Master of the Household

For the position whose title translates roughly as "master of the house" or "master of the household", see Majordomo.

The Master of the Household is the operational head (see Chief operating officer) of the "below stairs" elements of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom. The role has charge of the domestic staff, from the Royal Kitchens, the pages and footmen, to the housekeeper and their staff. The appointment has its origin in the household reforms of 1539-40; it is under the (now purely nominal) supervision of the Lord Steward.^[1]

Master of the Household
Royal Coat of Arms
Incumbent Vice Admiral Sir Anthony Johnstone-Burt since 2013
Royal Households of the United Kingdom
Reports to	The Monarch
Seat	Buckingham Palace
Appointer	The Monarch
Term length	At His Majesty's pleasure
Formation	1805
First holder	Richard Browne
Deputy	Deputy Master of the Household

Since 2004 the Office of the Prince of Wales has included a Master of the Household.

History

Historically, the Master of the Household was a member of the Lord Steward's Department, and sat on the Board of Green Cloth.^[2] Among other duties, he presided at the daily dinners of the suite in waiting on the sovereign.^{[citation needed]} The office is not named in the Black Book of Edward IV or in the Statutes of Henry VIII but is entered as Master of the Household and one of the clerks of the Green Cloth in the Household Book of Queen Elizabeth.^{[citation needed]}

Initially there were four Masters of the Household, and they were working officers; but by the late 17th century there was a single Master and the post had become a sinecure. In 1782, when a number of household sinecures were abolished, the Master of the Household was given renewed responsibility for the management of the Lord Steward's Department; and under further reforms overseen by Prince Albert he was given charge of the entire domestic establishment.^[1]

In the 1920s, as part of a reconfiguration of the King's Household, the Lord Steward's Department was renamed the Master of the Household's Department. The Master of the Household chaired the Board of Green Cloth up until the time of its abolition in the early 21st century.^[1]

List of Masters of the Household

• Richard Browne 1603–1604
• Sir Robert Vernon bef. 1608 – c.1625
• Charles Glemham c. 1625 – 1625
• Roger Palmer 1626–1632
• In abeyance 1632–1645
• George Lisle c. 1645 – 1648
• In abeyance? 1648–1660
• Sir Herbert Price, 1st Baronet 1660–1665 and 1666–1678
• Honourable Henry Bulkeley 1678–1688
• Sir Thomas Felton, 4th Baronet 1689–1708
• Edmund Dunch 1708–1712
• Sir William Pole, 4th Baronet 1712–1714
• Edmund Dunch 1714–1719
• Sir Conyers Darcy, KB 1720–1730
• Sir George Treby 1730–1741
• Sir John Harris 1741–1767
• The Right Honourable Henry Thynne 1768–1771
• Sir Francis Henry Drake, 5th Baronet 1771–1794
• Sir Henry Strachey, 1st Baronet 1794–1810
• Sir William Kenrick 1810–1812
• Samuel Hulse 1812–1827
• Sir Frederick Beilby Watson 1827–1838
• The Right Honourable Sir Charles Murray, KCB 1838–1844
• Captain Henry Meynell 1844–1845
• Major-General Sir George Bowles 1845–1851
• The Right Honourable General Sir Thomas Biddulph 1851–1866
• The Right Honourable Major-General Sir John Cowell, KCB 1866–1894
• Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Edward Pelham-Clinton, GCVO KCB 1894–1901^[3]
• The Right Honourable Horace Farquhar, Lord Farquhar, GCB GCVO 1901–1907 (later Earl Farquhar)^[4]
• Lieutenant Colonel Sir Charles Arthur Andrew Frederick, GCVO KCB 1907–1912
• Lieutenant-Colonel The Honourable Sir Derek Keppel, GCVO KCB CMG CIE VD 1913–1936
• Brigadier Sir Smith Child, 2nd Baronet, GCVO CB CMG DSO 1936–1941
• Lieutenant-Colonel The Honourable Sir Piers Legh, GCVO KCB CMG CIE OBE 1941–1953
• Major Sir Mark Milbank, 4th Baronet, KCVO MC 1954–1967
• Brigadier Sir Geoffrey Hardy-Roberts, KCVO CB CBE 1967–1973
• Vice-Admiral Sir Peter Ashmore, KCB KCVO DSC 1973–1986
• Rear-Admiral Sir Paul Greening, GCVO 1986–1992
• Major-General Sir Simon Cooper, GCVO 1992–2000
• Vice-Admiral Sir Anthony Blackburn, KCVO CB CStJ 2000–2004
• Air Marshal Sir David Walker, KCVO OBE 2005–2013^[5]
• Vice-Admiral Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt, KCVO CB OBE 2013–

List of Deputy Masters of the Household

• Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Charles Arthur Andrew Frederick, GCVO KCB 1901–1907^[4]
• Harry Lloyd-Verney, GCVO 1907–1911
• Lieutenant-Colonel Honourable Sir Derek Keppel, GCVO KCB CMG CIE VD 1911–1912
• Captain Lord Arthur John Hamilton 1913–1914
• Honourable Sir Harry Stonor, GCVO 1918–1921
• Captain Lord Claud Nigel Hamilton, GCVO CMG DSO 1922–1924
• Brigadier-General Sir Smith Child, 2nd Baronet Bt GCVO CB CMG DSO 1929–1936
• Lieutenant-Colonel Ririd Myddelton, MVO 1937–1939
• Group Captain Peter Townsend, CVO DSO DFC 1950–52
• Major Sir Mark Milbank, KCVO MC 1952–1954
• Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Plunket, KCVO 1954–1975
• Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Blair Stewart-Wilson, KCVO 1976–1994
• Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Guy Acland, Bt LVO 1994–1999
• Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Anthony Charles Richards, KCVO 1999–2023

References

1. Allison, Ronald; Riddell, Sarah, eds. (1991). The Royal Encyclopedia. London: Macmillan. p. 335.
2. Bucholz, R. O., ed. (2006). "Introduction: Administrative Structure and Work of the Royal Household". Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 11 (Revised), Court Officers, 1660-1837. University of London. pp. xx–xxxvii. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
3. "No. 26556". The London Gazette. 28 September 1894. p. 5522.
4. "No. 27336". The London Gazette. 23 July 1901. p. 4838.
5. "Court Circular". 19 September 2013.

Sources

• Hoey, Brian (1992). All The Queen's Men: Inside The Royal Household. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-246-13851-3.
• Master of the Household 1660–1837

External links

• Office of Master of the Household under the Tudors