Groom of the Chamber explained

Groom of the Chamber should not be confused with Lords and Gentlemen of the Bedchamber.

Groom of the Chamber was a position in the Household of the monarch in early modern England. Other Ancien Régime royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles. In France, the Duchy of Burgundy, and in England while French was still the language of the court, the title was varlet or valet de chambre. In German, Danish and Russian the term was "Kammerjunker" and in Swedish the similar "Kammarjunkare".

In England after the Restoration, appointments in the King's Household included Groom of the Great Chamber, Groom of the Privy Chamber and Groom of the Bedchamber.[1] The first two positions were appointed by Lord Chamberlain's warrant; the third, of greater importance, was a Crown appointment.

Medieval and early-modern England

Traditionally, the English Court was organized into three branches or departments:

  1. the Household, primarily concerned with fiscal more than domestic matters, the "royal purse;"
  2. the Chamber, concerned with the Presence Chamber, the Privy chamber, and other more public rooms of the royal palaces, as the Bedchamber was concerned with the innermost;
  3. the Bedchamber, focused on the most direct and intimate aspects of the lives of the royal family, with its own offices, like the Groom of the Body and the Squire of the Body.

The Chamber organization was controlled by the Lord Chamberlain; if he was the general of a small army of servitors, the Grooms of the Chamber were his junior officers, with ushers and footmen the footsoldiers. The Grooms wore the royal livery (in earlier periods), served as general attendants, and fulfilled a wide range of specific functions. (One Groom of the Chamber had the job of handing the "King's Stuff" to a Squire of the Body, who would then dress the King.) Grooms ranked below Gentlemen of the Chamber, usually important noblemen, but above Yeomen of the Chamber. They were mostly well-born, on a first rung of a courtier's career. The office of Groom of the Chamber could also be bestowed in a more honorific manner, upon people who served the royal household in some less direct way; the early Tudor poet Stephen Hawes became a Groom of the Chamber in 1502, under Henry VII.

Under James I, the Bedchamber was established as a semi-autonomous department (overseen by the Groom of the Stole) with its own hierarchy of Gentlemen, Grooms and Yeomen, which usurped those of the Privy Chamber in terms of their influence with and closeness to the King.[2] (The old Bedchamber office of Esquire to the Body was finally abolished in 1702).

Grooms ExtraordinaryIn the reigns of the early monarchs of the House of Stuart, James I and Charles I, the actors of the King's Men, the playing company under royal patronage, were officially "Grooms extraordinary of the Chamber". They did not usually fulfill the normal functions of the office; rather, they served the King by performing plays for him. Although on busy occasions, the King's Men appear to have acted as more ordinary servants: in August 1604 they were "waiting and attending" upon the Spanish ambassador at Somerset House, "on his Majesty's service" - but no plays were performed.)[3] They were also turned out to bulk up the Household for grand ceremonial occasions. A similar arrangement held for some of Queen Anne's Men, including their playwright Thomas Heywood; they became Grooms of the Queen's Chamber, under the Queen's Chamberlain.[4] On some occasions, Shakespeare, Heywood, and their compatriots wore the royal livery, marched in processions, and played other roles in the ceremonial life of the monarchy. (Grooms could not be arrested for debt without the permission of the Lord Chamberlain - a big advantage for sometimes-struggling actors.) In at least two cases, those of George Bryan (Lord Chamberlain's Men) and John Singer (Queen Elizabeth's Men; Admiral's Men), professional actors became "normal" Grooms of the Chamber, with the normal duties, after retiring from the stage.

List of Grooms of the Chamber

Elizabeth I (1558–1603)
James I (1603–1625)

Queen Anne of Denmark

Charles I (1625–1649)

List of Grooms of the Bedchamber

James I (1603–1625)

Charles I (1625–1649)

Commonwealth (1649–1660)

No Grooms of the Bedchamber appointed

Post-Restoration England and Great Britain

Fourteen Grooms of the Great Chamber were appointed under Charles II (later reduced to ten); they served as internal court messengers and were in attendance in the guard room.[30]

The Grooms of the Privy Chamber were six in number (reduced to two under James I); initially responsible for manning the doors to the Privy Chamber, by 1720 the office largely lost its function, but attendance was still required for Coronations and other 'extraordinary Occasions'.[31]

