Zachary Bethell (died 1635) was an English courtier, an usher, and administrator in the wardrobes of

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional fo ...

and

Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She wa ...

Career

He was a grandson of Richard Bethell, a mayor of Winchester. Zachary Bethell was a gentleman usher daily waiter usher and a gentlemen of the robes in the royal wardrobe. He bought his place from a Mr Izard. Bethell kept an account book (which is not known to survive). In 1640 Katherine Lisle sought an old debt to her grandfather, Edward Barnes, a silkman who had supplied Anne of Denmark.

William Juxon William Juxon (1582 – 4 June 1663) was an English churchman, Bishop of London from 1633 to 1646 and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1660 until his death. Life Education Juxon was the son of Richard Juxon and was born probably in Chichester, ...

observed that a part of the sum claimed was recorded as paid in Mr Bethell's book of "Queen Anne's Robes". Elizabeth Sidney, Countess of Rutland, paid Bethell a contribution towards the cost of the masque ''

Hymenaei ''Hymenaei,'' or ''The Masque of Hymen,'' was a masque written by Ben Jonson for the marriage of Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, and Lady Frances Howard, daughter of the Earl of Suffolk, and performed on their wedding day, 5 January 1606 ...

'' in January 1606, and also contributed to the costs of her costume. Bethell was involved in preparations for

masque The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A masque ...

s and entertainments, particularly at

Greenwich Palace Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

, and at

Somerset House Somerset House is a large Neoclassical complex situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadrangle was built on the site of a Tudor palace ("O ...

, where he prepared a space for Anne of Denmark to practice her dance for ''

The Masque of Beauty ''The Masque of Beauty'' was a courtly masque written by Ben Jonson, and performed in London's Whitehall Palace on 10 January 1608. It inaugurated the refurbished banquesting hall of the palace (the predecessor of Inigo Jones' building). It was ...

''. Bethell received money for the masque costumes. Bethell became Keeper of Somerset House, which he called "Denmark House" in his will. After the death of Anne of Denmark, he walked in her

funeral procession A funeral procession is a procession, usually in motor vehicles or by foot, from a funeral home or place of worship to the cemetery or crematorium. In earlier times the deceased was typically carried by male family members on a bier or in a cof ...

with the usher

John Tunstall John Henry Tunstall (6 March 1853 – 18 February 1878) was an English-born rancher and merchant in Lincoln County, New Mexico, United States. He competed with the Irish Catholic merchants, lawmen, and politicians who ran the town of Li ...

. Inventories note some items of her clothing and linen in his keeping. He signed bills for the masque ''

Chloridia ''Chloridia: Rites to Chloris and Her Nymphs'' was the final masque that Ben Jonson wrote for the Stuart Court. It was performed at Shrovetide, 22 February 1631, with costumes, sets and stage effects designed by Inigo Jones. The masque ''Chlo ...

'', included payment for copper lace to two "maskinge suttes for Jefferye" (

Jeffrey Hudson Jeffrey Hudson (1619 – ''circa'' 1682) was a court dwarf of the English queen Henrietta Maria of France. He was famous as the "Queen's dwarf" and "Lord Minimus", and was considered one of the "wonders of the age" because of his extreme but ...

) supplied by Benjamin Henshawe. By 1637 he was replaced as surveyor of the robes of Henrietta Maria by Mr White. Bethell had a house close to St Giles in the Fields and was a neighbour of the queen's silkwoman

Dorothy Speckard Dorothy Speckard or Speckart or Spekarde (died 1656) was a courtier, milliner, silkwoman, and worker in the wardrobe of Elizabeth I of England, Anne of Denmark, Prince Henry, and Henrietta Maria. Her husband, Abraham Speckard, was an investor in t ...

.John Parton, ''Some Account of the Hospital and Parish of St. Giles in the Fields, Middlesex'' (London, 1822), p. 357. He died in 1635 and was survived by his wife Susan, and his son William Bethell who he disowned as a spendthrift with a bequest of 20 shillings.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bethell, Zachary Household of Anne of Denmark People from Winchester 1635 deaths