1603. Sir Edward, now lord Wotton, continued. Sir Henry Carey, knt. 1616. Sir Thomas Edmondes, K. B. 1618. Sir Henry Carey, afterwards viscount Falk land. 1621. Sir John Suckling, knt. KING CHARLES I. KING WILLIAM III. 1689. Hon. Thomas Wharton, afterwards lord 1702. Sir Edward Seymour, bart. 1712. George, lord Lansdowne, of Bideford. KING GEORGE I. 1714. Hugh Boscawen, afterwards viscount Fal mouth. 1720. Paul Methuen, afterwards sir Paul, K. B. 1725. Daniel, lord Finch, afterwards earl of Winchelsea and Nottingham. KING GEORGE II. 1727. Daniel, lord Finch, continued. 1756. Hon. Richard Edgcumbe, afterwards lord KING GEORGE III. 1760. Lord Edgcumbe, continued. 1761. Henry-Arthur, earl of Powis. May 31. Lord George Cavendish. Nov. 1762. Lord Charles Spencer. 1763. Rt. hon. Humphrey Morrice. Jan. 10. 1765. Thomas Pelham, esq., afterwards lord Pelham. Sept. 6. 1625. Sir John Savile, knt., afterwards lord Savile, 1774. Sir William Meredith, bart. March 9 and earl of Sussex. 1628. Sir Henry Vane, sen., knt. 1640. Sir Thomas Jermyn. 1641. Sir Peter Wyche, knt. 1642. Sir Christopher Hatton, knt., afterwards lord Hatton. KING CHARLES II. 1660. Sir Charles Berkeley, knt., afterwards viscount Fitzharding. 1660. Sir Hugh Pollard, K.B. 1666. Sir Thomas Clifford, knt., afterwards lord Clifford, of Chudleigh. 1668. Francis, lord Newport, afterwards viscount Newport, and earl of Bradford. 1672. William, lord Maynard. KING JAMES II. 1685. Henry, lord Waldegrave, 1777. George, lord Onslow and Cranley. 1782. Peter, earl Ludlow. 1784. Robert, viscount Galway. 1787. Hon. John Charles Villiers. Feb. 19. 1791. George, viscount Parker, afterwards earl KING GEORGE IV. 1820. Lord George-Thomas Beresford, continued. KING WILLIAM IV. 1830. Lord Robert Grosvenor. Nov. 23. 1834. Hon. Henry-Thomas Lowry Corry. Dec. 29. | 1841. Hon. George Lionel Dawson Damer. Sept. 9. 1835. Rt. hon. George Stevens Byng. May 7. QUEEN VICTORIA. 1837. Rt. hon. George Stevens Byng, continued. 1841. Lord Arthur Marcus Cecil Hill. June 23. 1846. Lord Arthur Marcus Cecil Hill, again. July 7. 1847. Hon. William Sebright Lascelles. July 22. The PRESENT (1850) Comptroller of the Household. THE LORD CHAMBERLAIN OF THE HOUSEHOLD. To this high and very ancient officer, the SECOND of the court, is entrusted the management of various branches of the Royal Household. He has the control of the domestics employed in the palaces of the sovereign, and the appointment of numerous professional persons, tradesmen, and artisans to the royal service. He has also the direction of all state ceremonials, coronations, marriages, funerals, &c.; and to him appertains the privilege of licensing plays and other dramatic entertainments. Lord Chamberlain is always a nobleman of high rank, and a privy councillor. LORD CHAMBERLAINS OF THE HOUSEHOLD. KING JAMES II. The 1727. The duke of Grafton, continuea. KING GEORGE III. 1760. The duke of Devonshire, continued. 1766. Francis Seymour, earl of Hertford. Dec. 4. KING GEORGE IV. 1821. James, duke of Montrose. Dec. 11. 1827. William Spencer, duke of Devonshire. | 1835. Francis-Nathaniel, marquess Conyngham. May 5. 1828. James, duke of Montrose, again. Feb. 18. KING WILLIAM IV. 1830. George Child Villiers, earl of Jersey. July 24. 1830. William Spencer, duke of Devonshire, again. Nov. 22. 1834. George, earl of Jersey, again. Dec. 15. 1835. Richard, marquess Wellesley. April. KING HENRY VIII. * Sir John Gage, knt. KING EDWARD VI. 1550. Sir Thomas D'Arcy. QUEEN MARY. 1553. [The office vacant.] QUEEN ELIZABETH. Sir Edward Rogers, knt. Sir Thomas Heneage, knt. May. QUEEN VICTORIA. 1839. Henry Paget, earl of Uxbridge. May 6. 1846. Frederick, earl Spencer. July 8. Chamberlain of the Household. VICE-CHAMBERLAINS. 1602. Sir John Stanhope, knt., afterwards lord Stanhope, of Harrington. KING JAMES I. 1603. John, lord Stanhope, continued. 1706. Thomas Coke, afterwards lord Lovel, and earl of Leicester. Dec. 5. KING GEORGE I. 1714. Thomas Coke, continued. 1727. William Stanhope, afterwards earl of Harrington. KING GEORGE II. 1727. William Stanhope, continued. 1730. Lord John Hervey. May 8. 1740. Lord Sydney Beauclerk. May 1. KING GEORGE III. 1760. Hon. William Finch, continued. 1765. George Bussy, viscount Villiers, afterwards earl of Jersey. July 12. 1770. Hon. Thomas Robinson, afterwards lord Grantham. Feb. 13. 1771. John, viscount Hinchinbroke. Feb. 6. 1616. Sir John Digby, afterwards lord Digby 1782. George, viscount Chewton, afterwards earl and earl of Bristol. KING CHARLES I. 1625. Sir Dudley Carleton, knt., afterwards lord Carleton, and viscount Dorchester. 