Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 21.djvu/49

Rh ROYAL HOUSEHOLD 37 separate establishment " above stairs " and " out of doors " for the queen consort. She has a lord chamberlain's department and a department of the master of the horse of her own, and all the ladies of the court from the mistress of the robes to the maids of honour are in her service. At the commencement of the reign of Queen Victoria the two establishments were combined, and on the whole considerably reduced. Hence the royal house- hold, although it is of course much larger than that of a queen consort would be, is also appreciably smaller than that of a king and queen consort together has been since the reigning family acceded to the throne. 1 I. Dcjxtrtment of the Lord Steward of the Housclwld. The hall ; the kitchen, ewry, and pantry ; the wine, beer, and coal cellars ; and the almonry are in the lord steward's department. The lord steward is the first dignitary of the court, and presides at the Board of Green Cloth, where all the accounts of the household are examined and passed. 2 He is always a member of the Govern- ment of the day, a peer, and a privy councillor. He receives his appointment from the sovereign in person, and bears a white staff as the emblem and wan-ant of his authority. 3 In his department the treasurer and comptroller of the household are the officers next in rank to him. They also sit at the Board of Green Cloth, carry white staves, and belong to the ministry. They are always peers or the sons of peers, and privy councillors. But the duties which in theory belong to the lord steward, treasurer, and comp- troller of the household are in practice performed by the master of the household, who is a permanent officer and resides in the palace. It is he who really investigates the accounts and main- tains discipline among the ordinary servants of the royal establish- ment. He is a white-staff officer and a member of the Board of Green Cloth but not of the ministry, and among other things he presides at the daily dinners of the suite in waiting on the sovereign. 4 In the lord steward's department are the secretary and three clerks of the Board of Green Cloth ; the coroner and paymaster of the household ; and the officers of the almonry, namely, the hereditary grand almoner, 5 the lord high almoner, the sub-almoner, the groom of the almonry, and the secretary to the lord high almoner. 6 II. J)cjxirtment of tlic Lord Cliamberlain of the Household. The bedchamber, privy chamber, and presence chamber, the wardrobe, the housekeeper's room, and the guardroom, the metropolitan theatres, and the chapels royal are in the lord chamberlain's depart- ment. The lord chamberlain is the second dignitary of the court, and is always a member of the Government of the day, a peer, and a privy councillor. He carries a white staff, and wears a golden or jewelled key, typical of the key of the palace, which is supposed to be in his charge, as the ensigns of his office. He is responsible for the necessary arrangements connected with state ceremonies, such as coronations and royal marriages, christenings, and funerals. All invitations to court are sent out in his name by command of the sovereign, and at drawing rooms and levees he stands next to the sovereign and announces the persons who are approaching the throne. It is also part of his duty to conduct the sovereign to and from his or her carriage. 7 The vice-chamberlain of the household is the lord chamberlain's assistant and deputy. He also is one of the ministry, a white-staff officer, and the bearer of a key; and he is always a peer or the son of a peer as well as a privy councillor. 1 Hansard, Parl. Debates, vol. xxxix. pp. 146 sq., 1342 sq. 2 In the Statutes of Eltham he is called " the lord great master," but in the Houtfhold Book of Queen Elizabeth "the lord steward," as before and since. In 31 Hen. VIII. c. 10, '-for placing of the lords," he is described as "the grand master or lord steward of the king's most honourable household." The whole business of purveyance and pre-emption was anciently managed by the Board of Green Cloth. See under heading "The counting house of" the king's household, Domus Compotus Hospit it Regis," in Coke, Institutes, iv. cap 19. It is designated " the court of the virge or green cloth "in 22 Geo. III. c. 82 5. 3 In the old time the lord steward had three courts besides the board of green cloth under him, namely, the lord steward's court, the court of the MarshaHcy and the palace court (Coke, Ins!., iv. caps. 20 and 21 ; Reeves, ffist of the Laic of England, vol. ii. pp. 138 and 297; Stephen, Commentaries on the Law of England, vol. iv. p. 222). The lord steward or his deputies formerly administer; d the oaths to the members of the House of Commons, and frequent inconveniences were the consequence (see Hatsell, Precedents of Proceedings in the Souse of Commons, London, 1818, vol. ii. pp. 84-91). In certain cases now "the lords with white staves" are the proper persons to bear communications between the sovereign and the Houses of Parliament. 4 In the case of the master of the household we see history repeating itself He is not named in the Black Book of Edward IV. or in the Statutes of Henry VIII., an.l is entered as "master of the household and clerk of the green cloth" in the Household Book ol Queen Elizabeth. But practically he has superseded the lord steward of the household, as the lord steward of the household at one time superseded the lord high steward of England. s The marquess of Exeter. 6 In the lord steward's department the offices of cofferer of the household treasurer of the chamber, paymaster of pensions, and six clerks of the Board of Green Cloth were abolished by 22 Geo. III. c. 82. 