<P> Within certain traditional states of the Bini and Yoruba peoples in Nigeria, the queen mothers and high priestesses were considered "ritually male" due to their social eminence . Due to this fact, they were often attended on by women who belonged to their harems in much the same way as their actually male counterparts were served by women who belonged to theirs . Although these women effectively functioned as ladies - in - waiting, were often members of powerful families of the local nobility in their own right, and were not usually used for sexual purposes, they were none - the-less referred to as their principals' wives . </P> <P> In the late Middle Ages, when the court of the emperor no longer moved around constantly, the household of the empress, as well as the equivalent household of the German princely consorts, started to develop a less fluid and more strict organisation with set court offices . </P> <P> The court model of the Duchy of Burgundy, as well as the Spanish court model, came to influence the organisation of the Austrian imperial court during the 16th - century, when the Burgundian Netherlands, Spain and Austria was united through the Habsburg dynasty . In the early and mid 16th - century, the female courtiers kept by female Habsburgs in the Netherlands and Austria was composed of one hofmesterees (' Court mistress') or dame d'honneur who served as the principal lady in waiting; one hofdame or Mere de filles, who was second in rank and deputy of the hofmesterees as well as being in charge of the eredames (maid of honour), also known as demoiselle d'honneur, fille d'honneur or Junckfrauen depending on language, and finally the chamber maids, kamenisters . During the tenure of Maria of Austria, Holy Roman Empress in the mid 16th - century, however, the court of the empress was organised in accordance with the Spanish court model, and after she left Austria, there was no further household of an empress until the 1610s . This resulted in a mix of Burgundian and Spanish customs when the Austrian court model was created . </P> <P> In 1619, a set organisation was finally established for the Austrian Imperial court which came to be the characteristic organisation of the Austrian - Habsburg court roughly kept from this point onward . The first rank of the female courtiers was the Obersthofmeisterin (Mistress of the Robes), who was second in rank after the empress herself, and responsible for all the female courtiers . Second rank belonged to the ayas, essentially governesses of the imperial children and heads of the children's court . Third in rank was the Fräuleinhofmeisterin: she was the replacement of the Obersthofmeisterin when necessary, but otherwise had the responsibility of the unmarried female courtiers, their conduct and service . The rest of the female noble courtiers consisted of the Hoffräulein (maid of honour), unmarried females from the nobility who normally served temporarily until marriage . The Hoffräulein could sometimes be promoted to Kammerfräulein (Maid of honor of the Chamber). The Austrian court model was the role model for the princely courts in Germany . The German court model in turn became the role model of the early modern Scandinavian courts of Denmark and Sweden . </P>

What do the queens ladies in waiting do