There were usually a dozen or so Grooms of the Bedchamber appointed (though under different monarchs the number varied from as many as fifteen or as few as eight), two of whom were on duty at any one time. They served for a week at a time in rotation and were responsible for attending the King in the Chamber when he dressed, and at Dinner when he dined privately (taking food and wine from the servants to give it to the Lords, who would serve The King).[32] They would also deputise for the Lords of the Bedchamber if required to do so. Grooms of the Bedchamber were close to the King and were occasionally sent overseas as special envoys to negotiate royal marriages and such. During the exile of James II a court was maintained by that king in France and certain of his grooms joined him there. Similarly, during the last years of the reign of King George III, when he withdrew from public life in consequence of his poor mental health, several of his grooms followed him to Windsor Castle, whilst others remained in London to serve the Prince Regent, later to become King George IV. When the Monarch was a Queen, the positions of Groom of the Bedchamber were not filled (though Prince Albert, consort to Queen Victoria, did appoint his own Grooms of the Bedchamber).[33]

List of Grooms of the Privy Chamber

Charles II (1660–1685)

Date
6 June 1660 Maurice Wynn James Elliott Robert Thompson
7 June 1660 Adam Hill
10 June 1660 Adrian May
12 June 1660 James Progers
17 May 1661 Roger Burgess
27 January 1669 Thomas Ross
30 April 1670 Arthur Ingram <-- of Knottingley -->
15 May 1671 Thomas Cooke
15 May 1672 Paul French
17 May 1673 John Lowther
25 June 1673 Christopher Jeffreys
8 July 1676 John Bellingham
18 December 1676 Humphrey Graves
11 October 1677 Richard Binns
20 May 1678 Yelverton Peyton
23 October 1680 Edward Lloyd
20 August 1683 John Radcliffe

James II 1685–1688

William III 1689–1702

Date
February 1689 Robert Thompson Christopher Jeffreys
28 March 1689 Thomas Duppa Humphrey Graves
12 January 1694 David Carbonell
29 July 1695 William Wallis
30 November 1695 William Whitmore
22 December 1699 Robert Barkham
19 May 1700 Robert Wallis
25 October 1701 Cornelius Tilburgh
1702–1901
Date
9 July 1702 John Bonning Robert Hemmington
26 March 1711 Cornelius Tilburgh
28 May 1715 Joseph Ashley
3 February 1719 James Trymmer
12 August 1719 Edward Parsons
25 November 1720 John Parsons
10 December 1728 Langham Edwards
11 May 1729 Wentworth Odiarne
2 June 1740 Charles Collins
7 June 1745 Edward Capell
24 February 1750 Charles Husband Collins
3 June 1762 Strelley Pegge
8 October 1762 Samuel Pegge
5 July 1774 John Larpent
6 July 1774 Thomas Collins
24 October 1778 William Fordyce
24 February 1781 James Trail
18 November 1781 James Hawkins
7 March 1785 Hale Young Wortham
March 1788 Richard Byron
5 February 1794 Edmund Armstrong
19 October 1797 Robert Chester
29 July 1798 James Meller
1799 James Whitshed
23 May 1800 John Hunter
18 May 1802 William Chapman Fowle
19 August 1808 Frederick Chapman
3 June 1812 William Fenton Scott
6 July 1814 Robert Powell
12 August 1818 William Beresford
12 December 1823 Charles Dashwood
21 April 1832 Courtenay Edmund William Boyle
23 April 1833 Thomas Shiffner
6 May 1836 Arthur Johnstone Blackwood <-- son of Sir Henry Blackwood, 1st Bt -->
1 November 1839 Stewart Henry Paget
24 February 1840 Thomas Noel Harris
1 March 1852 Hon. Mortimer Sackville-West
13 July 1852 Samuel Randall
16 February 1859 John Home Purves
31 March 1860 John Francis Campbell, of Islay
2 October 1862 Edward Stopford Claremont
3 July 1867 Hon. Roden Berkeley Wriothesley Noel
14 January 1871 Hon. Charles George Cornwallis Eliot
8 January 1874 James Bontein
16 February 1874 Nathaniel George Philips
24 October 1884 Arnold Royle
25 July 1890 Malcolm Drummond, of Megginch
1 October 1893 Hon. Otway Frederick Seymour Cuffe
14 November 1899 Sir Francis Knollys

List of Grooms of the Bedchamber

Charles II (1660–1685)

Date of appointment
1 Feb 1661 Henry Seymour
2 Feb 1661 Thomas Elliot Richard Lane Robert Phillips David Walter
3 Feb 1661 Edward Proger
6 Feb 1661 William Legge
1 Jan 1662 Hon. Henry Coventry
28 Oct 1664 James Hamilton
1 Oct 1670 Sidney Godolphin
16 Jun 1671 Thomas Felton
21 Jun 1672
7 Jun 1673 Henry Savile
8 Jul 1675 Henry Guy
Aug 1677 George Porter
18 Jul 1678 George Rodney Bridges
Apr 1679 Thomas Wyndham
16 May 1679 Thomas Lee
26 Nov 1679 Thomas Neale
Mar 1683 Bevil Skelton
15 May 1683 Francis Gwyn
19 Dec 1683 Henry Killigrew

