cavallari

text: Cavallari was in her junior year of high school when the first season of "" began production. At the time, she was involved in an on-and-off relationship with senior Stephen Colletti. Cavallari's romance with Colletti caused a rivalry with another cast member, Lauren Conrad, which was covered in the show. After "Laguna Beach", Cavallari moved to Los Angeles and signed on the UPN reality television series "Get This Party Started", which premiered in February 2006 and was canceled after airing two episodes. In 2009, Cavallari joined the cast of "Laguna Beach"'s spin-off series, "The Hills", making her first appearance on the series during the fifth season's midseason finale at Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt's wedding, where she caught the bouquet. For the second half of the season, Cavallari replaced Conrad as a main cast member and narrator. Despite originally signing a deal with MTV to appear in two additional seasons following the fifth, the sixth and final season concluded in July 2010. Cavallari then appeared on various reality competition shows as a guest, and as a contestant on the 13th season of ABC's "Dancing with the Stars", partnering with two-time champion Mark Ballas. She was the third to be eliminated. In 2012, Cavallari began commentating the Academy Awards for E! and in 2014, she co-hosted the half-hour fashion and lifestyle trends show "The Fabulist". In April 2018, E! announced a reality show starring Cavallari, "Very Cavallari", which premiered that July and followed her opening the flagship store for Uncommon James. In May 2020, after three seasons, Cavallari announced that she was ending her series. In 2021, Cavallari made two final guest appearances on the second season of "The Hills'" sequel, "".


title: Kristin Cavallari

text: Cavallari appeared on one episode of another UPN series, "Veronica Mars", and went on to guest roles on series including "", "The Middle" and "Adventures in Hollyhood". In 2006, she signed on as Crystal in the horror film "Fingerprints". In 2008, she had a supporting role as Summer in "Spring Breakdown", which was released straight-to-DVD. She also starred in the independent film "Green Flash" with Torrey DeVitto. In 2009, she starred as Trish in the independent American high school comedy film "Wild Cherry" and as Kaitlyn in the straight-to-DVD film "". She made acting appearances with Cutler and solo on the American sitcom "The League" in 2012 and 2013.


title: Kristin Cavallari

text: Cavallari served as an ambassador for the children's charity OneKid OneWorld, traveling to El Salvador to rebuild schools in local communities in 2010. After another trip to Kenya the following year, Cavallari made her first foray in fashion design by collaborating with the company ShoeDazzle to design a spring shoe, with proceeds benefiting the charity. In 2012, Cavallari designed the first of many shoe lines for the company Chinese Laundry. She launched her first jewelry collection in 2013, in collaboration with GLAMboutique. In 2014, she co-founded a jewelry line with her friend Chelsea Bulte called Emerald Duv; she left the brand in 2016 to launch her solo line the following year. She founded her jewelry business, Uncommon James, in 2017, which later expanded into selling home and beauty products. She subsequently founded a children's clothing line, Little James, in 2019. In collaboration with Feat Clothing, she launched an athleisure collection in July 2021.


title: Kristin Cavallari

text: Cavallari wrote her first book, the lifestyle-oriented autobiography "Balancing in Heels", in 2016. She has also published two cookbooks, "True Roots" and "True Comfort", with recipes without gluten, dairy or refined sugar, in 2018 and 2020, respectively. Both cookbooks were created in collaboration with Chef Mike Kubiesa. All of her books were "New York Times" bestsellers, and her comfort food cookbook, "True Comfort", was named one of the best cookbooks of the year by "Delish".


title: Kristin Cavallari

text: In June 2013, Cavallari married Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler. They have three children. In March 2014, she drew criticism for refusing to vaccinate her children, a decision she and her husband made due to their concerns over the alleged claims of a connection between childhood vaccination and autism.


title: Kristin Cavallari

text: In June 2018, Cavallari and Cutler put their Nashville, Tennessee mansion up for sale for $7.9 million and sold the estate for $3.7 million in 2020. The couple purchased another mansion in Nashville for $4.2 million in April 2018. In April 2020, Cutler filed for divorce and agreed to share joint custody of the children with Cavallari. Following their divorce announcement, Cavallari purchased a $5.5 million estate in nearby Franklin for herself that same month. As of May 2021, the couple had not finalized their divorce due to financial disputes. In June 2022, it was reported that their settlement had been finalized and the couple was officially divorced.


title: Puducherry (union territory)

text: Puducherry (), also known as Pondicherry () or Pondichéry, is a union territory of India, consisting of four small geographically unconnected districts. It was formed out of four territories of former French India, namely Pondichéry (Pondicherry; now Puducherry), Karikal (Karaikal), Mahé and Yanaon (now Yanam), excluding Chandannagar (Chandernagore), and it is named after the largest district, Puducherry, which was also the capital of French India. Historically known as Pondicherry (), the territory changed its official name to Puducherry on 20 September 2006.


