Harriet Phipps
The Honourable Harriet Lepel Phipps | |
|---|---|
 Harriet Lepel Phipps photography by Camille Silvy | |
| Born | 22 January 1841 |
| Died | 7 March 1922 |
| Occupation | courtier |
| Father | Charles Beaumont Phipps |
| Awards | Royal Order of Victoria and Albert |
The Hon. Harriet Lepel Phipps, VA (22 January 1841– 7 March 1922) was an English courtier who served as a confidential attendant of Queen Victoria.
Family
Phipps was born in 1841.[1] She was the youngest daughter of Sir Charles Beaumont Phipps, a courtier, confidant of the Queen, and Keeper of the Privy Purse.[2]
Career
Phipps was appointed Maid of Honour in Ordinary to the Queen on 3 March 1862 (giving her the courtesy rank of a baron's daughter),[3] and later served as a Woman of the Bedchamber from 1889[1] until Victoria's death. She often accompanied the queen during visits, including the April 1900 visit to Ireland.[4]
Phipps was used by the Queen to carry out confidential errands, and had access to many secrets, which she faithfully kept. Her papers were destroyed upon her death.[5] She was decorated with the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert, 4th class.
Marie Mallet, a fellow lady of the bedchamber, found Phipps as a messenger of instructions from Victoria "the embodiment of early Victorian traditions, discreet almost to a fault, full of little mysteries,"[1] but also described her as "gay and excellent company and always warm-hearted".[6]
Her 1889 portrait, by John Lavery, is now in the collection of the Glasgow Museums.[7]
Cultural depictions
Phipps was portrayed by Fenella Woolgar in the 2017 film Victoria & Abdul.[8]
References
- ^ a b c King, Greg (4 June 2007). Twilight of Splendor: The Court of Queen Victoria During Her Diamond Jubilee Year. John Wiley & Sons. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-470-04439-1.
- ^ Reynolds, K.D. (2004). "Phipps, Sir Charles Beaumont (1801–1866)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 31 May 2007.
- ^ "No. 22604". The London Gazette. 4 March 1862. p. 1248.
- ^ "The Queen′s visit to Ireland". The Times. No. 36104. London. 31 March 1900. p. 12.
- ^ Reynolds, K. D. (1998). Aristocratic Women and Political Society in Victorian Britain. Clarendon Press. p. 212. ISBN 978-0-19-820727-6.
- ^ Mallet, Marie (1968). Life with Queen Victoria: Marie Mallet's Letters from Court 1887-1901. p. 2.
- ^ The Honourable Harriet Lepel Phipps (1841–1922) sketch by John Lavery ArtUK.
- ^ "Judi Dench delivers another royal performance in 'Victoria & Abdul'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 6 October 2017. Retrieved 5 November 2018.