propaganda written and spread by male officials and Confucian authors, higher-class female officials also saw their power begin to weaken throughout the Ming dynasty. These prominent government men began to disparage having educated women in government and state roles in response to the influence Imperial women had held over the nation in the past. This prompted a gradual overtaking of female official roles by palace eunuchs that continued throughout the remainder of the Dynasty. Qing The system of palace women continued mostly unchanged during the Qing dynasty (1644–1912), when a class of imperial women acting as consorts or concubines, who had not previously held other roles, existed. However, female court attendants were also all available for promotion to concubinage or the position of consort by the Emperor. During the Qing dynasty, imperial women were selected from among the teenage daughters of the Manchu official banner families, who were drafted to an inspection before they could marry. Similarly, palace maids were drafted from lower official and banner classes before they could marry. After their selection, palace maids were educated as personal attendants to consorts, female officials within court rituals or other tasks, and were also available for the Emperor to promote to consort or concubine. Below the palace maids were the maidservants, who were selected the same way by a draft among the daughters of soldiers. Denmark The early modern Danish court was organized according to the German court model, in turn inspired by the Austrian imperial court model, from the 16th century onward. The highest rank female courtier to a female royal was the (Court Mistress) or, from 1694/98 onward, (Chief Court Mistress), equivalent to the Mistress of the Robes, normally an elder widow, who supervised the rest of the ladies-in-waiting. The rest of the female courtiers were mainly (Senior Maid of Honour), followed by a group of (Court Lady) and the (Maid of Honour). They were followed by the non-noble female court employees not ranking as ladies-in-waiting, such as the chamber maids. This hierarchy was roughly in place from the 16th century until the death of King Christian IX of Denmark in 1906. During the 20th century, most of these titles came of use, and all ladies-in-waiting at the royal Danish court are now referred to as (Court Lady). France The Queen of France is confirmed to have had a separate household in the late 12th century, and an