Lord Chamberlain

Not to be confused with the Lord Great Chamberlain, who is responsible for royal affairs in the Palace of Westminster.

The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom while also acting as the main channel of communication between the Sovereign and the House of Lords. The office organises all ceremonial activity such as garden parties, state visits, royal weddings, and the State Opening of Parliament. They also oversee the Royal Mews and Royal Travel, as well as the ceremony around the awarding of honours.

Lord Chamberlain of the Household
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom
Incumbent The Lord Benyon since 4 November 2024
Lord Chamberlain's Office Royal Households of the United Kingdom
Member of	Royal Household of the United Kingdom
Appointer	His Majesty The King
Term length	At His Majesty's Pleasure
Inaugural holder	Sir Thomas Erpingham
Formation	c. 1399
Website	Official Website

From 1737 to 1968, the Lord Chamberlain had the power to decide which plays would be granted a licence for performance; this meant that he had the capacity to censor theatre at his pleasure.^[1]

The Lord Chamberlain is always sworn of the Privy Council, is usually a peer and before 1782 the post was of Cabinet rank. The position was a political one until 1924. The office dates from the Middle Ages when the King's Chamberlain often acted as the King's spokesman in Council and Parliament.^[2]

The current Lord Chamberlain is The Lord Benyon, who has been in office since 4 November 2024.

Historic role

During the early modern period, the Lord Chamberlain was one of the three principal officers of the Royal Household, the others being the Lord Steward and the Master of the Horse. The Lord Chamberlain was responsible for the "chamber" or the household "above stairs": that is, the series of rooms used by the Sovereign to receive increasingly select visitors, terminating in the royal bedchamber (although the bedchamber itself came to operate semi-autonomously under the Groom of the Stool/Stole). His department not only furnished the servants and other personnel (such as physicians and bodyguards, the Yeomen of the Guard and Gentlemen Pensioners) in intimate attendance on the Sovereign but arranged and staffed ceremonies and entertainments for the court. He also had (secular) authority over the Chapel Royal. In 1782, under the terms of the Civil List and Secret Service Money Act (22 Geo. III c.82), the Lord Chamberlain took on direct responsibility for items kept and maintained by the Great Wardrobe and the Jewel House (whereby these formerly semi-independent sub-departments were abolished).^[3]

As other responsibilities of government were devolved to ministers, the ordering of the Royal Household was largely left to the personal taste of the Sovereign. To ensure that the chamber reflected the royal tastes, the Lord Chamberlain received commands directly from the sovereign to be transmitted to the heads of subordinate departments.^[3]

In 1594, the Lord Chamberlain, Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon, founded the Lord Chamberlain's Men, for which William Shakespeare was a part (and later a shareholder in the company) and for whom he wrote most of his plays during his career. Carey served under Elizabeth I of England at the time and was in charge of all court entertainment, a duty traditionally given to the Master of the Revels, a deputy of the Lord Chamberlain. Later, in 1603, James I of England, elevated the Chamberlain's Men to royal patronage and changed the name to the King's Men.^[4]

Theatre censorship

Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister who gave the Lord Chamberlain official censorship duties. Painting by Arthur Pond.

The Licensing Act 1737

In 1737, Sir Robert Walpole officially introduced statutory censorship with the Licensing Act of 1737 by appointing the Lord Chamberlain to act as the theatrical censor. The Licensing Act 1737 gave the Lord Chamberlain the statutory authority to veto the performance of any new plays: he could prevent any new play, or any modification to an existing play, from being performed for any reason, and theatre owners could be prosecuted for staging a play (or part of a play) that had not received prior approval.

Historically though, the Lord Chamberlain had been exercising a commanding authority on London's theatre companies under the Royal Prerogative for many decades already. But by the 1730s the theatre was not controlled by royal patronage anymore. Instead it had become more of a commercial business. Therefore, the fact the Lord Chamberlain still retained censorship authority for the next 200 years gave him uniquely repressive authority during a period where Britain was experiencing "growing political enfranchisement and liberalization".^[5]

Even further confusion rested in the fact that Members of Parliament could not present changes to the censorship laws because although the Lord Chamberlain exercised his authority under statute law, he was still an official whose authority was derived from the Royal Prerogative.^[5]

Theatres Act 1843

Main article: Theatres Act 1843

By the 1830s, it started to become clear that the theatre licensing system in England needed an upgrade. Playwrights, instead of representatives of minor theatres, actually initiated the final push for reform as they felt that their livelihoods were being negatively affected by the monopoly the larger theatres had on the industry, backed by the laws in the 1737 Act.^[5]