title: Puducherry (union territory)

text: The Union Territory of Puducherry lies in the southern part of the Indian Peninsula. The areas of Puducherry district and Karaikal district are bound by the state of Tamil Nadu, while Yanam district and Mahé district are enclosed by the states of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, respectively. Puducherry is the 29th most populous of the 36 states and union territories of India, and the third most densely populated union territory. It has a gross domestic product (GDP) of and ranks 25th in India.


title: Puducherry (union territory)

text: The earliest recorded history of the municipality of Puducherry can be traced to the second century CE. The "Periplus of the Erythraean Sea" mentions a marketplace named "Poduke" (ch 60). G. W. B. Huntingford suggested this might be a site about 2 miles from the modern Puducherry, which was possibly the location of Arikamedu (now part of Ariyankuppam). Huntingford noted that Roman pottery was found at Arikamedu in 1937. In addition, archaeological excavations between 1944 and 1949 showed that it was "a trading station to which goods of Roman manufacture were imported during the first half of the 1st century" Subsequent investigation by Vimala Begley from 1989 to 1992 modified this assessment, and now place the period of occupation from the third or second century BCE to the eighth century CE.


title: Puducherry (union territory)

text: In 1674, the municipality of Pondicherry (Pondichéry) became a French colony in the French colonial empire. Together with Chandernagor (already French since 1673), Mahé (since 1721), Yanam (Yanaon) (since 1723), Karaikal (Karikal) (since 1739) and Masulipatam (1760), it formed the colony of French India, under a single French governor in Pondicherry, although French rule over one or more of these enclaves was repeatedly interrupted by British occupations. The territories of French India were completely transferred to the Republic of India "de facto" on 1 November 1954, and "de jure" on 16 August 1962, when French India ceased to exist, becoming the present Indian union territory of Pondicherry, combining four coastal enclaves. The fifth, Chandannagar, merged with the state of West Bengal in 1954. Immediately after the "de facto" transfer, the area was renamed the State of Pondicherry by the “French Establishments (Change of Name) Order, 1954” issued by the Ministry of External Affairs of India. The State of Pondicherry continued to be under the direct control of Government of India under the aegis of the Ministry of External affairs until 31 August 1964. Meanwhile, with effect from 1 July 1963, the State of Pondicherry officially became the Union Territory of Pondicherry and after 31 August 1964 it came under the control of the Ministry of Home Affairs.


title: Puducherry (union territory)

text: Until 2016, the "de jure transfer day" (i.e. 16th of August) was a public holiday with no official celebrations taking place. In 2016, Lt. Governor of Puducherry, Kiran Bedi, made it a holiday as “De Jure Transfer Day.”


title: Puducherry (union territory)

text: Since 2010, "de facto transfer day" (i.e. 1st of November) has been celebrated as Liberation day throughout Puducherry. In 2014, Liberation day was declared as a public Holiday. This initiative was taken shortly after the NDA government came to power in 2014 and newly appointed Lt. Governor A. K. Singh issued a notification regarding that decision of the central government.


title: Puducherry (union territory)

text: The Union Territory of Puducherry consists of four small unconnected districts: Puducherry district (), Karaikal district () and Yanam district () on the Bay of Bengal and Mahé district () on the Laccadive Sea, covering a total area of . Puducherry and Karaikal have the largest areas and population, and are both enclaves of Tamil Nadu. Yanam and Mahé are enclaves of Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, respectively. Its population, as per the 2011 Census, is 1,3,94,467. Puducherry is the smallest union territory in terms of sea coastline with 30.6km length.


title: Puducherry (union territory)

text: Some of Puducherry's regions are themselves amalgamations of non-contiguous enclaves, often called "pockets" in India. The Puducherry region is made of 11 such pockets, some of which are very small and entirely surrounded by the territory of Tamil Nadu. Mahé region is made up of three pockets. This unusual geography is a legacy of the colonial period with Puducherry retaining the borders of former French India.


title: Puducherry (union territory)

text: All four regions of Puducherry are located in the coastal region. Five rivers in Puducherry district, seven in Karaikal district, two in Mahé district and one in Yanam district drain into the sea, but none originates within the territory.


title: Puducherry (union territory)

text: Hinduism is the major religion with 87.3% of the population adhering to it. Other religions include Christianity (6.29%) and Islam (6.05%).


