Portrait of Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester (1532-1588)

The Lord Steward or Lord Steward of the Household is an official of the Royal Household 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 ...

. He is always a peer. Until 1924, he was always a member of the Government. Until 1782, the office was one of considerable political importance and carried Cabinet rank. The Lord Steward receives his appointment from the Sovereign in person and bears a white staff as the emblem and warrant of his authority. He is the first dignitary of the court. In the House of Lords Precedence Act 1539, an Act of Parliament for placing of the lords, he is described as the grand master or lord steward of the king's most honourable household. He presided at the Board of Green Cloth, until the Board of Green Cloth disappeared in the reform of local government licensing in 2004, brought about by the

Licensing Act 2003 The Licensing Act 2003 (c 17) is an act passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The act establishes a single integrated scheme for licensing premises in England and Wales used to sell or supply of alcohol, provide regulated entertainment ...

(section 195). In his department are the

Treasurer of the Household The Treasurer of the Household is a member of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The position is usually held by one of the government deputy Chief Whips in the House of Commons. The current holder of the office is Mar ...

and Comptroller of the Household, who rank next to him. These officials were usually peers or the sons of peers and Privy Councillors. They also sat at the Board of Green Cloth, carry white staves, and belong to the ministry. The offices are now held by Government

whips A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...

in the House of Commons. The duties which in theory belong to the Lord Steward, Treasurer and Comptroller of the Household are in practice performed by the

Master of the Household 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 foot ...

, who is a permanent officer and resides in the palace. However, by the , the Lord Steward was still appointed the Coroner of the Queen's Household, until the office was abolished in 2013 by the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. The

is a white-staff officer and was a member of the Board of Green Cloth but not of the ministry, and among other things he presided at the daily dinners of the suite in waiting on the sovereign. He is not named in the Black Book of Edward IV or in the Statutes of Henry VIII and is entered as master of the household and clerk of the green cloth in the Household Book of Queen Elizabeth. But he has superseded the lord steward of the household, as the lord steward of the household at one time superseded the

Lord High Steward The Lord High Steward is the first of the Great Officers of State in England, nominally ranking above the Lord Chancellor. The office has generally remained vacant since 1421, and is now an ''ad hoc'' office that is primarily ceremonial and ...

of England. In the Lord Steward's department were the officials of the Board of Green Cloth, the Coroner (" coroner of the verge"), and Paymaster of the Household, and the officers of the

Royal Almonry The Royal Almonry is a small office within the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, headed by the Lord High Almoner, an office dating from 1103. The almoner is responsible for distributing alms to the poor. The Lord High Almoner is usually a ...

. Other offices in the department were those of the Cofferer of the Household, the

Treasurer of the Chamber The Treasurer of the Chamber was at various points a position in the British royal household. 13th century The post of Treasurer of the Chamber first arose in the early 13th century. As part of the evolutionary changes that saw the Treasurer of th ...

, and the Paymaster of Pensions, but these, with six clerks of the Board of Green Cloth, were abolished in 1782. The Lord Steward had formerly three courts besides the Board of Green Cloth under him—the

Lord Steward's Court Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

, superseded in 1541 by the

Marshalsea Court The Marshalsea Court (or Court of the Marshalsea, also known as the Court of the Verge or the Court of the Marshal and Steward) was a court associated with the Royal Household in England. Associated with, but distinct from, the Marshalsea Court ...

, and the

Palace Court The Marshalsea Court (or Court of the Marshalsea, also known as the Court of the Verge or the Court of the Marshal and Steward) was a court associated with the Royal Household in England. Associated with, but distinct from, the Marshalsea Court ...

. The Lord Steward or his deputies formerly administered the

oaths Traditionally an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also called plight) is either a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to giv ...

to the members of the House of Commons. In certain cases (messages from the sovereign under the

sign-manual The royal sign-manual is the signature of the sovereign, by the affixing of which the monarch expresses his or her pleasure either by order, commission, or warrant. A sign-manual warrant may be either an executive act (for example, an appointmen ...

) the lords with white staves are the proper persons to bear communications between the Sovereign and the

Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north ban ...

Lord Stewards

15th century

*Sir Thomas Rempston 1399–1401 *

Thomas Percy, 1st Earl of Worcester Thomas Percy, Earl of Worcester, KG (134323 July 1403) was an English medieval nobleman and naval commander best known for leading the rebellion with his nephew Henry Percy, known as 'Harry Hotspur', and his elder brother, Henry Percy, 1st Ear ...

1401–1402 * William Heron, Lord Say 1402–1404 * Sir Thomas Erpingham 1404 * Sir John Stanley 1405–1412 * Sir Thomas Erpingham 1413–1417 * Sir Walter Hungerford 1413–1421 *Robert Babthorp 1421–1424 * Sir Walter Hungerford 1424–1426 * Sir John Tiptoft 1426–1432 *Robert Babthorp 1432–1433 * William de la Pole, 1st Marquess of Suffolk 1433–1446 * Ralph Boteler, 1st Baron Sudeley 1447–1457 * John Beauchamp, 1st Baron Beauchamp 1457–1461 *

William Neville, 1st Earl of Kent William Neville, Earl of Kent KG (c. 14059 January 1463) and ''jure uxoris'' 6th Baron Fauconberg, was an English nobleman and soldier. He fought during the latter part of the Hundred Years War, and during the English dynastic Wars of the Roses ...

1461–1463 *

John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester KG (8 May 1427 – 18 October 1470), was an English nobleman and scholar who served as Lord High Treasurer, Lord High Constable of England and Lord Deputy of Ireland. He was known as "the Butcher of Englan ...

