The Waiting Game: The Untold Story of the Women Who Served the Tudor Queens

This story of Tudor ladies-in-waiting during the reign of Henry VIII of England is a tale needing to be told. Often viewed as nothing more than decorative objects surrounding Henry’s various queens, ladies-in-waiting were invisible at the same time as they undertook a very public and highly sought after role, one considered paramount in insuring that the unwritten social protocols of the English court would be followed. Their personal letters and their appearances in formal documents offer fascinating glimpses into the pressures and complexities of these women’s largely unseen lives. Readers of this book hear them voicing their concerns and their fears, but also their beliefs and their priorities. With clear prose and straightforward analysis, Clark (early modern history, Univ. of Chichester; Gender, Family, and Politics: The Howard Women, 1485–1558) explains the volatility of the times they lived in, which became ever more perilous the longer the king reigned. Throughout these increasing perils, the women sometimes remained loyal to their mistresses, sometimes spied upon them, and sometimes inadvertently or deliberately caused further upheaval.