Princess ‘inherits’ Queen’s ladies in waiting

THE Princess Royal has ‘inherited’ two of her mother’s ladies in waiting, employing Elizabeth II’S loyal companions in her own office.

The Princess has announced that Lady Elizabeth Leeming and Mrs Simon Rhodes have been appointed as extra ladies in waiting.

They are two of the five women who made up the late Queen’s inner circle, on duty to the last at her funeral in September 2022.

The three others – Lady Susan Hussey, Dame Mary Morrison and Dame Annabel Whitehead – were absorbed immediately into the new regime of the King and Queen, made “ladies of the household”.

The new Queen dispensed with ladies in waiting, introducing the newly-described role of Queen’s Companions made up of her closest friends.

Lady Elizabeth and Mrs Rhodes have taken on duties with Princess Anne, who retains a household of up to 11 ladies in waiting for administrative duties. They can accompany her on engagements, of which there were 427 last year, and assist in running her tight-knit team.

The working household of the Princess functions differently to her late mother’s, with her ladies in waiting not expected to provide companionship or personal care. Instead, they are spread across the UK and divide the Princess’s schedule of engagements into regions so that one can accompany her when needed. They were known in their previous role as “the head girls”.

Lady Elizabeth is a member of the Bowes-lyon family, the daughter of the 17th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and a distant cousin of the Princess.

Susan Rhodes is married to Simon Rhodes, who is the son of the late Margaret Rhodes, Queen Elizabeth II’S cousin and lifelong companion.

The veteran aides will be joined by Dolly Maude, a midwife and one of Zara Tindall’s closest friends who was revealed by The Telegraph last month to be joining Princess Anne’s team.