title: Puducherry (union territory)

text: Puducherry is a union territory of India rather than a state, which implies that governance and administration fall directly under federal authority. However, Puducherry is one of the three union territories in India (the others being National Capital Territory of Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir) that is entitled by a special constitutional amendment to have an elected legislative assembly and a cabinet of ministers, thereby conveying partial statehood. There has been some interest by the territory's government in receiving full statehood, but budgetary issues remain a consideration. Also, Mahe and Yanam may oppose such a change of status.


title: Puducherry (union territory)

text: The central government is represented by the Lieutenant Governor, who resides at the Raj Nivas (Le Palais du Gouverneur) at the Park, the former palace of the French governor. The central government is more directly involved in the territory's financial well-being unlike states, which have a central grant that they administer. Consequently, Puducherry has at various times, enjoyed lower taxes, especially in the indirect category.


title: Puducherry (union territory)

text: According to the Treaty of Cession of 1956, the four territories of former French India territorial administration are permitted to make laws with respect to specific matters. In many cases, such legislation may require ratification from the federal government or the assent of the President of India.


title: Puducherry (union territory)

text: The most widely spoken first language is Tamil, which is native to % of the population. There are also speakers of Telugu (%), Malayalam (%) and Urdu (%). The official languages of Puducherry are French, Tamil, Telugu (in Yanam), Malayalam (in Mahe) and English. An official mention in Rajya Sabha Parliamentary debates during 2006 confirms that Puducherry have all these five languages as official.


title: Puducherry (union territory)

text: Even after the de facto transfer of the French Indian settlements in November 1954, French continued to remain as the official language according to Article XXVIII of the (Treaty of Cession) of 1956.


title: Puducherry (union territory)

text: The 1963 Pondicherry representative assembly resolution also voted for continuance of French as official language and addition of other languages spoken in Puducherry such as Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam along with English and Hindi.


title: Puducherry (union territory)

text: Considering the 1956 Treaty of cession and 1963 Assembly resolution, the 1963 Union Territories Act reconfirmed the 1963 resolution that French shall continue to be used as an official language unless the legislative assembly does not decide otherwise. The 1963 act allowed provision for inclusion of more official languages. Two years later, new official languages were recognised by The Pondicherry Official Language Act, 1965 which makes no mention of French (but also not officially denying it) implying the implicit continuation of its official language status. The same act stated that the Tamil language shall be the language to be used for all or any of the official purposes of the Union territory and the same official recognition is given for English. The same act also recognized officially Malayalam and Telugu in the Mahé and Yanam districts respectively.


title: Puducherry (union territory)

text: The widespread anti-Hindi agitations in mid-1960s in South India would have prompted for inclusion of all the languages suggested in the 1963 assembly resolution except Hindi in the list of official languages of Puducherry. While the Union Territory official gazette's name is in French (), it is published exclusively in English.


title: Puducherry (union territory)

text: The jurisdiction of the Madras High Court has been extended to Pondicherry with effect from 6 November 1962.


title: Puducherry (union territory)

text: The Chief Justice of the Madras High Court is the head of the judiciary of Puducherry. The present chief justice is Munishwar Nath Bhandari.


title: Puducherry (union territory)

text: The gross domestic product of Puducherry, at market prices estimated by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation with figures in millions of Indian rupees grew from 1,840 to 258,190 million rupees from 1980 to 2014.


title: Puducherry (union territory)

text: The potential for fisheries is substantial in the Union Territory. The four regions of the Union Territory have a coastline of 45 km with of inshore waters, of inland water and 800 ha of brackish water. 27 marine fishing villages and 23 inland fishing villages host a fishermen population of about 65,000 of which 13,000 are actively engaged in fishing. Tanks and ponds are also tapped for commercial fish rearing.


title: Puducherry (union territory)

text: Puducherry is one of the most popular tourist spots in India for national and international tourists. Puducherry was the residence of Sri Aurobindo (1872–1950) and the Sri Aurobindo Ashram still operates from Puducherry. A unique experimental city Auroville, the brainchild of the Mother, whose inhabitants are drawn from all parts of the world is situated on the outskirts of the city. There are several temples, churches, monuments, parks, and mosques which attract tourists.


title: Puducherry (union territory)

text: Puducherry is connected by a railway branch line from the five-way junction at Viluppuram and Chennai. The railway line is a broad gauge line with 16 originating trains and 17 terminating trains.


title: Puducherry (union territory)

text: Meanwhile Karaikal and Mahe also well connected by railway lines. Several railway lines are also under construction in Karaikal district. The nearest major railway station to Yanam is Kakinada (CCT) in Andhra Pradesh (33 KM).