A privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
The Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber were noble-born servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King in private, as well as during various court activities, functions and entertainments. In addition, six of these gentlemen were appointed by the
Lord Chamberlain
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 cha ...
, together with a peer, and the
Master of the Ceremonies
The office of Master of the Ceremonies was established by King James VI and I. The Master's duties were to receive foreign dignitaries and present them to the monarch at court. Below is a list of known holders until the replacement of the office ...
, to publicly attend to all foreign ambassadors. Their institution was owed to King
Henry VII. As a singular mark of favour, they were empowered to execute the King's verbal command without producing any written order; their person and character being deemed sufficient authority.
Below Gentlemen in the hierarchy of the Privy Chamber were the
Grooms of the Privy Chamber.
History
Privy chamber and outer chamber in an English royal household
The privy chamber was the most influential department in an English royal household. It contained the king's "privy lodging", consisting of bedroom, library, study, and lavatory. What was known as the chamber was later divided into a privy chamber (distinguished from bedchamber in 1559), and outer chamber (often styled presence chamber). "While entry to the Presence Chamber was strongly contested by many, the key to real influence lay in access to the Privy Chamber." In fact, maintaining verbal contact with the King effectively required access to and control of the King's private lodgings; in other words, the privy chamber.
The privy chamber under the Tudors
The privy chamber originated in Henry VII's reign (1485–1509). By the time his son
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
had ascended the throne, the privy chamber had become quite institutionalized, with a regular staff of its own, such as gentlemen, ushers, grooms, and pages. It developed further under the reign of Henry VIII, through a winding process of reform and reorganisation, particularly from 1518 to 1536.
The gentlemen who dominated the privy chamber were servants of the Crown and usually "shared two characteristics: the king's religion and the king's personal favour."
[Terence Alan Morris, ''Tudor Government'']
p. 10
at books.google.com Apart from playing an "increasingly important role in the handling of the crown's cash",
the Privy chamber also played a military role, providing an "army-within-an-army".
Often, the gentlemen in the privy chamber were peers of Henry or figures of importance in the government, who shared their duties with the
Groom of the Stool
The Groom of the Stool (formally styled: "Groom of the King's Close stool, Close Stool") was the most intimate of an List of English monarchs, English monarch's courtiers, responsible for assisting the king in excretion and hygiene.
The physica ...
and the Chief Gentleman of the Chamber, with overall responsibility for all staff. These people usually organised hunting expeditions, in King Henry's case, or games, in the case of the boy King
Edward VI
Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...
who succeeded him, as a form of entertainment and as a way to create time for bonding.
The duties of the gentlemen of the privy chamber or "gentlemen weyters" (later these gentlemen waiters would belong to the chamber) were required to "dilligently attend upon...
he king'sperson... doeing humble, reverent, secrett and lowly service".
In other words, this service consisted primarily in giving company to the sovereign and in dressing and undressing him, although they performed a variety of chores.
King Henry VIII
The privy chamber was properly established under
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
who, as a young man early in his reign, had a "desire to have friends around him"; friends who also enjoyed sports and
jousting
Jousting is a martial game or hastilude between two horse riders wielding lances with blunted tips, often as part of a tournament (medieval), tournament. The primary aim was to replicate a clash of heavy cavalry, with each participant trying t ...
as Henry did.
[Diarmaid MacCulloch, ''The reign of Henry VIII: politics, policy, and piety'']
p. 17
online The Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber usually became very distinguished individuals, sometimes having more influence over the king even than his wife. As Henry's rule progressed, the number of office-holders in the privy chamber increased, partly to accommodate outsiders who had recognised the advantages of holding a post so close to the king, and partly to provide enough cover to allow staff some release from duty. Occasionally, as in the case of
Thomas Wolsey
Thomas Wolsey ( – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic bishop. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling figur ...
, access to the privy chamber could contribute to a downfall. An extract from the
Ordinances of Eltham The Eltham Ordinance of January 1526 was the failed reform of the England, English court of Henry VIII of England, Henry VIII by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. It is named after the Eltham Palace in Kent where Wolsey devised his plan. The Ordinance, which ...
, manuscript dated 1526, reads:
It is ordeyned that such persons as be appointed of the privy Chamber, shall be loving together, and of good Unity and accord keeping secrett all such things as shalbe done or said in the same, without disclosing any part thereof to any person Not being for the time present in the said chamber, and that the King being absent, without they be commanded to goe with his Grace, they shall not only give their continuall and diligent attendance in the said Chamber, but also leave hearkening and inquiring where the King is or goeth, be it early or late, without grudgeing, mumbling, or talking of the King's Pastime; late or early going to bedd.
In the early years of Henry VIII's reign, the title Gentleman of the Privy Chamber was awarded to subordinates of the king and to court companions who spent time with him. These were the sons of noblemen or important members of the gentry. In time, they came to act as personal secretaries to the king, carrying out a variety of administrative tasks within his private rooms. The position was an especially respected one since it held the promise of regularly gaining the king's attention, as described in the Ordinances of Eltham:
It is also ordeyned that the six gentlemen of the privy chamber, by seven of the clock or sooner, as the King the night before determineth to arise in the morning, shall be in the said chamber there diligently attending upon his Grace coming forth; being ready and prompt, to apparel and dresse his Highnesse, putting on such garments, in reverent, discreet and sober manner, as shall be his Grace’s pleasure to weare; and that none of the said groomes or ushers doe approach or presume (unlesse they be otherwise by his Grace commanded or admitted) to lay hands upon his royall person, or intermeddle with prepareing or dressing of the fame, but onely that said six gentlemen : except it be to warme cloaths or to bring to the said gentlemen such things as shall apperteyne to the apparelling and dressing of the King’s said perſon.