James II (1685–1688)

Date of appointment
2 May 1685 James Fortrey <-- son of Samuel Fortrey; d. 1719 --> Oliver Nicholas Richard LevesonFrancis Russell David Lloyd
1686 James Porter
9 Mar 1687 Richard Bagot

William III (1689–1702)

Date of appointment
6 Jun 1689 John Sayers Adrian van Borselen Hon. James Stanley
Mar 1690 Arnold Joost van Keppel
29 Apr 1691
Jan 1692
6 May 1695 Thomas Wentworth

Anne (1702–1714)No Grooms of the Bedchamber appointed

George I (1714–1727)

Date of appointment
20 Sep 1714 James Tyrrell
16 Oct 1714 James Dormer <-- son of Anne Dormer (letter-writer) --> William Breton <--envoy to Prussia 1712-1714 --> George Feilding
21 Oct 1714 Philip Honywood
15 Jun 1715 Sir Gustavus Hume
13 May 1719 Hon. William Finch
11 Jun 1720
10 Aug 1721 Hon. Charles Cornwallis
24 Jun 1722
25 May 1723 Hon. Robert Sawyer Herbert

George II (1727–1760)

Date of appointment
21 Aug 1727 Sir Robert Rich
14 Sep 1727 Sir Charles Hotham
7 May 1731 John Clavering
7 May 1733 Hon. James Brudenell
22 Apr 1740 Hon. William Herbert
14 Jul 1742 Hon. Edward Finch
20 Jan 1746 John Mostyn
22 Jan 1747 Hon. John Waldegrave, 3rd Earl Waldegrave
5 Apr 1757 Hon. Henry Seymour Conway
4 Jun 1757 John Offley
16 Jan 1760 Charles FitzRoy
19 Jan 1760 Hon. Richard Savage Nassau

George III (1760–1820)

Date of appointment
27 Nov 1760 George Schutz Edmund Nugent <-- son of 1st Earl Nugent --> Hon. Henry Seymour Conway
10 Dec 1760 Spencer Compton
11 Dec 1760 William Northey
17 Feb 1761 Hon. Augustus Keppel
10 Oct 1762
21 Dec 1762 Sir James Wright
19 Jan 1763 Sir John Mordaunt
16 Feb 1763 Henry Seymour
5 May 1763 Sir Charles Hotham-Thompson
5 Nov 1763 Hon. Augustus John Hervey
April 1764
24 Aug 1765 Hon. Henry Wallop
3 Dec 1766 Hon. William Harcourt
23 Apr 1770 Hon. Henry Vernon
16 May 1770 Sir George Osborn
10 May 1771 Thomas de Grey
17 May 1771 Hon. Henry St John
3 Dec 1771 Philip Hales
8 Feb 1773
28 Mar 1775 Hon. William Gordon
18 Jun 1777 Charles Herbert
22 Feb 1779 Francis Lascelles
17 Jan 1783 Hon. George Villiers
19 Aug 1784 Robert Waller
20 Jan 1788 James Whorwood Adeane
3 Jun 1791 Hon. Robert Digby
26 Jan 1793 Hon. Thomas Fane
29 Mar 1800 Hon. Robert Fulke Greville
30 May 1801 Sir Harry Burrard-Neale
27 Apr 1802 Hon. Edward Finch
24 May 1804
15 Apr 1807
31 Oct 1808 Hon. Edward Capel
1 Nov 1808 rowspan=Edward Pery Buckley
4 Mar 1809 Henry Frederick Campbell <-- given as "Henry Francis" in Bucholz -->
2 June 1809 Hon. Frederick West
18 Feb 1812
10 Mar 1812 Gen. Thomas Slaughter Stanwix <-- "Stoughton Stanwix" in Bucholz --> Gen. Charles Leigh <-- father-in-law of Augusta Leigh -->
10 Apr 1812 Sir John Francis Cradock
28 Jul 1812 Tomkyns Hilgrove Turner
6 Jun 1816 Hon. Sir Edward Paget
6 Sep 1816 Sir George Campbell
5 Jan 1817 Hon. Henry King
21 Nov 1818 Joseph Whatley
19 Oct 1819 Sir Edmund Nagle

