A camarilla is a group of

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the officia ...

s or favourites who surround a

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the ...

or ruler. Usually, they do not hold any office or have any official authority at the

royal court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...

but influence their ruler behind the scenes. Consequently, they also escape having to bear responsibility for the effects of their advice. The term derives from the Spanish word ''camarilla'' (diminutive of ''cámara''), meaning "little chamber" or private cabinet of the king. It was first used of the circle of cronies around Spanish King

Ferdinand VII , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Charles IV of Spain , mother = Maria Luisa of Parma , birth_date = 14 October 1784 , birth_place = El Escorial, Spain , death_date = , death_place = Madrid, Spain , burial_plac ...

(reigned 1814-1833). The term involves what is known as

cronyism Cronyism is the spoils system practice of partiality in awarding jobs and other advantages to friends or trusted colleagues, especially in politics and between politicians and supportive organizations. For example, cronyism occurs when appointi ...

. The term also entered other languages like the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

, and is used in the sense given above. A similar concept in modern politics is that of a

Kitchen Cabinet Kitchen cabinets are the built-in furniture installed in many kitchens for storage of food, cooking equipment, and often silverware and dishes for table service. Appliances such as refrigerators, dishwashers, and ovens are often integrated i ...

, which is often composed of unelected advisers bypassing traditional governance practices.

Examples

Germany

In particular, two groups are called camarillas: those who surrounded the Emperor

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and List of monarchs of Prussia, King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication on 9 ...

and the President

Paul von Hindenburg Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (; abbreviated ; 2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German field marshal and statesman who led the Imperial German Army during World War I and later became President of Germany fr ...

The camarilla of President Paul von Hindenburg

* Oskar von Hindenburg, the son of the President *

Otto Meissner Otto Lebrecht Eduard Daniel Meissner (13 March 1880, Bischwiller, Alsace – 27 May 1953, Munich) was head of the Office of the President of Germany from 1920 to 1945 during nearly the entire period of the Weimar Republic under Friedrich Ebert ...

, secretary of state, chief of the presidential office *General Kurt von Schleicher, head of the military office in the Defence Ministry, later

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

Franz von Papen Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen, Erbsälzer zu Werl und Neuwerk (; 29 October 18792 May 1969) was a German conservative politician, diplomat, Prussian nobleman and General Staff officer. He served as the chancellor of Germany in 1 ...

, Chancellor

Romania

The camarilla of Queen Marie

* Barbu Ştirbey, prince and lover of the queen R. G. Waldeck, ''Athene Palace'', New York: Robert M. McBride and Company, 1942.

The camarilla of King Carol II

* Elena Lupescu, mistress and later wife of King Carol II Hans-Christian Maner, ''Parlamentarismus in Rumänien (1930-1940): Demokratie im autoritären Umfeld'', Munich: Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, 1997, , . *

Puiu Dumitrescu Constantin “Puiu” Dumitrescu was the secretary to King Carol II of Romania. In the 1920s, while in exile in Paris, Prince Carol hired Dumitrescu as his private secretary. The latter was a law student at the University of Paris; his father, ge ...

, private secretary of King Carol II (earlier period) *Barbu Ionescu, businessman *Hugo Bacher * Nae Ionescu, philosopher and journalist (1930-1933) Zigu Ornea
"Dezvăluirile lui Constantin Beldie"
, ''România literară'', 46/2000 * Gavrilă Marinescu, Bucharest police prefect * Ernest Urdăreanu, secretary of King Carol II (later period) * Max Auschnitt, industrialist * Nicolae Malaxa, industrialist * Aristide Blank, industrialist * Mihai Moruzov, head of the Romanian Secret Intelligence Service

Russia

In the 19th century, Russia's government was frequently described as a "camarilla", starting as early as 1860. This usage remained common into the 20th century; for instance, in 1917, commentator Robert Machray wrote of "certain forces in the background of the political life of Russia known as the 'Camarilla', which exercised and still exercise an extraordinary influence".

Spain

The right-wing domestic circle with which

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 19 ...

surrounded himself with in his final years at the

Royal Palace of El Pardo The Royal Palace of El Pardo ( es, Palacio Real de El Pardo, ) is one of the official residences of the Spanish royal family and one of the oldest, being used by the Spanish monarchs since Enrique III in the 15th century. It is administered by t ...

, his official residence, has been referred to as a "camarilla" by multiple authors.

The "El Pardo" camarilla of Francisco Franco

* Cristóbal Martínez-Bordiú, son-in-law of Franco *

Carmen Polo María del Carmen Polo y Martínez-Valdés, 1st Lady of Meirás, Grandee of Spain (11 June 1900 – 6 February 1988) was the wife of the dictator, General and "'' caudillo"'' Francisco Franco and is considered the most influential woman in Franc ...

, wife of Franco *Vicente Gil García, personal physician to Franco *José Ramón Gavilán, head of Franco's personal military staff *Antonio Urcelay Rodríguez, naval aide to Franco *Felipe Polo Martínez-Valdés, brother-in-law and personal lawyer of Franco

Other

* " Camarilla" is also the name of a "sect" (faction) in the role-playing game '' Vampire: The Masquerade''. * The Camarilla is a multi-planetary, multi-species secret organization intent on keeping Earth isolated from the rest of the galaxy in Brian Daley's "Fitzhugh & Floyt" trilogy. * The Camarilla is a multi-planetary, multi-species secret organization with varied and often obscure motives in

Lisanne Norman Lisanne Norman (born 15 February 1951 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such ...

's Sholan Alliance. * The Camarilla is an ancient, secret organization of witch hunters in the American TV show '' Motherland: Fort Salem''.

References

{{Refimprove, date=April 2007 Deep politics Political terminology