Ladies-in-waiting,maids-of-honor,maids of Empress Alexandra F.

[Helen]

As regards Margarethe von Fabrice, the Empress' lady till 14/26 November 1894:
In her book "Kings and Queens I Have Known", pp. 156-163, Hélène Vacaresco (Elena Văcărescu) has given a most charming description of her first meeting with the Princess Henry of Prussia and an anonymous lady in Wiesbaden . Hélène Vacaresco first thought the anonymous lady was Princess Irene's dame d'honneur, but it appeared she actually was the "constant companion of Princess Alice of Hesse". This anonymous lady must have been Margarethe von Fabrice. Hélène Vacaresco lets her sing Princess Alix's praises, before describing her chance encounter with Princess Alix at Wiesbaden railway station.

The excerpt is too long to quote here, but the whole book can be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/details/kingsqueensihave00vaca.

Hélène Vacaresco didn't specify the year when these meetings took place, but I think it may have been November 1889: it seems the same meeting at the railway station is described on pp. 55-56 of "The Memoirs of Emily Loch" by Judith Poore.

[Terence]

As regards Margarethe von Fabrice, the Empress' lady till 14/26 November 1894:
In her book "Kings and Queens I Have Known", pp. 156-163, Hélène Vacaresco (Elena Văcărescu) has given a most charming description of her first meeting with the Princess Henry of Prussia and an anonymous lady in Wiesbaden . Hélène Vacaresco first thought the anonymous lady was Princess Irene's dame d'honneur, but it appeared she actually was the "constant companion of Princess Alice of Hesse". This anonymous lady must have been Margarethe von Fabrice. Hélène Vacaresco lets her sing Princess Alix's praises, before describing her chance encounter with Princess Alix at Wiesbaden railway station.

The excerpt is too long to quote here, but the whole book can be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/details/kingsqueensihave00vaca.

Hélène Vacaresco didn't specify the year when these meetings took place, but I think it may have been November 1889: it seems the same meeting at the railway station is described on pp. 55-56 of "The Memoirs of Emily Loch" by Judith Poore.

Thanks for the link.  Do you happen to know what page she describes her encounter w/ Alix?

T

[Helen]

Her encounter with Alix is described at the end of the pages I referred to: pp. 156-163. 

[Clemence]

was there any special item the ladies in waiting had to wear while on duty (a brooch or something)? where they paid, did they have a salary? where they free to go abroad, to marry, to quit?

[Sanochka]

was there any special item the ladies in waiting had to wear while on duty (a brooch or something)? where they paid, did they have a salary? where they free to go abroad, to marry, to quit?

I've read about the differences between maids-of-honor and ladies-in-waiting of Alexandra - and all such reading does is leave my head reeling.  One detail I do remember and it is that both maids and ladies were each given a diamond-studded cypher of the empress's monogram, which was worn on the left shoulder suspended from the ribbon of the Order of Saint Andrew on ceremonial occasions.  If I can remember correctly, maids wore a relatively simple brooch, while ladies wore more complicated pieces complete with the empress's portrait (dames a portrait?).  Below is such a brooch presented to maid of honor Countess Olga Alexandrovna Nieroth in 1904.



This brooch was made by court jeweler Karl Hahn.  An invoice for it - in the amount of 700 rubles -  was tendered to His Majesty's Imperial Cabinet on January 9, 1904.  The brooch was presented to the countess on October 2 of that year.  BTW, this cypher just sold at Christie's, on April 16 of this year, for $158,500.

[Antonina]

Maria Gustavna Tutelberg ("Tutel"), camer-youngfrau. 1916.