George IV (1820–1830)

Date of appointment
Jan 1820 Joseph Whatley Sir Edmund Nagle
4 Apr 1820 Lord Francis Nathaniel Conyngham
24 Jan 1821 Sir Andrew Francis Barnard
11 Oct 1821 Hon. Sir Charles Paget
7 Sep 1825 Sir William Houston
27 May 1828 Thomas Armstrong <-- Colonel in the Coldstream Guards -->
24 Sep 1828 Hon. John Robert Townshend
14 Feb 1830 Hon. George Cecil Weld-Forester
15 Mar 1830 Henry Thomas Hope

William IV (1830–1837)

Date of appointment
June 1830 Joseph Whatley Thomas Armstrong Henry Thomas Hope
17 Jul 1830 Sir Hussey Vivian
24 Jul 1830 Hon. Sir Robert Cavendish Spencer
30 Nov 1830 Hon. Sir Henry Blackwood, 1st Baronet
23 Dec 1830 Sir Robert Waller Otway
31 Jan 1831 Sir James Reynett
24 Feb 1831 Hon. George Pryse Campbell
12 Nov 1832 Sir Charles Rowley
15 Dec 1832 Thomas William Taylor
20 Jun 1837 Accession of Queen Victoria.
Victoria (1837–1901)No Grooms of the Bedchamber appointed

Edward VII (1901–1910)The term "Groom-in-Waiting" was employed[34]

George V (1910–1936)

The above-mentioned were gazetted as "Grooms of the Bedchamber in Waiting"; subsequently, the term "Groom in Waiting in Ordinary" was used.

Edward VIII (1936)The term "Groom-in-Waiting" was employed.[36]

George VI (1936–1952)The term "Groom-in-Waiting" was employed.[37]

Elizabeth (1952–2022)No Grooms of the Bedchamber appointed.

Charles III (2022–)No Grooms of the Bedchamber appointed.

In France

The French portrait painter Jean Clouet (c. 1485 - 1540) was appointed a valet de chambre groom of the chamber of the French monarchy in 1523 by Francis I of France, as was his son François Clouet later. The office could serve as a sinecure to provide a minimum income and social place for someone who enjoyed royal favor.

Many noble households in Europe had their own grooms of the chamber, known by various titles. See Valet de chambre for a fuller account.

