Editing Lady-in-waiting (section)

{{short description|Female personal assistant to a high-ranking noblewoman or royal}}
{{About||the album|Lady in Waiting (album){{!}}''Lady in Waiting'' (album)|the novel|Lady in Waiting (novel){{!}}''Lady in Waiting'' (novel)|British peers who hold office in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom|Lord-in-waiting}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2015}}
{{Page numbers needed|date=May 2023}}
[[File:Princess Tatiana Alexandrovna Yusupova, 1858.jpg|thumb|[[Princess Tatiana Alexandrovna Yusupova]], a lady-in-waiting of the Imperial Court of Russia]]

A '''lady-in-waiting''' (alternatively written '''lady in waiting''') or '''court lady''' is a female [[personal assistant]] at a [[Royal court|court]], attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking [[nobility|noblewoman]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Lady-in-waiting {{!}} Definition, History, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/lady-in-waiting |access-date=2024-06-25 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom she attended. Although she may either have received a [[Retainer agreement|retainer]] or may not have received compensation for the service she rendered, a lady-in-waiting was considered more of a [[personal assistant|secretary]], [[courtier]], or [[Lady's companion|companion]] to her [[Mistress (form of address)|mistress]] than a [[domestic worker|servant]].

In some other parts of the world, the lady-in-waiting, often referred to as ''palace woman'', was in practice a servant or a slave rather than a high-ranking woman, but still had about the same tasks, functioning as companion and secretary to her mistress. In courts where [[polygamy]] was practiced, a court lady might have been formally available to the monarch for sexual services, and she could become his [[wife]], [[Queen consort|consort]], [[courtesan]], or [[Concubinage|concubine]].

''Lady-in-waiting'' or ''court lady'' is often a generic term for women whose relative rank, title, and official functions varied, although such distinctions were also often honorary. A royal woman may or may not be free to select her ladies, and, even when she has such freedom, her choices are usually heavily influenced by the sovereign, her parents, her husband, or the sovereign's ministers (for example, in the [[Bedchamber crisis]]).