Does Queen Camilla have Ladies-in-Waiting, what do they do and does Kate Middleton have them?

Does Queen Camilla have Ladies-in-Waiting? A question you might find yourself wondering, as this role has been associated with royalty for centuries.

We don’t often get to see the teams who support members of the Royal Family but that doesn’t mean they’re not heavily involved in everything from organising their schedules to arranging transportation. Many positions within the Royal Household have been around for many years and one of the most historic roles is a Lady-in-Waiting. The late Queen Elizabeth had several Ladies-in-Waiting throughout her reign, though fans might not instantly have recognised them.

Now Queen Camilla has established her own way of doing things and you might have been asking yourself who is there to support her, as well as if Queen Camilla will succeed King Charles one day. We have all the details about whether Queen Camilla has Ladies-in-Waiting, what they do and if Kate has any too.

Does Queen Camilla have Ladies-in-Waiting and what do they do? 

Queen Camilla technically doesn’t have Ladies-in-Waiting, but she does have six Queen’s Companions which fulfil a similar, but slightly different, role. She ended the tradition of having official Ladies-in-Waiting when she became Queen Consort and took a more contemporary approach. One of the main differences, as per the BBC, is that the Queen’s Companions aren’t required to be in attendance as regularly as they would if they were Ladies-in-Waiting. 

They are also not involved in any correspondence or administration but do support Queen Camilla at public events and engagements. Queen Camilla’s decision to dispense with the centuries-old tradition of having Ladies-in-Waiting has made the Queen’s Companion position more informal. They don’t receive a salary for their honorary positions, however it’s understood that their expenses are covered.

The late Queen Elizabeth reportedly had at least five Ladies-in-Waiting and according to the BBC, they have since gone on to become known as “Ladies of the Household”. They now reportedly help King Charles host events at Buckingham Palace.

Who are Queen Camilla’s Queen’s Companions? 

Perhaps the most recognisable of the Queen’s Companions is Queen Camilla’s sister Annabel Elliot. She was also one of two Ladies in Attendance for Her Majesty at the coronation in 2023 and the sisters are understood to be incredibly close. Annabel Elliot accompanied Queen Camilla to the Celebration of Shakespeare event at Grosvenor House on 14th February and even complemented the Queen’s emerald green velvet dress with a dark green velvet trouser suit. 

Fans who’ve rarely seen Annabel before might not have spotted her, but it’s likely she was there with Queen Camilla in her role as Queen’s Companion as well as her sister. The other Queen’s Companions are personal friends of Queen Camilla, including Lady Lansdowne, also known as Fiona, Marchioness of Lansdowne. Lady Lansdowne was the second Lady in Attendance at the coronation alongside Annabel.

Jane von Westenholz, Lady Katharine Brooke, Sarah Troughton, Lady Sarah Keswick and Baroness Chisholm are the other Queen’s Companions. Lady Katharine is the daughter of Lady Susan Hussey who is Prince William’s godmother and one of the late Queen Elizabeth’s Ladies-in-Waiting. Sarah is a friend and the wife of former Arsenal Chairman, Sir Chips Keswick.

Baroness Chisolm is a member of the House of Lords and before she became a Queen’s Companion she sat in the House as a Conservative Peer. Jane and her husband Piers are friends of both Queen Camilla and King Charles and some reports have alleged that it was their daughter Violet who helped to introduce Prince Harry and Meghan. 

Does the Princess of Wales have Ladies-in-Waiting? 

It’s understood that Kate doesn’t have Ladies-in-Waiting as Princess of Wales and the Daily Mail previously reported that she made this choice when she married Prince William. A source claimed to the publication ahead of the couple’s tour of California and Canada in 2011 that, “She said she doesn’t want a lady-in-waiting”. They alleged that this “may change but she’ll see how she copes on this tour”. 

Since then several of the Princess of Wales’s private secretaries over the years have been described by some as occupying the Lady-in-Waiting role. This includes Rebecca Deacon who left as Kate’s private secretary in 2017 and Catherine Quinn who succeeded her in the role.

Being a royal’s private secretary is hugely prestigious, however it isn’t exactly the same as a traditional Lady-in-Waiting role. The position does involve accompanying Kate on engagements, though, which is something the late Queen Elizabeth’s Ladies-in-Waiting did. When she becomes Queen Consort in the future it’s likely that Kate will appoint several trusted confidantes to a similar role to a Lady-in-Waiting.

The Princess of Wales is already known for taking quite a modern approach to royal life and so she might end up following in Queen Camilla’s footsteps and having Queen’s Companions instead of Ladies-in-Waiting. If she does then there are several people who we might expect to receive this prestigious honour, including her sister Pippa Middleton. If you've been wondering if Pippa Middleton will get a title, this role is probably the more likely option.

The Princess of Wales and Pippa have a very close relationship and it would certainly make sense if Pippa becomes a Queen’s Companion one day. Kate’s close friends Lady Laura Meade, Emilia Jardine-Paterson, Sophie Snuggs and Natasha Archer could also potentially be granted some kind of similar role one day.