num_pages: 203
description: These diaries of a Victorian and Edwardian Lady in Waiting disclose a uniquely feminine and intimate view of the reigns of two Queens, as seen from the Royal Bedchamber as well as the formal Rooms of State. Presented here in one magnificently produced volume with all the immediacy and sensitivity that Elizabeth Longford brought to her bestselling biographies of Byron, Wellington and Queen Victoria, they provide us with an irresistible insight into a world of pomp and splendor that has almost passed from living memory.A great many admirable qualities were required of a Lady in Waiting to Queen Victoria. She must be an excellent companion — sympathetic in private yet profoundly discreet in public — a handsome vision on State occasions, a gracious hostess to visitors at Windsor, a writer of innumerable notes and memoranda on behalf of the Queen who poor vision made their legibility no insignificant issue, a reasonably accomplished and willing musician and watchdog of Maids of Honour lest they go out walking alone with gentlemen. She must also be fit enough to stand — often for interminable hours — in the royal presence and to trot at four miles per hour through hilly Scottish landscapes alongside the Queen's pony carriage. Further, she must be willing to be separated from her family for a good portion of the year, which in Louisa's case meant inviting the displeasure of her ferociously temperamental husband, the Earl of Antrim — otherwise known as the Buzzard.Louisa, Countess of Antrim, who spent nearly twenty years in the service of two Queens and their families, possessed these qualities in abundance. She was also — to the great benefit of a future generation — an avid and delightful recorder of those fascinating years. The recent discovery of her diaries and albums has brought forth this arresting account of the reigns of Queen Victoria and Queen Alexandra. Each day Louisa wrote in her diary; each month she assembled notes, invitations, signed menus, programmes, photographs and cuttings from newspapers and journals. The result is a wealth of exquisite ephemera and a torrent of correspondence which, in the expert hands of Elizabeth Longford, are shaped into a vivid and intriguing new portrait of these royal households.
language: English
title: Louisa, lady in waiting: The personal diaries and albums of Louisa, lady in waiting to Queen Victoria and Queen Alexandra
titlecomplete: Louisa, lady in waiting: The personal diaries and albums of Louisa, lady in waiting to Queen Victoria and Queen Alexandra
genres: Biography, British Literature, Memoir, Nonfiction, History, Victorian
ratings_count: 16
publisher: Mayflower Books