There has been some sharp comment on the news that there is to be a Maid of Honour at April's Royal Wedding. Most notably a letter in The Times which pointed out that (in English cookery) a maid of honour is a little tart.
Miaow, miaow. Doors to manual.
We may not be very accustomed to having them at weddings, but if they were good enough for Queen Victoria they are good enough for me. They have long disappeared from court, but there is an ancient tradition of maids of honour - unmarried women, usually of noble birth, who attend upon a queen or princess.
