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 Master or Keeper of the Great Wardrobe 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, officer 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 300l., there was his deputy, who had 150l., and a comptroller and a patent clerk, each of whom had 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, Kensington, 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.