The ''Gentilhombres Grandes de España con ejercicio y servidumbre'' (Gentlemen of the Bedchamber Grandee of Spain) was a palatial class of honorary royal servants of the

Royal Household and Heritage of the Crown of Spain The Royal Household and Heritage of the Crown of Spain () was the institution of the Monarchy of Spain. It governed the organization of the Royal Spanish Court from the time of the House of Habsburg, Habsburg dynasty, which introduced the so-called ...

, who were entrusted with certain functions at the service of the Monarch which they exercised by rigorous seniority. During the reigns of the last two monarchs before the proclamation of the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...

King Alfonso XII Alfonso XII (Alfonso Francisco de Asís Fernando Pío Juan María de la Concepción Gregorio Pelayo de Borbón y Borbón; 28 November 185725 November 1885), also known as ''El Pacificador'' (Spanish: the Peacemaker), was King of Spain from 29 D ...

, and

King Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII ( Spanish: ''Alfonso León Fernando María Jaime Isidro Pascual Antonio de Borbón y Habsburgo-Lorena''; French: ''Alphonse Léon Ferdinand Marie Jacques Isidore Pascal Antoine de Bourbon''; 17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also ...

, being symbolically considered as "relatives" to the King, they were always close to his chamber in all kinds of ceremonies and stayed with him inside and outside of the Palace, having lunch daily with him and being also with him at public spectacles such as the bullfights, the theatre, etc. They exercised their functions by strict daily shifts. Nevertheless, they were not employees of the Royal Household like the ''

Mayordomos de semana The Mayordomos de semana (Weekly stewards) was a palatial class of honorary royal servants of the Royal Household and Heritage of the Crown of Spain, who were entrusted with certain functions at the service of the Monarch. Specifically, they accompa ...

'' and did not receive a regular salary for their service. From the ceremonial point of view - in royal baptisms - seven of them were entrusted to deliver the sacred ornaments for the sacrament (saltcellar, water-jug, cottons, brush etc.). In the Public chapels, they always stayed at the procession that was celebrated right before the ''Mayordomos de semana''. In official banquets and in the annual opening of the ''

Cortes Generales The (; ) are the Bicameralism, bicameral legislative chambers of Spain, consisting of the Congress of Deputies (the lower house) and the Senate of Spain, Senate (the upper house). The Congress of Deputies meets in the Palacio de las Cortes, ...

'' (Spanish Parliament), the ''Gentilhombre Grande de España'' in service were always behind the King. With their status, they had free entrance to the

Royal Palace of Madrid The Royal Palace of Madrid () is the official residence of the Spanish royal family at the city of Madrid, although now used only for state ceremonies. The palace has of floor space and contains 3,418 rooms. It is the largest royal palace in Eu ...

up to the Chamber after the Saleta and the Antechamber. To be nominated for this class, it was necessary to not only to belong to the nobility but also to be a

Grandee of Spain Grandee (; , ) is an official royal and noble ranks, aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the , though in neither country did they ha ...

, and they had to be previously presented to the King in the so-called ceremony of the ''Cobertura'' (Coverage). Their badge was a golden gilded key on a red velvet ribbon with golden bangs and the

Royal Cypher In modern heraldry, a royal cypher is a monogram or monogram-like device of a country's reigning Monarch, sovereign, typically consisting of the initials of the monarch's name and title, sometimes interwoven and often surmounted by a Crown (heral ...

of the King who nominated them embroidered also in gold. The key was placed horizontally in the waist to the right side in uniforms, dress-coat or frock coat. They were styled ''Excelentísimos señores Gentilhombres Grandes de España con ejercicio y servidumbre''. This Office was suppressed after the

was declared on April 14, 1931, and it was never re-created after the restoration of Monarchy in November 1975. At the moment of the suppression, there remained 213 ''Gentilhombres Grandes de España con ejercicio y servidumbre'' at service. Among them, the following ones were the most important: * The

Duke of Baena Duke of Baena () is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1566 by Philip II to Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba II, who was the 7th Lord of Baena, 5th Count of Cabra and 3rd Duke of Ses ...

