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

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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.[2]

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.[3] (The old Bedchamber office of Esquire to the Body was finally abolished in 1702).[3]

Grooms Extraordinary

In 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.)[4] 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.[5] On some occasions, Shakespeare[citation needed], Heywood, and their compatriots wore the royal livery, marched in processions, and played other roles in the ceremonial life of the monarchy.[citation needed] (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)[8]
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

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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.[31]

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'.[32]

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).[33] 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).[34]

List of Grooms of the Privy Chamber

Charles II (1660–1685)

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Date
6 June 1660Maurice WynnJames ElliottRobert Thompson
7 June 1660Adam Hill
10 June 1660Adrian May
12 June 1660James Progers
17 May 1661Roger Burgess
27 January 1669Thomas Ross
30 April 1670Arthur Ingram
15 May 1671Thomas Cooke
15 May 1672Paul French
17 May 1673John Lowther
25 June 1673Christopher Jeffreys
8 July 1676John Bellingham
18 December 1676Humphrey Graves
11 October 1677Richard Binns
20 May 1678Yelverton Peyton
23 October 1680Edward Lloyd
20 August 1683John Radcliffe
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James II 1685–1688

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Date
February 1685Robert ThompsonChristopher Jeffreys
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William III 1689–1702

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Date
February 1689Robert ThompsonChristopher Jeffreys
28 March 1689Thomas DuppaHumphrey Graves
12 January 1694David Carbonell
29 July 1695William Wallis
30 November 1695William Whitmore
22 December 1699Robert Barkham
19 May 1700Robert Wallis
25 October 1701Cornelius Tilburgh
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1702–1901

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Date
9 July 1702John BonningRobert Hemmington
26 March 1711Cornelius Tilburgh
28 May 1715Joseph Ashley
3 February 1719James Trymmer
12 August 1719Edward Parsons
25 November 1720John Parsons
10 December 1728Langham Edwards
11 May 1729Wentworth Odiarne
2 June 1740Charles Collins
7 June 1745Edward Capell
24 February 1750Charles Husband Collins
3 June 1762Strelley Pegge
8 October 1762Samuel Pegge
5 July 1774John Larpent
6 July 1774Thomas Collins
24 October 1778William Fordyce
24 February 1781James Trail
18 November 1781James Hawkins
7 March 1785Hale Young Wortham
March 1788Richard Byron
5 February 1794Edmund Armstrong
19 October 1797Robert Chester
29 July 1798James Meller
1799James Whitshed
23 May 1800John Hunter
18 May 1802William Chapman Fowle
19 August 1808Frederick Chapman
3 June 1812William Fenton Scott
6 July 1814Robert Powell
12 August 1818William Beresford
12 December 1823Charles Dashwood
21 April 1832Courtenay Edmund William Boyle
23 April 1833Thomas Shiffner
6 May 1836Arthur Johnstone Blackwood
1 November 1839Stewart Henry Paget[35]
24 February 1840Thomas Noel Harris[36]
1 March 1852Mortimer Sackville-West[37]
13 July 1852Samuel Randall[38]
16 February 1859John Home Purves[39]
31 March 1860John Francis Campbell, of Islay[40]
2 October 1862Edward Stopford Claremont[41]
3 July 1867Roden Berkeley Wriothesley Noel[42]
14 January 1871Charles George Cornwallis Eliot[43]
8 January 1874James Bontein[44]
16 February 1874Nathaniel George Philips[45]
24 October 1884Arnold Royle[46]
25 July 1890Malcolm Drummond, of Megginch[47]
1 October 1893Otway Frederick Seymour Cuffe[48]
14 November 1899Sir Francis Knollys
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List of Grooms of the Bedchamber

Charles II (1660–1685)

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Date of appointment
1 Feb 1661John AshburnhamDaniel O'NeillHenry Seymour
2 Feb 1661Thomas ElliotThomas KilligrewRichard LaneRobert PhillipsSilius TitusDavid Walter
3 Feb 1661Edward Proger
6 Feb 1661William Legge
1 Jan 1662Henry Coventry
28 Oct 1664James Hamilton
1 Oct 1670Sidney Godolphin
16 Jun 1671Thomas Felton
21 Jun 1672Bernard Granville
7 Jun 1673Henry Savile
8 Jul 1675Henry Guy
Aug 1677George Porter
18 Jul 1678George Rodney Bridges
Apr 1679Thomas Wyndham
16 May 1679Thomas Lee
26 Nov 1679Thomas Neale
Mar 1683Bevil Skelton
15 May 1683Francis Gwyn
19 Dec 1683Henry Killigrew
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James II (1685–1688)

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Date of appointment
2 May 1685James FortreyOliver NicholasHenry SlingsbyHeneage FinchRichard LevesonJames GriffinFrancis RussellDavid Lloyd
1686James Porter
9 Mar 1687Richard Bagot
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William III (1689–1702)

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Date of appointment
6 Jun 1689Percy KirkeHatton ComptonCharles TrelawnyEmanuel HoweJohn SayersAdrian van BorselenJames Stanley
Mar 1690Arnold Joost van Keppel
29 Apr 1691Thomas Windsor
Jan 1692George Cholmondeley
6 May 1695Thomas Wentworth
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Anne (1702–1714) No Grooms of the Bedchamber appointed

