Chief Court Mistress

Court Mistress (Danish: hofmesterinde; Dutch: hofmeesteres; German: Hofmeisterin; Norwegian: hoffmesterinne; Swedish: hovmästarinna) or Chief Court Mistress (Danish: overhofmesterinde; Dutch: grootmeesteres, lit.

'grand mistress'; German: Obersthofmeisterin; Norwegian: overhoffmesterinne; Swedish: överhovmästarinna; Russian: обер-гофмейстерина, romanized: ober-gofmeysterina) is or was the title of the senior lady-in-waiting in the courts of Austria, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, Imperial Russia, and the German princely and royal courts.

[1] Whenever absent, she was replaced by the Fräuleinhofmeisterin, normally in charge of the unmarried female courtiers, their conduct and service.

[3] The Princess Anne of Denmark married James VI of Scotland in 1589, and Fru Ide Ulfstand was appointed hofmesterinde to her new household.

[14] The principal female office holder in the royal court of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the 19th century was named Grootmeesteres ('Grand Mistress').

In Sweden, the Chief Court Mistress is the second highest-ranking official of the royal household, preceded only by the Marshal of the Realm.