* The Marquess of Velada * The

Duke of Lerma Francisco Gómez de Sandoval y Rojas, 1st Duke of Lerma, 5th Marquess of Denia, 1st Count of Ampudia (1552/1553 – 17 May 1625), was a favourite of Philip III of Spain, the first of the '' validos'' ('most worthy') through whom the later H ...

* The Duke of Arión * The Count of Almodóvar * The

Duke of Infantado Duke of the Infantado () is a Spanish peerage title that was granted to Diego Hurtado de Mendoza y Figueroa, son of Íñigo López de Mendoza, 1st Marquis of Santillana, by the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile ...

* The Duke of la Victoria * The

Duke of Alba Duke of Alba de Tormes (), commonly known as Duke of Alba, is a title of Spanish nobility that is accompanied by the dignity of Grandee of Spain. In 1472, the title of ''Count of Alba de Tormes'', inherited by García Álvarez de Toledo, wa ...

* The

Duke of Villahermosa Duke of Villahermosa () is a hereditary title in the peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1476 by John II to Alfonso de Aragón, a half-brother of Ferdinand II.Hidalgos de España (2018). p. 991 The ducal fa ...

* The Duke of Aliaga * The

Duke of Medinaceli Duke of Medinaceli () is an hereditary title in the peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee. The Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, created the title and awarded it on 31 October 1479 to Luis ...

* The Count of Oropesa * The Duke of Zaragoza * The Marquess of Hoyos * The Marquess of la Cenia * The Duke of Tarancón * The

Count of Plasencia The Count of Plasencia is a Spanish nobility title, created in 1611 by King Philip III, in favor of Pedro Lanuza y Ximénez de Urrea. The title was granted in memory of the ancient dominion that the Lanuza family had exercised in the 16th centu ...

* The

Count of Montijo Count of Montijo () is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain accompanied by the dignity of Grandee, granted in 1599 by Philip III to Juan Portocarrero, Lord of Montijo, mayordomo mayor and a knight of the Order of Santiago The Order ...

* The Duke of Pinohermoso * The Marquess of Narros * The Duke of Tamames * The

Duke of Veragua The Duchy of Veragua () is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain. It was also a Spanish hereditary domain created in 1537 in the reign of King Charles I in a small section of the territory of Veragua (''Gobernación de Veragua'', which h ...

* The

Duke of San Pedro de Galatino Duke of San Pedro de Galatino () is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain accompanied by the dignity of Grandee, granted in 1621 by Philip IV to Juan Bautista Spínola, a Genoese nobleman.Hidalgos de España (2018). p. 788 The name makes ...

* The Marquess of Atarfe * The Marquess of Quirós * The Marquess of Fontalba * The Marquess of Távara * The

Count of Torre Arias Count of Torre Arias () is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1761 by Charles III to María Francisca Colón de Larreátegui, in memory of her father, Pedro Colón de Larreátegui, kni ...

* The Marquess of Lierta * The

Duke of Alburquerque Duke of Alburquerque () is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1464 by Henry IV to Beltrán de la Cueva, his "royal favourite" and grand master of the Order of Santiago. It makes ref ...

* The Marquess of Bondad Real * The Marquess of Viesca de la Sierra * The

Duke of Lécera Duke of Lécera () is a hereditary title in the Spanish nobility, Peerage of Spain accompanied by the dignity of Grandee, granted in 1493 by Ferdinand II of Aragon to Juan Fernandez de Hijar y Cabrera, Juan Fernández de Híjar. The title makes ...

* The Count of Peñaranda de Bracamonte * The Count of Campo de Alange * The

Duke of San Fernando de Quiroga Duke of San Fernando de Quiroga () is a hereditary title in the Spanish nobility, Peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1815 by Ferdinand VII of Spain, Ferdinand VII to Joaquín José de Melgarejo, 1st Duke of Sa ...

* The Marquess of Canillejas * The Duke of Santo Mauro * The

Duke of Fernán Núñez Duke of Fernán Núñez () is a hereditary title of nobility in the Peerage of Spain accompanied by the dignity of Grandee. The Countship of Fernán Núñez granted in 1639 to Alonso Gutiérrez de los Ríos was elevated to a dukedom in 1817 in th ...