A Select Committee was formed in 1832 with the purpose of examining the laws that affected dramatic literature. Their main complaints were the lack of copyright protection for their work and more importantly that only two patent theatres in London could legitimately perform new plays. After more pressure from playwrights and theatre managers, the findings of the committee were finally presented to Parliament.^[5]

It was the proposals of this committee that Parliament implemented in the Theatres Act of 1843. The Act still confirmed the absolute powers of censorship enjoyed by the Lord Chamberlain but still slightly restricted his powers so that he could only prohibit the performance of plays where he was of the opinion that "it is fitting for the preservation of good manners, decorum or of the public peace so to do". The Act, however, did abolish the monopoly that the patent houses had in London, providing a minor win for playwrights and theatre managers wishing to produce new work.^[5][1]

Theatres Act 1968

In 1909, a Joint Select Committee on Stage Plays (Censorship) was established and recommended that the Lord Chamberlain should continue to act as censor but that it could be lawful to perform plays without a licence from the Lord Chamberlain.^[1] However, King Edward VII refused to accept these recommendations. The outbreak of both World Wars put an end to any parliamentary initiatives to change the laws regarding theatre censorship for many years. In 1948, the first British Theatre Conference recommended the termination of theatre censorship with the plan to pursue parliamentary action to ratify this.^[1][5]

In the 1960s the debate to abolish theatre censorship rose again as a new generation of young playwrights came on the scene. They gained popularity with their new plays in local establishments, but since many were refused a licence by the Lord Chamberlain, they could not transfer to the West End. In the case of John Osborne's play A Patriot for Me, the Lord Chamberlain at the time, Lord Cobbold, was irritated that the play was so widely publicized even though he had banned it and therefore pursued legal action. In the end, the play was allowed to continue as it was. At this point, several widely regarded authors had all been censored by the Lord Chamberlain at one time or another, including playwrights Henrik Ibsen and George Bernard Shaw. Sometimes censorship was self-serving. A comedy written for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in the early 1960s had, as its plot, a jocular scheme to steal the Crown jewels. The Lord Chamberlain issued a one-line letter requiring the excision of that plot element. As Michael Palin, one of its authors and performers notes, that meant banning the entire production.^[6] Another Joint Select Committee was founded to further debate on the issue and present a solution. This time the argument largely centered around this issue on the portrayal of living and recently dead individuals, particularly in reference to the monarchy as well as politicians.^[1][5]

After much debate, the Theatres Act 1968 was finally passed; it officially abolished the censorship of the stage and repealed the Lord Chamberlain's power to refuse a licence to a play of any kind.^[1] The first London performance of the musical Hair was actually delayed until the Act was passed after a licence had been refused.^[7]

Aftermath

The battle regarding the abolition of censorship was largely a political one, fought on principle. Those who opposed the termination of this particular duty of the Lord Chamberlain were mostly concerned about how to protect the reputation of the royal family and the government instead of controlling obscenity and blasphemy on stage. However, this concern has largely been unfounded. Since the termination of censorship, British drama has flourished and produced several prominent playwrights and new works since. The abolition of censorship opened a floodgate of theatrical creativity.^[5]

The Lord Chamberlain’s plays

Main article: The Lord Chamberlain’s plays

The long standing role of the Lord Chamberlain as theatrical censor resulted in an extensive archive of both licensed and unlicensed play scripts being preserved.^[8] The collection held at the British Library also includes correspondence and administrative documents related to the censorship process.^[9]

Duties of the office

The Earl of Kent in 1705, carrying the wand of office and wearing the insignia of a gold key, as Lord Chamberlain.

The Lord Chamberlain is the most senior official of the Royal Household and oversees its business, including liaising with the other senior officers of the Household, chairing Heads of Department meetings, and advising in the appointment of senior Household officials.^[2][10] The Lord Chamberlain also undertakes ceremonial duties and serves as the channel of communication between the Sovereign and the House of Lords.^[2]

Under Lord Airlie, the Lord Chamberlain’s ceremonial and non-executive role was altered to that of chief executive.^[11] Airlie initiated changes in the early 1990s under the auspices of "The Way Ahead Group".^[12] Under these plans the Queen agreed to pay tax, greater transparency for the public subsidy of the monarchy began and a greater emphasis on public relations started.^[13] In 1986, he produced a 1,393-page report recommending 188 changes for smoother operations of the Royal Household.^[14]