1463–1467 *

Henry Bourchier, 1st Earl of Essex Henry Bourchier, 5th Baron Bourchier, 2nd Count of Eu, 1st Viscount Bourchier, 1st Earl of Essex, KG ( – 4 April 1483), was the eldest son of William Bourchier, 1st Count of Eu, and Anne of Gloucester. On his mother's side, he was a gr ...

1467–1471 * Thomas Stanley, 2nd Baron Stanley 1471–1483 * Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey 1483–1485 *John Radcliffe,

Baron FitzWalter Baron FitzWalter is an ancient title in the Peerage of England. It was created on 24 June 1295 for Robert FitzWalter. The title was created by writ, which means that it can descend through both male and female lines. His great-grandson, the fou ...

1486–1496 * Robert Willoughby, 1st Baron Willoughby de Broke 1496–1502

16th century

* George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury 1502–1538 * Robert Radcliffe, 1st Earl of Sussex 1538–1540 Office of Lord Steward discontinued and replaced by the Lord Great Master *

Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, 1st Viscount Lisle, (22 August 1545) was an English military leader and courtier. Through his third wife, Mary Tudor, he was brother-in-law to King Henry VIII. Biography Charles Brandon was the second ...

1540–1545 * William Paulet, Lord St John 1545–1550 *

John Dudley, 1st Earl of Warwick John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland (1504Loades 2008 – 22 August 1553) was an English general, admiral, and politician, who led the government of the young King Edward VI from 1550 until 1553, and unsuccessfully tried to install Lady Jan ...

1550–1553 Office of Lord Steward restored *

Henry Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel Henry Fitzalan, 12th Earl of Arundel KG (23 April 151224 February 1580) was an English nobleman, who over his long life assumed a prominent place at the court of all the later Tudor sovereigns, probably the only person to do so. Court caree ...

1553–1564 *''Vacant'' 1564–1567 * William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke 1567–1570 *''Vacant'' 1570–1572 *Edward Fiennes, Earl of Lincoln 1572–1584 * Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester 1584–1588 *Henry Stanley, Earl of Derby 1588–1593 *''Vacant'' 1593–1597

17th century

* The Earl of Nottingham 1603–1618 * The Duke of Richmond 1618–1623 * The Marquess of Hamilton 1623–1625 * The Earl of Pembroke 1625–1630 *''Vacant'' 1630–1640 * The Earl of Arundel and Surrey 1640–1644 * The Duke of Richmond 1644–1655 *''Vacant'' 1655–1660 * The Duke of Ormonde 1660–1688 * The Duke of Devonshire 1689–1707

18th century

* The Duke of Devonshire 1707–1710 * The Duke of Buckingham and Normanby 1710–1711 * The Earl Poulett 1711–1714 * The Duke of Devonshire 1714–1716 *

The Duke of Kent Duke of Kent is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, most recently as a royal dukedom for the fourth son of King George V. Since 1942, the title has been held by Prince Edwar ...

1716–1718 * The Duke of Argyll 1718–1725 * The Duke of Dorset 1725–1730 * The Earl of Chesterfield 1730–1733 * The Duke of Devonshire 1733–1737 * The Duke of Dorset 1737–1744 * The Duke of Devonshire 1744–1749 *

The Duke of Marlborough Duke of Marlborough (pronounced ) is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created by Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Queen Anne in 1702 for John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill, 1st Earl of Marlborough (1650–1722), the n ...

1749–1755 * The Duke of Rutland 1755–1761 * The Earl Talbot 1761–1782 * The Earl of Carlisle 1782–1783 * The Duke of Rutland 1783 * The Earl of Dartmouth 1783 * The Duke of Chandos 1783–1789 * The Duke of Dorset 1789–1799 * The Earl of Leicester 1799–1802

19th century

* The Earl of Dartmouth 1802–1804 * The Earl of Aylesford 1804–1812 * The Marquess of Cholmondeley 1812–1821 * The Marquess Conyngham 1821–1830 * The Duke of Buckingham and Chandos 1830 * The Marquess Wellesley 1830–1833 * The Duke of Argyll 1833–1834 * The Earl of Wilton 1835 * The Duke of Argyll 1835–1839 * The Earl of Erroll 1839–1841 * The Earl of Liverpool 1841–1846 * The Earl Fortescue 1846–1850 * The Marquess of Westminster 1850–1852 * The Duke of Montrose 1852–1853 *

The Duke of Norfolk Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The dukes ...

1853–1854 * The Earl Spencer 1854–1857 * The Earl of St Germans 1857–1858 * The Marquess of Exeter 1858–1859 * The Earl of St Germans 1859–1866 * The Earl of Bessborough 1866 *

1866–1867 * The Earl of Tankerville 1867–1868 * The Earl of Bessborough 1868–1874 * The Earl Beauchamp 1874–1880 * The Earl Sydney 1880–1885 * The Earl of Mount Edgcumbe 1885–1886 * The Earl Sydney 1886 * The Earl of Mount Edgcumbe 1886–1892 * The Marquess of Breadalbane 1892–1895 * The Earl of Pembroke 1895–1905

20th century

* The Earl of Liverpool 1905–1907 * The Earl Beauchamp 1907–1910 * The Earl of Chesterfield 1910–1915 * The Viscount Farquhar 1915–1922 * The Earl of Shaftesbury 1922–1936 * The Duke of Sutherland 1936–1937 * The Duke of Buccleuch 1937–1940 * The Duke of Hamilton 1940–1964 * The Duke of Westminster 1964–1967 * The Viscount Cobham 1967–1972 * The Duke of Northumberland 1973–1988 * The Viscount Ridley 1989–2001

21st century

* The Duke of Abercorn 2001–2009 * The Earl of Dalhousie 2009–present

References

{{British Monarchy Household Positions within the British Royal Household Ceremonial officers in the United Kingdom