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.
Traditionally, the English Court was organized into three branches or departments:
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).
Queen Anne of Denmark
Charles I (1625–1649)
James I (1603–1625)
Charles I (1625–1649)
Commonwealth (1649–1660)
No Grooms of the Bedchamber appointed
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]
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 |
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 |
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 Leveson | Francis 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. |
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.
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.