Première femme de Chambre ('First Chamber Maid') was an office at the royal court of France. The Première femme de Chambre was in charge of the preparing of clothes, cosmetics and other things in the queen's wardrobe for the dressing and undressing ceremony, and supervised the femmes de chambre ('Chamber Maids'), who often reached a number of 16 per annum. The dressing and undressing of the queen was in turn supervised by the dame d'atour. A Première femme de Chambre was not formally ranked as a lady-in-waiting but rather belonged to the chamber staff and as such (as formally a servant and lady's maid rather than a lady-in-waiting) did not need to be a member of the nobility.