bedchamber

& a. 1. As substantive : A chamber containing a bed or beds. "For when they came into the house, he lay on his bed in his bedchamber ,..."-2 Sam . iv. 7. *(a) Grooms of the Bedchamber: Certain functionaries in the Lord Chamberlain's department of the Royal Household. These are now called Grooms in Waiting. Besides them there are five "Extra Grooms in Waiting." [GROOM.] (b) Ladies of the Bedchamber: Certain ladies who render service, under the Mistre of the Robes, to her Majesty the Queen. There are eight "Ladies of the Bedchamber," all titled, two of them being duche es, one a marchio 486 ne , and one a counte ; six "Extra Ladies of the Bedchamber," four counte es and two viscounte es; eight "Bedchamber Women," one a viscounte , and even the humblest with "Honourable" prefixed to their names; and, finally, three Extra Bedchamber Women, one designated "Lady" and the other "Honourable. These are not to be confounded with the Maids of Honour, of whom there are at present eight, all with the official title "Hon." before their names. Similarly, in the Prince of Wales's household there are four Ladies of the Bedchamber, four Bedchamber Women, and two Extra Bedchamber Women; in that of Prince Christian two Honorary Bedchamber Women; and in that of the Prince Louise (Marchione of Lorne) one Lady of the Bedchamber. +(c) Lords of the Bedchamber: Certain officers belonging to the Royal Household, under the Groom of the Stole, or, as he is now designated, the Groom of the Robes. They are now generally called Lords in Waiting. They are eight in number, all members of the nobility. They wait in turn. They are not the same as Grooms of the Bedchamber. [See A., (a) above.] to frequent the Court, and to discharge the duties of a Lord of the Bedchamber."-Macaulay: Hist. Eng., ch. xv. 2. As adjective: Pertaining to a bedchamber, attached to a bedchamber, or performing service in one, as "a bedchamber woman."