=Grooms of the Stool under Henry VIII
=
The position of
Groom of the Stool
The Groom of the Stool (formally styled: "Groom of the King's Close stool, Close Stool") was the most intimate of an List of English monarchs, English monarch's courtiers, responsible for assisting the king in excretion and hygiene.
The physica ...
became an increasingly influential one, especially in King Henry's old age, when he required a great deal of physical assistance. Although this position was one of a male servant to the household, in charge of the "royal excretion" (which meant he had the task of cleaning the monarch's anus after defecation), the service was seen as very honourable rather than humiliating, and the Groom of the Stool had a high standing.
*
Sir William Compton (1509–1528): Died in 1528 during the
sweating sickness
Sweating sickness, also known as the sweats, English sweating sickness, English sweat or ''sudor anglicus'' in Latin, was a mysterious and contagious disease that struck England and later continental Europe in a series of epidemics beginning ...
*
Sir Henry Norris (1526–1536): Beheaded 1536 for
High Treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
*Sir Thomas Heneage (1536–1546)
*
Sir Anthony Denny
Sir Anthony Denny (16 January 1501 – 10 September 1549) was Groom of the Stool to King Henry VIII of England, thus his closest courtier and confidant. He was the most prominent member of the Privy chamber in King Henry's last years, havin ...
(1546–1547)
*
Sir Michael Stanhope (1547–1551): Beheaded 1552 for
High Treason
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
King Edward VI
During 1549–53, there were six "principal gentlemen" (Sir
John Cheke
Sir John Cheke (or Cheek) (16 June 1514 – 13 September 1557) was an English classical scholar and statesman. One of the foremost teachers of his age, and the first Regius Professor of Greek at the University of Cambridge, he played a great pa ...
, Sir Henry Sydney, Sir Nicholas Throckmorton,
Sir Thomas Wroth, Sir
Henry Nevill and Barnaby) and twenty-six "ordinary gentlemen" in
Edward VI
Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...
's Privy chamber. All of these gentlemen, except for Barnaby, were 10 to 15 years older than the king.
[Clements R. Markham, ''King Edward VI: An Appreciation'']
p. 168
online Usually, the six "principal gentlemen" would be close intimates of the monarch; however, with a king as young and inexperienced as Edward, there was a huge possibility that some of these men could have forced themselves onto the king rather than the other way around. In fact, it might well have been the case that there were gentlemen of the privy chamber who were not so friendly with the king: such may have been Sir
Phillip Hoby, who was a diplomatist and an intriguer, or Lord Strange and William Stanley who "confessed to having been employed by Somerset as a spy".
As salary, a gentleman received £50 a year, a gentleman usher £30, and a groom £20. The gentlemen were regular officers of the court and hence belonged to what was called the "Ordinary of the King's Honorable House", as opposed to the six gentlemen, two gentlemen ushers, four grooms, one barber, and one page, whose positions had been established during the reign of King Henry VIII.
The privy chamber led to the rise of many powerful men. Later in the reign of King Edward VI, Sir
John Gates
John "Johnny" Gates, born Solomon Regenstreif (28 September 1913 – 23 May 1992) was an American Communist business man, best remembered as one of the individuals spearheading a failed attempt at liberalization of the Communist Party USA in ...
emerged as "a political figure, based in the privy chamber, and able to control access to the young king on behalf of his patron, the Duke of Northumberland." Usually, it was the person closest to the king (whether it was the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Protector or the Lord President of the Privy Council) who would pack the privy chamber with his allies. This not only suggests that the members of the privy chamber changed depending on who occupied these positions of power, but also hints that the privy chamber was very useful in maintaining the power of such people. In fact, John Fowler indirectly maintained
Thomas Seymour's control over Edward by accepting bribes and allowing repeated contact and influence between the two.
Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth
Queen Mary's household, at the time of her death, included a Privy Chamber establishment of seven Ladies and thirteen Gentlewomen, alongside a mere half a dozen Gentlemen and Grooms. Under
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen".
El ...
the number of males on the establishment was further reduced to just two, one Gentleman and one Groom.
James VI and I
James VI of Scotland
James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...
became king of England in 1603. The institutions of the Scottish royal court and household and the architectural spaces of the palaces were different to England. James' varlets of the "chalmer" became grooms of the bedchamber. Some English courtiers like
John Fortescue, who resisted the appointments of Scottish courtiers lost their places.The new Privy Chamber formed in May 1603 had 48 gentlemen, twelve in service at any time. The new gooms seem to have been of lower family status than Elizabeth's but the ushers enjoyed some superiority. The
Duke of Lennox
The title Duke of Lennox has been created several times in the peerage of Scotland, for Clan Stewart of Darnley. The dukedom, named for the district of Lennox in Dumbarton, was first created in 1581, and had formerly been the Earldom of Lenno ...
was Chamberlain, but
Sir Thomas Erskine was in charge.
John Murray of Bedchamber became a particularly influential courtier and conduit of patronage..
[Neil Cuddy, 'Revival of the Entourage', ''The English Court from the Wars of the Roses to the Civil War'' (London, 1987), pp. 173-225.]
Notes
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Privy Chamber
English monarchy
Noble titles
Positions within the British Royal Household