Queen Camilla trades ladies-in-waiting for informal companionship

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King consort Camilla

Photo: POOL / REUTERS

Britain's Queen Consort Camilla has appointed a number of more informal attendants in place of ladies-in-waiting.

In doing so, she breaks with a centuries-old royal tradition.

The six "Queen's Companions" are longtime confidants of the 75-year-old.

According to Buckingham Palace, these include interior designer Marchioness of Lansdowne and Carlyn Chisholm, who sits in the British House of Lords.

The women are supposed to take turns accompanying Camilla to public appointments, but unlike ladies-in-waiting, they don't have to worry about her correspondence or scheduling.

According to the BBC, they do not receive a salary but are reimbursed for expenses.

Additionally, Camilla has hired Ollie Plunket as her new full-time personal assistant.

Symbolic change of direction

According to the BBC, the era of "ladies-in-waiting" ends a tradition that dates back to the Middle Ages.

The court ladies themselves often came from aristocratic families.

However, the former ladies-in-waiting of Queen Elizabeth II may continue to work for the palace: as "Ladies of the Household" they become King Charles III.

assist on formal occasions at Buckingham Palace.

The symbolic change of direction is to be put into practice in the coming week, so the companions will support Camilla at a reception against domestic violence.

The Office for National Statistics released new statistics on domestic violence on Friday.

According to this, 2.4 million adults in England and Wales were victims of domestic violence last year, most of them women.

lal/dpa