George I (1714–1727)

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Date of appointment
20 Sep 1714William KerrJames Tyrrell
16 Oct 1714James DormerHCharles HowardWilliam BretonGeorge Feilding
21 Oct 1714Henry CornewallPhilip Honywood
15 Jun 1715Sir Gustavus Hume
13 May 1719William Finch
11 Jun 1720Sir Wilfrid Lawson
10 Aug 1721Charles Cornwallis
24 Jun 1722
25 May 1723Robert Sawyer Herbert
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George II (1727–1760)

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George III (1760–1820)

More information Date of appointment ...
Date of appointment
27 Nov 1760John MostynJohn WaldegraveJohn OffleyCharles FitzRoyGeorge SchutzSir James PeacheyEdmund NugentSir William BretonEdward CornwallisHenry Seymour Conway
10 Dec 1760Spencer Compton
11 Dec 1760George PittNorborne BerkeleyWilliam Northey
17 Feb 1761Augustus Keppel
10 Oct 1762
21 Dec 1762Sir James Wright
19 Jan 1763Sir John Mordaunt
16 Feb 1763Henry Seymour
5 May 1763Sir Charles Hotham-Thompson
5 Nov 1763Augustus John Hervey
April 1764*
24 Aug 1765Henry Wallop
3 Dec 1766William Harcourt
23 Apr 1770Henry Vernon
16 May 1770Sir George Osborn
10 May 1771Thomas de Grey
17 May 1771Henry St John
3 Dec 1771Philip Hales
8 Feb 1773*
28 Mar 1775William Gordon
18 Jun 1777Charles Herbert
22 Feb 1779Francis Lascelles
17 Jan 1783George Villiers
19 Aug 1784Robert Waller
20 Jan 1788James Whorwood Adeane
3 Jun 1791Robert Digby
26 Jan 1793Thomas Fane
29 Mar 1800Robert Fulke Greville
30 May 1801Arthur Kaye LeggeSir Harry Burrard-Neale
27 Apr 1802Edward Finch
24 May 1804
15 Apr 1807*
31 Oct 1808Edward Capel
1 Nov 1808Edward Pery Buckley
4 Mar 1809Henry Frederick Campbell
2 June 1809Frederick West
18 Feb 1812
10 Mar 1812William KeppelGen. Thomas Slaughter StanwixGen. Edmund StevensWilson BraddyllWilliam LumleyCharles Nassau ThomasHenry Fitzroy StanhopeGen. Charles Leigh
10 Apr 1812Sir John Francis Cradock
28 Jul 1812Augustus Cavendish-BradshawCharles William StewartTomkyns Hilgrove Turner
6 Jun 1816Sir Edward Paget
6 Sep 1816Sir George Campbell
5 Jan 1817Henry King
21 Nov 1818Joseph Whatley
19 Oct 1819Sir Edmund Nagle
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George IV (1820–1830)

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Date of appointment
Jan 1820Edward FinchWilliam KeppelEdmund StevensWilliam LumleyCharles Nassau ThomasHenry Fitzroy StanhopeAugustus Cavendish-BradshawTomkyns Hilgrove TurnerSir Edward PagetSir George CampbellHenry KingJoseph WhatleySir Edmund Nagle
4 Apr 1820Lord Francis Nathaniel Conyngham
24 Jan 1821Sir Andrew Barnard
11 Oct 1821Sir Charles Paget
7 Sep 1825Sir William Houston
27 May 1828Thomas Armstrong
24 Sep 1828John Robert Townshend
14 Feb 1830George Cecil Weld-Forester
15 Mar 1830Henry Thomas Hope
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William IV (1830–1837)

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Date of appointment
June 1830Edward FinchWilliam KeppelWilliam LumleyAugustus Cavendish-BradshawTomkyns Hilgrove TurnerJoseph WhatleySir Charles PagetSir William HoustonThomas ArmstrongJohn Robert TownshendGeorge Cecil Weld-ForesterHenry Thomas Hope
17 Jul 1830Sir Hussey Vivian
24 Jul 1830Sir Robert Cavendish Spencer
30 Nov 1830Sir Henry Blackwood, 1st Baronet
23 Dec 1830Sir Robert Otway
31 Jan 1831Sir James Reynett
24 Feb 1831George Pryse Campbell
12 Nov 1832Sir Charles Rowley, 1st Baronet
15 Dec 1832Thomas William Taylor
20 Jun 1837Accession of Queen Victoria.
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Victoria (1837–1901) No Grooms of the Bedchamber appointed

Edward VII (1901–1910) The term "Groom-in-Waiting" was employed[49]

George V (1910–1936)

More information Date appointed ...
Date appointed
10 Jun 1910[50]Captain Walter Douglas Somerset CampbellCaptain Seymour John FortescueCommander Charles Elphinstone Fleeming Cunninghame GrahamSidney Robert GrevilleColonel William LambtonHarry StonorEdward William Wallington Esq.
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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.[51]

George VI (1936–1952) The term "Groom-in-Waiting" was employed.[52]

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. 14851540) 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

Notes

References

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