The Lord Chamberlain's Office is a department of the Royal Household and its day-to-day work is headed by the Comptroller. It is responsible for organizing ceremonial activities including state visits, investitures, garden parties, the State Opening of Parliament, weddings and funerals.^[2]

On State and ceremonial occasions, the Lord Chamberlain carries specific symbols that represent his office: a white staff and a key (which is worn at the hip pocket). These insignia are returned to the monarch when the Lord Chamberlain retires from office;^[15] but if the monarch dies, the white staff is symbolically broken by the Lord Chamberlain and placed on the coffin of the deceased Sovereign at the end of the State Funeral service. This was last done by the Lord Parker of Minsmere, who broke his staff over the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.^[2][10]

The Lord Chamberlain is ex-officio the Chancellor of the Royal Victorian Order, having possession of a Badge corresponding to that office.^[16] As such, they are often appointed to the said Order either upon appointment as Lord Chamberlain, or later in their career. The Lord Chamberlain also regulates the design and the wearing of court uniform and dress and how insignia are worn.

List of Lords Chamberlain of the Household from 1399

Name	Began	Ended	Notes	Ref.
Sir Thomas Erpingham	1399	1404		[17]
The Lord Grey of Codnor	1404	1413		[17]
The Lord FitzHugh	1413	1425		[17]
The Lord Cromwell	c. 1425	1432	First period in office	[17]
The Lord Bardolf	1432	1441		[17]
Sir Ralph Boteler, from 1441 The Lord Sudeley	1441	1447		[17]
The Lord Saye and Sele	1447	1450		[17]
The Lord Cromwell	1450	1455	Second period in office	[17]
Thomas Stanley, from 1456 The Lord Stanley	1455	1459		[17]
The Earl of Salisbury	1460	1460		[17]
The Lord Hastings	1461	1470	First period in office	[17]
Unknown	1470	1471	Second reign of Henry VI
The Lord Hastings	1471	1483	Second period in office	[17]
The Viscount Lovell	1483	1485		[17]
Sir William Stanley	1485	1494		[17]
Lord Daubeney	1494	1508		[17]
The Lord Herbert, from 1514 The Earl of Worcester	1509	1526		[17]
The Earl of Arundel	1526	1530
The Lord Sandys	1530	1540		[17]
Vacant	1540	1543		[17]
The Lord St John	1543	1545	Created The Earl of Wiltshire in 1550 and The Marquess of Winchester in 1551	[17]
Unknown	1545	1546
The Earl of Arundel	1546	1550		[17]
The Lord Wentworth	1550	1551		[17]
The Lord Darcy of Chiche	1551	1553		[17]
Sir John Gage	1553	1556		[17]
Unknown	1556	1557
Sir Edward Hastings from 1558 The Lord Hastings of Loughborough	1557	1558		[17]
The Lord Howard of Effingham	1558	1572		[17]
The Earl of Sussex	1572	1585		[17]
The Lord Hunsdon	1585	1596	Founded the famous Lord Chamberlain's Men for whom Shakespeare wrote for most of his career.	[17][4]
The Lord Cobham	1596	1597		[17]
The Lord Hunsdon	1597	1603		[17]
Lord Thomas Howard, from 1603 The Earl of Suffolk	1603	1614		[17]
The Earl of Somerset	1614	1615		[17]
The Earl of Pembroke	1615	1626		[17]
The Earl of Montgomery, from 1630 The Earl of Pembroke	1626	1641		[17]
The Earl of Essex	1641	1642		[17]
Unknown	1642	1644
The Earl of Dorset	1644	1649		[17]
Vacant	1649	1655	Position became vacant at the start of the Interregnum and the Commonwealth
Sir Gilbert Pickering, Bt	1655	1659	Lord Chamberlain during The Protectorate	[17]
The Earl of Manchester	1660	1671		[17]
The Earl of St Albans	1672	1674		[17]
The Earl of Arlington	1674	1685		[17]
The Earl of Elgin and Earl of Ailesbury	1685	1685		[17]
The Earl of Mulgrave	1685	1688	Created The Marquess of Normanby in 1694 and The Duke of Buckingham and Normanby in 1703	[17]