7 The lord chamberlain of the household at one time discharged some import- ant political functions, which are described by Sir Harris Nicolas (Proceedings of the Pnty Council, vol. vi., Preface, p. xxiii). When there is a king the groom of the stole comes next to the vice-chamberlain in rank and authority. At present, however, the mistress of the robes in some measure occupies the position of the groom of the stole. 8 She is the only lady of the court who comes into office and goes out with the administration, and the duties she performs are merely occasional and formal. She is always a duchess, and attends the queen at all state ceremonies and enter- tainments, but is never in permanent residence at the palace. 9 On the contrary the ladies of the bedchamber share the function of personal attendance on the sovereign throughout the year. Of these there are eight, always peeresses, and each is in waiting for about a fortnight or three weeks at a time. But the women of the bedchamber, of whom there are also eight, appear only at court ceremonies and entertainments according to a roster annually issued under the authority of the lord chamberlain. They are usually the daughters of peers or the wives of the sons of peers, and in the old time, like the mistress of the robes and the ladies of the bedchamber, habitually assisted the queen at her daily toilette. But this has long ceased to be doue by any of them. The maids of honour, whose situations are by no means sinecures, are like- wise eight in number and have the same terms of waiting as the ladies of the bedchamber. They are commonly if not always the daughters or granddaughters of peers, and when they have no superior title and precedence by birth are called " honourable " and placed next after the daughters of barons. The queen as a special mark of her favour nominates "extra" ladies and women of the bed-chamber and maids of honour. But their position is altogether honorary and involves no charge on the civil list. There are eight lords and eight grooms, who are properly described as "of the bed- chamber" or "in waiting," according as the reigning sovereign is a king or a queen, and whose terms of attendance are of similar duration to those of the ladies of the bedchamber and the maids of honour. Occasionally "extra" lords and grooms in waiting are nominated by the queen, who, however, are unpaid and have no regular duties. The master, assistant master, and marshal of the ceremonies are the officers whose special function it is to enforce the observance of the etiquette of the court. The reception of foreign potentates and ambassadors is under their particular care, and they assist in the ordering of all entertainments and festivities at the palace. 10 The gentleman usher of the black rod the black rod which he carries being the ensign of his office is the principal usher of the court and kingdom. He is one of the original functionaries of the order of the Garter, and is in constant attendance on the House of Lords, from whom, either personally or by his deputy the yeoman usher of the black rod, it is part of his duty to carry messages and summonses to the House of Commons. The gentlemen ushers of the privy chamber and the gentlemen ushers daily waiters, of whom there are four each, and the gentlemen ushers quarterly waiters and the sergeants-at- arms, of whom there are eight each, are in waiting only at drawing rooms and levees and state balls and concerts. But of the sovereign's sergeants-at-arms there are two others to whom special duties are assigned, the one attending the speaker in the House of Commons, and the other attending the lord chancellor in the House of Lords, carrying their maces and executing their orders. u The yeomen of the guard date from the reign of Henry VII., and the gentlemen-at-arms from the reign of Henry VIII. The captain of each corps is always a member of the ministry and a peer. Besides the captains, the former, now called the queen's bodyguard, consists of a lieutenant, ensign, clerk of the cheque and adjutant, four exons, and a hundred yeomen ; and the latter, once called the gentlemen pensioners, consists of a lieutenant, standard-bearer, clerk of the cheque and adjutant, a sub-officer, and forty gentlemen. The comptroller and examiner of accounts, the licenser of plays, the dean and subdean of the chapel royal, the clerk of the closet, the groom of the robes, the pages of the backstairs, of the chamber, and of the presence, the poet laureate, the royal physicians and surgeons, chaplains, painters and sculptors, librarians and musicians, &c., are all under the superintendence of the lord chamberlain of the household. 12 III. Department of the Master of the Horse. The stables and coachhouses, the stud, mews, and kennels, are in the master of the horse's department. The master of the horse is the third 8 In the reign of Queen Anne, Sarah duchess of Marlborongh from 1704, and Elizabeth duchess of Somei-set from 1710, held the combined offices of mistress of the robes and groom of the stole. 9 Since the great "bedchamber question" of 1839 the settled practice has been for all the ladies of the court except the mistress of the robes to receive and continue in their appointments independently of the political connexions of their husbands, fathers, and brothers (see Mr Gladstone's Gleanings of Past Tears, vol. 1. p. 40 ; and Torrens's Memoirs of Lord Melbourne, vol. ii. p. 804). K> The office of master of the ceremonies was created by James I. The master of the ceremonies wears a medal attached to a gold chain round his neck, on one side being an emblem of peace with the motto " Beat! pacific!," and on the other an emblem of war with the motto "Dieu et mon droit" (see Finetti Philoxensis, by Sir John Finett, master of the ceremonies te James I. and Charles I., 1656 ; and D'Israeli's Curiosities of Literature, 10th ed., p. 242 sg.). 1 See May, Parliamentary Practice, pp. 236, 244. 12 The offices of master of the great wardrobe and master of the jewel house in the lord chamberlain's department were abolished by 22 Geo. III. c. 82.