1626. Sir Henry May, knt. Sir Thomas Jermyn, knt. Waldegrave. May 2. 1784. George, lord Herbert, afterwards earl of Pembroke. Nov. 20. 1794. Rt. hon. Charles Fulke Greville. Aug. 1804. Lord John Thynne. July 11. 1812. Francis-Charles, earl of Yarmouth. March 10. 1640. George, lord Goring, afterwards earl of 1812. Robert, viscount Jocelyn. Aug. 15. 1689. Sir John Lowther, bart., afterwards vis- 1838. George, earl of Belfast, again. May 2. Af count Lonsdale. 1690. Hon. Peregrine Bertie. QUEEN ANNE. 1702. Hon. Peregrine Bertie, continued. terwards marquess of Donegal. 1841. Lord Ernest Bruce. Sept. 8. 1846. Lord Edward-George Fitz-Alan Howard. The PRESENT (1850) Vice-Chamberlain of the Household. July 8. THE GROOM OF THE STOLE. THE Groom of the Stole, a high officer of the Royal Household, and whose office existed until the commencement of the present reign, was first Lord of the Bedchamber, and derived his official distinction from having the custody of the long robe or vestment worn by the king upon solemn occasions of state, called the Stole The office was always filled by a nobleman of high rank, who wore a gold key as the emblem of it. The Groom of the Stole always became a privy councillor, if not so previously. Is reckoned the THIRD great officer of the court. The office is of high honour and antiquity, and is always filled by noblemen of great rank. The Master of the Horse has the management and direction of all matters relating to the royal stables, and of the revenue appropriated to this branch of the Royal Household. He is the only personage who has the privilege of using horses belonging to the crown, and of being attended by pages and servants attached to his department. In royal processions and on occasions of state the Master of the Horse usually rides in the same carriage with the sovereign. 1 Though somewhat incongruous in name, the office of groom of the stole was continued when her majesty queen Anne was on the throne, and combined the duties of mistress of the robes. 2 The mistress of the robes to a queen regnant is an office of more political importance than to a queen consort. Mary, duchess of Ancaster and Kesteven, held this appointment in the household of Charlotte, consort of George III.; and the duchess dowager of Leeds in that of her late majesty, Adelaide, queen of William IV. 1629. James, marquess, and afterwards duke of 1755. Lionel Cranfield, duke of Dorset. Hamilton. 1757. Granville Leveson Gower, earl Gower. CORPS OF GENTLEMEN-AT-ARMS. THE Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (formerly styled the Band of Gentlemen-Pensioners) is the oldest corps in England, with the exception of the Yeomen of the Guard and the Sergeants-at-Arms. This Corps was instituted soon after Henry VIII. ascended the throne, and was composed entirely of gentlemen of noble blood. In the preceding reign a body of fifty archers had been enrolled, composed of yeomen, and styled "the Yeomen of the Guard;" a splendid corps, which at the present time continues to form one of the most picturesque ornaments of the ante-chamber. Henry VIII., however, was too magificent in his notions of state to be satisfied with a guard consisting merely of yeomen; he thought that none but gentlemen of superior rank should have the privilege of forming the immediate guard of the sovereign, and accordingly his majesty (as is affirmed by Lloyd), at the instance of Sir William Compton, a lineal ancestor of the earl of Northampton, created a troop composed entirely of the cadets of noble families, and these he called his Pensioners, or Spears, each Spear being attended by an archer, a demi-lance, and a coustill (from the French coustillier) or half-armed servant, with three managed horses completely furnished for service in the field. — Captain James Bunce Curling. His late majesty William IV. was graciously pleased to command (March 17, 1834) 1 The first regular force employed by the kings of England was their own personal guard; but there does not appear to have been a regularly embodied corps of guards previous to the reign of Richard I., who instituted the serjeants-at-arms-a body of twenty-four archers, whose duties were to keep watch round the king's tent, in complete armour, with a bow and arrows, and a sword; and to arrest traitors and other offenders about the court. The sergeants-at-arms have ceased to be considered a corps of guard, but they retain their civil character. - Captain Curling. P |