See also

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Bucholz . R. O. . Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 11 (Revised), Court Officers, 1660-1837 . British History Online . Institute of Historical Research . 6 July 2019.
  2. Web site: Bucholz . R. O. . Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Introduction: Administrative structure and work . British History Online . Institute of Historical Research . 6 July 2019.
  3. Halliday, p. 460; spellings modernized.
  4. At that time, Robert Sidney, 1st Earl of Leicester (1563 - 1626), younger brother of Sir Philip Sidney.
  5. C. E. Challis, 'Sharington, Sir William (c. 1495–1553), administrator and embezzler', in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, September 2004
  6. Book: Bruce . William . The visitations of the county of Surrey : made and taken in the years 1530 by Thomas Benolte, Clarenceux king of arms; 1572 by Robert Cooke, Clarenceux king of arms; and 1623 by Samuel Thompson, Windsor herald, and Augustin Vincent, Rouge croix pursuivant, marshals and deputies to William Camden, Clarenceux king of arms . 1899 . Ye Wardour Press . London.
  7. Book: Kinney . A. . Lawson . J. . Titled Elizabethans: A Directory of Elizabethan Court, State, and Church Officers, 1558–1603 . 2014 . Palgrave Macmillan . New York . 978-1-137-46147-6 . 2nd.
  8. Web site: TAMWORTH, John (c.1524-69), of Sandon, Essex; Sutton, Lincs. and St. Botolph, Bishopsgate. | History of Parliament Online. www.historyofparliamentonline.org.
  9. Web site: KILLIGREW, William (d.1622), of Hanworth, Mdx. and Lothbury, London. | History of Parliament Online. www.historyofparliamentonline.org.
  10. Web site: STANHOPE, Sir Michael (c.1545-1621), of the Barbican, London and Sudbourne, nr. Orford, Suff.; later of St. John's, Clerkenwell, Mdx.. History of Parliament Trust. 14 February 2019.
  11. Web site: HOLLES, Sir John (c.1567-1637), of Haughton, Notts. and Lincoln's Inn Fields, Mdx.; later of Westminster and Thurland Place, Nottingham, Notts. | History of Parliament Online. www.historyofparliamentonline.org.
  12. Web site: BROMLEY, Sir Henry (c.1560-1615), of Holt Castle, Worcs., Shrawardine Castle, Salop and St. Lawrence Pountney, London; later of Westminster. | History of Parliament Online. www.historyofparliamentonline.org.
  13. Web site: MAY, Humphrey (1574-1630), of Whitehall Palace, Carrow Priory, Norf. and Coldrey, Hants. | History of Parliament Online. www.historyofparliamentonline.org.
  14. Web site: GERRARD, Sir Thomas, 1st Bt. (c.1560-1621), of Bryn, Lancs. | History of Parliament Online. www.historyofparliamentonline.org.
  15. Web site: WOODHOUSE, Sir William (c.1570-1639), of Waxham, Norf. and Whitehall | History of Parliament Online. www.historyofparliamentonline.org.
  16. Web site: GOODYER, Sir Henry (?1571-1627), of Polesworth, Warws. | History of Parliament Online. www.historyofparliamentonline.org.
  17. Web site: CROMWELL, Sir Oliver (1562/6-1655), of Hinchingbrooke House and Ramsey Abbey, Hunts. | History of Parliament Online. www.historyofparliamentonline.org.
  18. Web site: MANSELL (MANSFIELD, MANSFELT), Sir Robert (1570/1-1652), of Pentney, Norf.; Marquess House, Broad Street, London; and Church Street, Croom's Hill, East Greenwich, Kent. | History of Parliament Online. www.historyofparliamentonline.org.
  19. Web site: COPE, Sir Walter (c.1553-1614), of The Strand, Westminster and Kensington, Mdx. | History of Parliament Online. www.historyofparliamentonline.org.
  20. Web site: KAY (KEYES), Sir John (1568-1624), of Hackney, Mdx. and the Tower of London | History of Parliament Online. www.historyofparliamentonline.org.
  21. Web site: UVEDALE, Sir William (1581-1652), of Wickham, Hants and Whitehall | History of Parliament Online. www.historyofparliamentonline.org.
  22. Web site: EYRE, Sir John (1580-1639), of Great Chalfield, Wilts.; later of St. Giles-in-the-Fields, Mdx. | History of Parliament Online. www.historyofparliamentonline.org.
  23. Web site: CHAWORTH, Sir George (c.1569-1639), of Annesley, Notts. and Westminster | History of Parliament Online. www.historyofparliamentonline.org.
  24. Web site: MAYNARD, John (c.1592-1658), of Tooting Graveney, Surr.; later of Gt. Isleham, Cambs. | History of Parliament Online. www.historyofparliamentonline.org.
  25. Web site: Florio . Resolute John . 2019-09-19 . JOHN FLORIO AT COURT: GROOM OF THE PRIVY CHAMBER . 2022-08-26 . JOHN FLORIO . en-US . 26 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220826133919/https://www.resolutejohnflorio.com/2019/09/19/groom-of-the-privy-chamber/ . dead .
  26. Public Record Office, S.P. 14.107, f.93 (Cal. S.P. Dom.1619-23, p.31)
  27. Web site: TREVOR, John (1563-1630) of Oatlands, Surrey. History of Parliament. 3 April 2019.
  28. Web site: WALTER, William (c.1604-1675), of Sarsden, Oxon. and the Inner Temple, London | History of Parliament Online. www.historyofparliamentonline.org.
  29. Web site: LEGGE, William I (c.1608-70), of The Minories, London.. History of Parliament Trust. 3 April 2019.
  30. Web site: Bucholz . R. O. . Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Guard Chamber: Grooms of the Great Chamber 1660-1837 . British History Online . Institute of Historical Research . 6 July 2019.
  31. Web site: Bucholz . R. O. . Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Privy Chamber: Grooms of the Privy Chamber 1660-1837 . British History Online . Institute of Historical Research . 6 July 2019.
  32. Web site: Bucholz . R. O. . Office-Holders in Modern Britain: The bedchamber: Grooms of the Bedchamber 1660-1837 . British History Online . Institute of Historical Research . 6 July 2019.
  33. Court Circular
  34. Web site: Page 834 | Issue 11324, 26 July 1901 | Edinburgh Gazette | The Gazette. www.thegazette.co.uk.
  35. Web site: Page 621 | Issue 12258, 14 June 1910 | Edinburgh Gazette | The Gazette. www.thegazette.co.uk.
  36. Web site: Page 624 | Issue 15301, 21 July 1936 | Edinburgh Gazette | The Gazette. www.thegazette.co.uk.
  37. Web site: Page 1406 | Issue 34376, 2 March 1937 | London Gazette | The Gazette. www.thegazette.co.uk.