The Earl of Dorset	1689	1697		[17]
The Earl of Sunderland	1697	1697		[17]
Vacant	1697	1699	The King did not accept the resignation of the Earl of Sunderland
The Duke of Shrewsbury	1699	1700		[17]
The Earl of Jersey	1700	1704		[17]
The Earl of Kent from 1706 The Marquess of Kent	1704	1710	Created The Duke of Kent in 1710 and The Marquess Grey in 1740	[17]
The Duke of Shrewsbury	1710	1715		[17]
The Duke of Bolton	1715	1717		[17]
The Duke of Newcastle	1717	1724		[17]
The Duke of Grafton	1724	1757		[17]
The Duke of Devonshire	1757	1762		[17]
The Duke of Marlborough	1762	1763		[17]
The Earl Gower	1763	1765	Created The Marquess of Stafford in 1786	[17]
The Duke of Portland	1765	1766		[17]
The Earl of Hertford	1766	1782	First period in office; created The Marquess of Hertford in 1793	[17]
The Duke of Manchester	1782	1783		[17]
The Earl of Hertford	1783	1783	Second period in office; created The Marquess of Hertford in 1793	[17][18]
The Earl of Salisbury, from 1789 The Marquess of Salisbury	1783	1804
The Earl of Dartmouth	1804	1810		[17]
Vacant	1810	1812
The Marquess of Hertford	1812	1821		[17][19]
The Duke of Montrose	1821	1827	First period in office	[17][20]
The Duke of Devonshire	1827	1828	First period in office	[17]
The Duke of Montrose	1828	1830	Second period in office	[17]
The Earl of Jersey	1830	1830	First period in office	[17]
The Duke of Devonshire	1830	1834	Second period in office	[17]
The Earl of Jersey	1834	1835	Second period in office	[17][21]
The Marquess Wellesley	1835	1835		[17]
The Marquess Conyngham	1835	1839
Earl of Uxbridge	1839	1841	Succeeded as The Marquess of Anglesey in 1854
The Earl De La Warr	1841	1846	First period in office	[17]
The Earl Spencer	1846	1848		[17][22]
The Marquess of Breadalbane	1848	1852	First period in office	[17][23]
The Marquess of Exeter	1852	1852		[24]
The Marquess of Breadalbane	1853	1858	Second period in office	[17][25]
The Earl De La Warr	1858	1859	Second period in office	[17][26]
The Viscount Sydney	1859	1866	First period in office	[27]
The Earl of Bradford	1866	1868		[28]
The Viscount Sydney	1868	1874	Second period in office; created The Earl Sydney in 1874	[29]
The Marquess of Hertford	1874	1879		[30]
The Earl of Mount Edgcumbe	1879	1880		[31]
The Earl of Kenmare	1880	1885	First period in office	[32]
The Earl of Lathom	1885	1886	First period in office	[33]
The Earl of Kenmare	1886	1886	Second period in office	[34]
The Earl of Lathom	1886	1892	Second period in office	[35]
The Lord Carrington	1892	1895	Created The Earl Carrington in 1895 and The Marquess of Lincolnshire in 1912	[17]
The Earl of Lathom	1895	1898	Third period in office	[36]
The Earl of Hopetoun	1898	1900	Created The Marquess of Linlithgow in 1902	[17]
The Earl of Clarendon	1900	1905		[37]
The Viscount Althorp from 1910 The Earl Spencer	1905	1912		[38]
The Lord Sandhurst from 1917 The Viscount Sandhurst	1912	1921		[39]
The Duke of Atholl	1921	1922		[17][40]
The Earl of Cromer	1922	1938		[17]
The Earl of Clarendon	1938	1952		[17]
The Earl of Scarbrough	1952	1963		[17]
The Lord Cobbold	29 January 1963	30 November 1971		[17][41]
The Lord Maclean	1 December 1971	30 November 1984		[17][42]
The Earl of Airlie	1 December 1984	31 December 1997		[43]
The Lord Camoys	1 January 1998	31 May 2000
The Lord Luce	1 October 2000	15 October 2006
The Earl Peel	16 October 2006	31 March 2021		[44]
The Lord Parker of Minsmere	1 April 2021	4 November 2024		[45]
The Lord Benyon	4 November 2024	present		[46]

See also

• List of Lords Chamberlain to British royal consorts
• Lord Chamberlain's Office
• Central Chancery of the Orders of Knighthood

