Lady-in-Waiting to Queen Mary

Manawatu Times, Volume 61, Issue 280, 26 November 1936, Page 11

Lady-in-Waiting to Queen Mary

LADY CYNTHIA COLVILLE VISITING THE DOMINION On a six weeks’ holiday visit to New Zealand, Lady Cynthia Colville, Lady-in-waiting to her Majesty Queen Mary, arrived at Auckland by the Aorangi, states the Herald. She was accompanied by her husband, the Hon. George Colville, and her sister-in-law, the Hon.

Mrs. Britten. They are on a tour of the world. Lady Cynthia is Senior Woman of the Bed Chamber and has held- that appointment for the past 13

years, being in many ways in intimate contact with her Majesty, whom she described as possessing the most amazing energy and an extraordinary memory, not only for happenings and occasions of importance but also for small details. She had always displayed a great interest in women and in the work and welfare of women. She possessed a great capacity for work, read widely and was extremely well-in-formed.

Following the death of the late King, Queen Mary received 40,000 letters of condolence, all of which had to be answered and although the ladies-in-waiting, as her secretaries, dealt with all official correspondence, her Majesty did a great deal of work herself. Lady Cynthia also spoke of Queen Mary’s boundless consideration for those about her. She allowed them special privileges and always treated them with extreme kindness. All members of the Royal Family and, in fact, all who came in contact with her were very fond of the Queen. Lady Cynthia was first appointed Senior Woman of the Bed Chamber in 1923. A number of the traditional positions in the Royal Household, however, had now been abolished. The Duchess of York was the immediate associate of the Queen and under her, in various details of the Queen’s social and public life, were two Ladies of the Bed Chamber who accompanied the Queen as her hostesses when she entertained guests. Under them again were the Women of the Bed Chamber, three in numbor, who attended to her Majesty’s correspondence and other duties in connection with the Household. The threo Women of the Bed Chamber, said Lady Cynthia, had the closest association with her Majesty, each of them living with her in the Palace for four months of the year. Interest in Public Life. , Lady Cynthia holds also many important positions in public life. She is greatly interested in child welfare and is a co-opted member of the Shoreditch Borough Council Maternity and Child Welfare Committee. She is also president of the Women Public Health Officers’ Association, and has been a Justice of the Peace of the County of London since 1929. She is, in addition, a member of the Central Committeo on Women’s Training and Employment, and is on the executives of several public bodies. She is also a council member of the Royal College of Music, and takes an active interest in Townswomen’s Guilds.