The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1912-12-19

lCopyriEht, Isa7 By Court Gossip syndicatel
The Queen of England has decided to
dispense in future with the attendance
OF her maids of honor, save on state o.
caslons, such as court and state balls al
Buckinham Palace When this Is done,
an extremely interesting link with the
past will be severed. Maids of honor, can
be traced back In the history Of the
British court to Bereigaria OF Navarro,
the neglected wife of Richard OF the
Lion Heart, though it was not until the
reign Of Elizabeth that they assumed that
important position which they continued
to occupy to the death Of the late Queen
Victoria.
When King Edward VII came to the
throne the duties OF the maid OF honor
became much lighter. and the present
Queen has found so little use for these
young ladies' that, when the Hon. Sybll
Brodrick, daughter of Viscount Middle
ton, married In the early part of the
current year. her majesty did not NIL the
vacancy.
In the reign of George I the duties of
maid of honor were thus quantity de-
scribed: ITO eat westphalia ham in the
morning, ride over hedges and bitches
on borrowed hacks, come home in the
heat Of the day in a fever, and (what is
worse a hundred times) with a red mark
on the forehead from an uneasy hat;
they must shipper an hour and catch cold
in the princess apartments. thence to
dinner, and after that till midnight walk,
talk, or think as they please"
It is scarcely necessary to say that at
the1 2resent day these duties have been
considerably altered. The Queens three
maids Of honor are the Hon. Venetia
BARN. the Hon. Katherine Villiers, and
the Hon. Mabel eye. Each in turn at
tends her majesty for a fortnight and
is then replaced. Though her duties are
light in the extreme there are certain
stringent rules and regulations laid down
with which she must comply. For in
stance. when the court is in London she
must arrive at buckingham Palace not
later than 10 o'clock in the morning,
wearing a simple gown of black. Her
hair must be very plainly dressed, and
any jewelry that she wears must be in
expensive and unobtrusive. The Queen is
insistent on these points, and one Of her
former maids of honor received a severe
reprimand from her for assuming a hat
OF vivid scarlet, when ordered to go
driving with her.
The first duty Of the maid of honor in
attendance is to present herself to the
Queen and ascertain her wishes for the
day. Possibly the Queen will have some
commissions she desires executed in the
West End, and the young lady receives
the necessary instructions from the bed
chamber woman commonly known as
the lady in waiting). Such money she
may require TO make purchases is hand
cd to her by Mr.. E. w. Wellington. the
Queens private secretary.
The Queen runs few accounts. She
prefers TO pay cash for all she purchases.
OF an afternoon the only duties that a
maid OF honor is often called upon to
undertake is to accompany her majesty
for a drive in the park and to pour out
afternoon tea on their return to the
palace. Afterward she may have to
write one or two letters Of a semi
private character for the Queen, and is
then released for the day, unless there
is some state or semi-state function fixed
for the evening at which her presence is
deemed necessary.
Lately Queen Mary has made use of the
services Of her maids OF honor TO ac-
company Princess Mary to afternoon tea
parties, or other functions given in her
honor. while in the event of the young
princess being permitted 10 invite a few
friends Of her own age to tea at Bucking-