References

1. Handley, Miriam (2004). The Lord Chamberlain Regrets...: A History of British Theatre Censorship. London, England: British Library. pp. 3–17, 86–87, 140, 149, 162, 169. ISBN 0712348654.
2. "The Lord Chamberlain". Monarchy of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 2 June 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
3. Bucholz, Robert O., ed. (2006). "Introduction: Administrative structure and work". Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 11 (Revised), Court Officers, 1660-1837. London: University of London.
4. Zarrilli, Phillip B. (2006). Theatre Histories, An Introduction. New York, NY: Routledge. pp. 157–158, 188. ISBN 0-415-22727-5.
5. Thomas, David (2007). Theatre Censorship: From Walpole to Wilson. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. pp. iix–xiii, 2, 4, 36, 53–57, 182–188, 205, 216–225. ISBN 978-0-19-926028-7.
6. The Fringe, Fame and Me (Television production). BBC Scotland. 2022.
7. Lewis, Anthony (29 September 1968). "Londoners Cool To Hair's Nudity Four Letter Words Shock Few at Musical's Debut". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
8. Dossett, Kate (17 January 2023). "How British theatre censorship laws have inadvertently created a rich archive of Black history". The Conversation. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
9. "British Library". APAC. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
10. "Great Officers of the Household". Debrett's. Archived from the original on 10 October 2010. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
11. "The Earl of Airlie, dashing courtier who led Schroders through the Big Bang and reviewed the royal finances – obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
12. Corby, Tom (3 July 2023). "The Earl of Airlie obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
13. "Can Meghan Markle modernise the monarchy?". The Economist. 23 May 2018.
14. "The Earl of Airlie obituary". The Times. 30 June 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
15. "Windsor Castle". The Royal Family. Court Circular. 13 April 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
16. "Royal Victorian Order". The Queen's Chapel of the Savoy. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
17. "Lord chamberlains of the royal household in the Oxford DNB". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 6 February 2011. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
18. "No. 12430". The London Gazette. 8 April 1783. p. 1.
19. "No. 16581". The London Gazette. 7 March 1812. p. 450.
20. "No. 17772". The London Gazette. 11 December 1821. p. 2405.
21. "No. 19221". The London Gazette. 16 December 1834. p. 2266.
22. "No. 20621". The London Gazette. 10 July 1846. p. 2533.
23. "No. 20894". The London Gazette. 5 September 1848. p. 3275.
24. "No. 21297". The London Gazette. 2 March 1852. p. 670.
25. "No. 21403". The London Gazette. 18 January 1853. p. 137.
26. "No. 22106". The London Gazette. 2 March 1858. p. 1207.
27. "No. 22279". The London Gazette. 24 June 1859. p. 2471.
28. "No. 23137". The London Gazette. 13 July 1866. p. 3984.
29. "No. 23450". The London Gazette. 15 December 1868. p. 6654.
30. "No. 24071". The London Gazette. 3 March 1874. p. 1452.
31. "No. 24721". The London Gazette. 13 May 1879. p. 3311.
32. "No. 24841". The London Gazette. 4 May 1880. p. 2836.
33. "No. 25485". The London Gazette. 30 June 1885. p. 3000.
34. "No. 25558". The London Gazette. 12 February 1886. p. 677.
35. "No. 25615". The London Gazette. 10 August 1886. p. 3853.
36. "No. 26644". The London Gazette. 16 July 1895. p. 4022.
37. "No. 27232". The London Gazette. 25 September 1900. p. 5891.
38. "No. 27866". The London Gazette. 22 December 1905. p. 9171.
39. "No. 28581". The London Gazette. 16 February 1912. p. 1169.
40. "No. 32525". The London Gazette. 22 November 1921. p. 9245.
41. "No. 42909". The London Gazette. 1 February 1963. p. 979.
42. "No. 45536". The London Gazette. 3 December 1971. p. 13243.
43. "No. 49948". The London Gazette. 4 December 1984. p. 16413.
44. Appointment of Lord Chamberlain at the Royal Household official website, 2006 Archived 19 July 2006 at the Wayback Machine
45. Kirsty.Oram (5 February 2021). "Lord Parker of Minsmere KCB appointed as Lord Chamberlain". The Royal Family. Retrieved 6 February 2021.
46. "No. 64563". The London Gazette. 11 November 2024. p. 22855.

Further reading

• Stephens, J.R. (1981). The Censorship of English Drama 1824–1901. Cambridge University Press.
• Johnston, John (1990). The Lord Chamberlain's Blue Pencil. Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 0-340-52529-0.
• de Jongh, Nicholas (2000). Politics, Prudery and Perversions: The Censoring of the English Stage 1901–1968. Methuen. ISBN 0-413-70620-6.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
• Shellard, Dominic; Nicholson, Steve; Handley, Miriam (2004). The Lord Chamberlain Regrets ... A History of British Theatre Censorship. British Library. ISBN 0-7123-4865-4.

External links

• The Lord Chamberlain – Royal Household official website
• Chamber Administration: Lord Chamberlain, 1660–1837
• The Lord Chamberlain and censorship at The Theatre Archive Project