a closet or little room adjoining to a bedchamber, serving to dispose and keep a person's apparel in; or for a servant to lodge in, to be at hand to wait, &c.

in a prince's court, is an apartment wherein his robes, wearing apparel, and other necessaries, are preserved under the care and direction of proper officers.

In Britain, the MAJOR or Keeper of the Great Ward- robe was an officer of great antiquity and dignity. High privileges and immunities were conferred on him by King Henry VI, which were confirmed by his successors; and King James I. not only enlarged them, but ordained that this office should be a corporation or body politic for ever.

It was the duty of this office to provide robes for the coronations, marriages, and funerals of the royal family; to furnish the court with hangings, cloths of state, carpets, beds, and other necessaries; to furnish houses for ambassadors at their first arrival; cloths of state, and other furniture, for the lord lieutenant of Ireland, and all his majesty's ambassadors abroad; to provide all robes for foreign knights of the garter, robes for the knights of the garter at home; robes and all other furniture for the officers of the garter; coats for kings, heralds, and pursuivants at arms; robes for the lords of the treasury, and chancellor of the exchequer, &c.; livery for the lord chamberlain, grooms of his majesty's privy chamber, officers of his majesty's robes; for the two chief justices, for all the barons of the exchequer, and several officers of these courts; all liveries for his majesty's servants, as yeomen of the guard, and wardens of the Tower, trumpeters, kettle-drummers, and fifes; the messengers, and all belonging to the stables, as coachmen, footmen, littermen, postilions, and grooms, &c. all the king's coaches, chariots, harnesses, saddles, bits, bridles, &c. the king's watermen, game-keepers, &c. also furniture for the royal yachts, and all rich embroidered tilts, and other furniture for the barges.

Besides the master or keeper of the wardrobe, who had a salary of 200l., there was his deputy, who had 150l. and a comptroller and a patent clerk, each of whom has a salary of 300l. Besides many other inferior officers and servants, who were all sworn servants to the king.

There was likewise a removing wardrobe, who had its own set of officers, and standing wardrobe-keepers at St James's, Windsor Castle, Hampton Court, Kennington, and Somerset House; but the whole of the wardrobe establishment was abolished by act of parliament in 1782, and the duty of it in future to be done by the lord chamberlain.