* The Marquess of Cubas * The

Duke of Aveiro Duke of Aveiro () was a Portuguese title of nobility, granted in 1535 by King John III of Portugal to his 4th cousin, John of Lencastre, son of Infante George of Lencastre, a natural son of King John II of Portugal. John of Lencastre was ...

* The Marquess of Sentmenat * The

Marquess of Urquijo Marquess of Urquijo () is a noble title in the peerage of Spain accompanied by the dignity of Grandee of Spain, bestowed on Estanislao de Urquijo y Landaluce by King Amadeo I on 13 May 1871. On 1 August 1980, the 5th Marchioness of Urquijo, Mar ...

* The Marquess of Vallecerrato * The Count of Peralada * The Marquess of Guadalcázar * The

Duke of Medina Sidonia Duke of Medina Sidonia () is a peerage grandee title of Spain in Medina-Sidonia, holding the oldest extant dukedom in the kingdom, first awarded by King John I of Castile in 1380. His father, Henry II of Castile (c.1334-1379), had an illegiti ...

* The Count of Glimes * The Duke of Sevilla * The Marquess of Torneros * The Count of Mora * The Count of Güell * The Duke of Santa Elena * The

Duke of Medina de las Torres Duke of Medina de las Torres () is a hereditary title in the Spanish nobility, Peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1625 by Philip IV of Spain, Philip IV to Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares, Gaspar de G ...

* The

Duke of Sanlúcar la Mayor Duke of Sanlúcar la Mayor () is a hereditary title in the Spanish nobility, Peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1625 by Philip IV of Spain, Philip IV to Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares, Gaspar de Guz ...

* The Count of Floridablanca * The Count of Bilbao * The Count of Valmaseda * The Marquess of Gauna * The Marquess of las Nieves * The Count of Elda * The Marquess of Arienzo * The Marquess of Monreal * The

Duke of Béjar Duke of Béjar () is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1485 by the Catholic Monarchs to Álvaro de Zúñiga, 1st Duke of Plasencia and chief justice of Castile. The title refers ...

* The Duke of Almenara Alta * The Duke of Abrantes * The Marquess of Aldama * The Marquess of Viana * The Marquess of el Vasto * The Marquess of Valdesevilla * The Count of Guadiana * The Marquess of Albudeyte * The Duke of Francavilla * The

Duke of Maqueda Duke of Maqueda () is a hereditary title in the Spanish nobility, Peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1529 by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles I to Diego de Cárdenas, 2nd Lord of Maqueda and ''adelantado' ...

* The Duke of Santa Cristina * The Viscount of Valoria * The Count of los Andes * The Marquess of Castel Rodrigo * The Marquess of Estella * The Baron of Segur * The

Duke of Terranova Duke of Terranova () is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1502 by Ferdinand II to "El Gran Capitán" (Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba), a general who negotiated the Surrender of Gr ...

* The Marquess of Povar * The Marquess of Foronda * The Duke of Rivas * The Count of Superunda * The Count of Velle * The Duke of Bournonville * The Duke of Grimaldi * The Marquess of las Torres de la Presa * The Count of Cheste * The Duke of Canalejas * The

Duke of Soma Duke of Soma () is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1502 by Ferdinand II to Ramón Folch de Cardona, 11th Baron of Bellpuig and 1st Count of Oliveto, for his services as viceroy ...

* The Count of Ruiseñada

Bibliography

Enciclopedia universal ilustrada europeo-americana __NOTOC__ The ''Enciclopedia universal ilustrada europeo-americana'' (also called ''Enciclopedia Espasa'', or ''Enciclopedia Espasa-Calpe'', after its publisher, founded by José Espasa Anguera) is a Spanish encyclopedia. It comprises 72 volume ...

. Volume 49. Hijos de J. Espasa, Editores.1923 *Guia de España. Sucesores de Ribadeneyra. Madrid. 1930 {{DEFAULTSORT:Gentilhombres Grandes de España con ejercicio y servidumbre Royal households Grandees of Spain Spanish courtiers

See also

Bibliography