The maid of honor - is the privileges and duties

Many girls dreamed of living at court and serving the empress. But the maid of honor is not only a life of luxury and endless privileges, but also hard work.

What did the maid of honor

The women who formed the environment of the empress had their ranks. The youngest is a maid of honor. They were young unmarried noblewomen. Under Nicholas I a rule was introduced, according to which the Empress had 36 maids of honor. They not only carried out the assignments of the wife of the ruler, but also of his daughters. Of the 36 girls, those who were called "pigs" were chosen. They lived at court constantly. The rest were obliged to appear only for the time of celebrations, receptions, balls, etc.

Sweet maid of honor - a well-educated girl, who was supposed to spend with the Empress or her daughters all day and perform any requests. They went with their mistress for walks and carried out visits with her. In addition, they were engaged in needlework or read. The maid of honor had to not only know the court etiquette, but also be aware of the latest news of the court. For example, in time to inform the empress about who and when should be congratulated on his birthday or name-day. Often the maid of honor wrote invitations, congratulations or answers to letters to the dictation of her mistress. When there were guests at the court, the maid of honor of the queen or the empress had to ensure that no one was bored and entertained by conversation. Educated in various fields, young ladies became an adornment of society and its reflection.

Since to be ready to execute orders at any time during the day and at the same time to maintain a good disposition of the spirit was not easy, the ladies-in-waiting had their own schedule. They were on duty for a week, and then rested and helped the duty officers to cope with those things that they did not have time to do. Each of the maid of honor received a good salary, most of which had to be spent on outfits. Since she was with the ruler or her daughters day and night, it was necessary to look. For every important occasion, dresses and ornaments were purchased. However, you did not have to spend money on living and living. Each maid of honor received accommodation and ate from the tsar's kitchen.

The Empress was attentive to her subordinates, although she did not have the opportunity to have close friends among them. In case of illness, the maid of honor received proper care and could rest exactly as long as she needed to recover. In addition, the treatment was paid by the empress.

The ladies were not forbidden to marry. Since they were at court, they could hope for the best parties and a beautiful dowry. Quite often the Empresses were guests at the wedding of their pupils. However, the maid of honor is an unmarried girl. Because in most cases, those who decided to get married, had to leave their job.

The duties of the maid-of-honor and ladies-of-ladys

Some of the maids of honor have not married, staying close to their mistresses. Long service and excellent performance of their duties ensured advancement. They became chamber-maid of honor. Their staff was small: only 5-6 people.

The ladies of state were the wives of influential officials and people close to the emperor. Chamber-maids of honor and ladies-of-ladies did not perform any duties at court and were only decoration of holidays and important events. However, both of them very often neglected their duties with impunity.

How to become a maid of honor

In order to obtain such a position at court, it was necessary to have a good education. The pretenders knew etiquette at court and were able to behave in the presence of the emperor and his family. Of course, each of them was able to dance and move gracefully. But not only this girl was trained. The maid of honor had to maintain conversations on a wide variety of topics, therefore it was necessary to obtain knowledge in the field of history, literature, art, theology and many others.

But the maid of honor of the court could not only be the daughter of a glorified aristocratic family. I could take a girl and the girl from the family easier. But only on condition that her parents had enough money to give education. The young pretender was to finish the Institute of Noble Maidens. As a rule, Smolny. If the final exams were duly delivered, the institute girl got the opportunity to become a maid of honor. Of the candidates, few were chosen. And they received ciphers. This meant that now they can start their duties.

Leaving the service

Service at the court was not a duty for life. The maid of honor is someone who always attended the empress or her daughters. Because she could get a chance to marry successfully and leave the service. But sometimes the lady-in-waiting was forced to marry against her desire. This happened when a young beauty fell in love with the crown prince, or even the emperor himself. Of course, the future ruler could not marry a maid of honor from his maternal or sibling's retinue. And so, in order to break off this connection, the Empress hastily chose a decent party for the subordinate and sent the beautiful woman from the court.

But the service could be left at will. However, very few people decided on such a step. As a rule, this happened only for health reasons.

The maid of honor is the person closest to the ruler, her servant and keeper of many secrets. However, such a life was not simple and sometimes brought only misfortunes.