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 Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

. Harriet was the younger daughter of Sir Charles Beaumont Phipps, a courtier and confidant of the Queen, as

Keeper of the Privy Purse The Keeper of the Privy Purse and Treasurer to the King/Queen (or Financial Secretary to the King/Queen) is responsible for the financial management of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The officeholder is assisted by th ...

. Harriet was appointed

Maid of Honour A maid of honour is a junior attendant of a queen in royal households. The position was and is junior to the lady-in-waiting. The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts. Role Traditionally, a queen ...

in Ordinary to the Queen on 3 March 1862 (giving her the courtesy rank of a baron's daughter), and later served as a

Woman of the Bedchamber In the Royal Household of the United Kingdom the term Woman of the Bedchamber is used to describe a woman (usually a daughter of a peer) attending either a queen regnant or queen consort, in the role of lady-in-waiting. Historically the term 'Ge ...

from 1889 until Victoria's death. She was decorated with the

Royal Order of Victoria and Albert The Royal Order of Victoria and Albert is a British Royal Family Order instituted on 10 February 1862 by Queen Victoria, and enlarged on 10 October 1864, 15 November 1865, and 15 March 1880. No award has been made since the death of Queen V ...

, 4th class. 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. Marie Mallet, a fellow lady of the bedchamber, found Phipps, as a messenger of instructions from Victoria, somewhat awe-inspiring, but "gay and excellent company and always warm-hearted". Her 1889 portrait, by

John Lavery Sir John Lavery (20 March 1856 – 10 January 1941) was a Northern Irish painter best known for his portraits and wartime depictions. Life and career John Lavery was born in inner North Belfast, baptised at St Patrick's Church, Belfast an ...

, is now in the collection of the

Glasgow Museums Glasgow Museums is the group of museums and galleries owned by the City of Glasgow, Scotland. They hold about 1.6 million objects including over 60,000 art works, over 200,000 items in the human history collections, over 21,000 items relating to ...

. Phipps was portrayed by

Fenella Woolgar Fenella Justine Therese Woolgar (born 4 August 1969) is an English film, theatre, television and radio actress. She is known for her roles in the films ''Bright Young Things'' (2003) and '' Judy'' (2019). She is also well known for appearing i ...

in the 2017 film '' Victoria & Abdul''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phipps, Harriet 1841 births 1922 deaths Ladies of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert British maids of honour Harriet 19th-century English people 19th-century English women 20th-century English people 20th-century English women Court of Queen Victoria