THE ROYAL. In the preface to the Liber Niger Domus Regis Edw. IV., we are told that King Edward III. was "the first set of certainty among his domesticks upon a grounded rule. He appointed duties to his offices and officers by a formal and more convenient customate, more certain than was used before his time; he framed his new statutes, commandments, and charges, upon every officer inward and outward." Upon this work King Edward IV., with the advice of his great council, founded his Household Book. The table of the king, and the daily allowance of provisions, fuel, and lights to peers of each rank when in attendance upon the king, and to all his chief officers, attendants, and servants of every degree, on ordinary and on festival occasions, are carefully particularized; as are also the king's alms and gifts, the wages of every class of his servants, and the robes and liveries for his knights, officers, and domestics.

Henry VII. ordained new articles for the government of his household. Henry VIII. found it necessary to make still further regulations, particularly to prevent the court from being overrun by idlers and the retainers of the officers. In the ordinances made in the 31st Hen. VIII., the porters at the gate are enjoined "not only to exclude servants, vagabonds, and rascals, but also that they do not suffer any vagabonds, rascals, or boyes to enter in at the gate at any time, and that one of them shall, three or four times in the day, make due search throughout the house, in case that negligently at any time any boyes or rascals have escaped by them, and entred the gates, that thereby they may find them out and put them out againe."

In the royal household in feudal times the lowest offices were filled by persons of consideration, unfitting both by their rank and incapacity to perform the duties attaching to them. The supplies for the extensive establishment were made on the system of purveyance and receipt in kind; and the royal purveyors seized provisions wherever they could find them, paid for them only in such manner, and at such prices as the household officers thought proper to fix, and deposited them in the king's magazines.

This system of purveyance, after many previous attempts by statute to moderate its obnoxious uses, was abolished in 12th Chas. II. In 1780 Mr Burke introduced his plan of economical reform, in which the royal household formed a conspicuous part. He represented it as formed upon manners and customs which had long since expired, and as retaining ancient officers whose duties had long since ceased. He succeeded, two years later, in obtaining an act (22 Geo. III., c. 82) by which the following offices were suppressed:—Principal officer of the great wardrobe, principal officer of the jewel office, treasurer of the chamber, cofferer of the household, offices of the six clerks of the board of green cloth, paymaster of the pensions, master of the harriers and fox-hounds, and master of the stag-hounds.

The household expenses must have been very great. Madox remarks upon the magnificence of the Norman kings; and Stow, in his Annals, relates that "the person of King Richard II. was guarded wheresoever he lay by 200 men; that he had about him thirteen bishops, besides barons, knights, esquires, and others, insomuch that to the household came every day to meet 10,000 people." The charge for King Edward IV.'s household was L13,000 yearly. The statutes of Eltham, 7th Hen. VIII., give particular articles of diet, wine, &c., to be served to every person of the household, and the quantity and price of every article, the expenses of the stables, and the salaries of all the members and servants of the establishment. In the Household Book of King William and Queen Mary, 1689, the diet of the household is computed at L15,000 yearly, and the total charge at L76,038. Since the reign of King William III., parliament at the commencement of each reign has appropriated a fixed sum for the civil list of the sovereign. Thus—

| To William III. | L700,000 a-year | |----------------|----------------| | Anne | 700,000 | | George I. | 700,000 | | George II. | 800,000 | | George III. | 800,000 | | Increased in 17th year of reign | 900,000 | | George IV. | 1,050,000 | | William IV. | 510,000 | | Victoria | 385,000 |

Of this last the application is thus limited:—Privy purse, L60,000; household salaries, and retired allowances, L131,260; household expenses, L172,500; royal bounty, alms, and special services, L13,200; leaving an unappropriated balance of L8040, which may be applied in discharge of any of the other classes of charge. But these sums throw little light upon the comparative grants for the sovereign's household and personal expenses. Prior to the Revolution the sums granted were voted without any specification as to whether they should be applied to the maintenance of the army, the navy, the civil government, or the household. From that time the expenses of the army and navy were at once separately voted, and charges of civil government have from time to time been removed from the civil list, until, on the accession of William IV., by the separation of the salaries of the judges, the lord-lieutenant of Ireland, the diplomatic salaries and pensions, and the civil-list pensions of previous reigns, the civil-list charge has been properly reduced to the personal and household expenses of the sovereign.

The internal regulations of the royal household may be described under the names of the officers by whose authority they are maintained—the Lord Steward and his Court of Household, and the Lord Chamberlain; two great officers who, from the earliest times, have divided the authority over two distinct branches of the establishment.

The Lord Steward is the chief officer of the household. His authority extends over the offices of treasurer, comptroller, and master of the household, the two former of whom act as his deputies; and all the household officers and servants are subject to his authority, except those of the chapel, the chamber, and the stable. The first two are subject to the Lord Chamberlain, and the latter to the Master of the Horse. The duties of these three high officers are thus described in the Liber Niger, Edw. IV.:—The Steward of the Household receives his charge and staff from the king himself,—"Seneschall tenez la baton du notre hostiell,"—and by these words is at once constituted Steward of the whole Court of Marshalsea. The secondary estate and rule of the household, under the king, is wholly committed to his charge, and his orders are to be obeyed and observed. Out of the king's presence he is always to be served covered, whatever other great estate may be present. He may permit such to depart as he thinks pleasing to the king. While he is present in court, no new commandments or orders to officers or other persons should be given without his orders first had. In all the household rules and judgments he represents the king; and his staff is taken for his commission.

The Treasurer of the Household takes his charge and oath before the king or his council. He is second estate next to the steward, whose office he represents, and whose privileges he enjoys in his absence. He has the chief charge of the policy and economy of the household, which depend upon his sober and diligent purveyance. It belongs to the treasurer, with the steward and comptroller, to remind the king of his dispositions and purposes, and to make, from time to time provision for the household. To declare what the treasurer's duties are is to say that he should know and overlook every office and officer.—The Comptroller takes his charge in the king's presence. He is third in estate in the household after the steward, and by his supervision the treasurer is relieved of many details and accounts of things dispensed, of which he takes the charge. He sees that all goods purveyed for the household are sound and wholesome, and of reasonable price; also that the servants are diligent in their duties, and that their allowances do not exceed their receipts, which are returned into the exchequer. Up to the present time, but little change has taken place in the authorities of these three officers. The treasurer's office appears to have been united with that of the comptroller, and to have been hereditary (stat. 33, Hen. VIII.).—The Master of the Household is now under the treasurer, and examines a portion of his accounts, as was formerly done by the cofferer. His chief duties, however, consist more particularly in superintending the selection, qualification, and conduct of the household servants. The three former are always sworn of the Privy Council. They fill political offices, which are held only during the continuance in power of the party to which they belong. The master of the household is appointed during pleasure, and his continuance in office is not dependent upon party. The yearly salaries of these officers at different periods have been as follows:

Under Elizabeth, 1578—

Lord Steward .................................................. L200 0 0 Treasurer .......................................................... 123 14 0 Comptroller ....................................................... 167 14 0

Under William and Mary, 1689—

Lord Steward...L160 0 0 and board wages, L1300 0 0 Treasurer (and Cofferer) ........................................ 223 14 8 Comptroller ......... 107 17 6

Under Victoria, 1856—

Lord Steward .................................................. L2000 0 0 Treasurer .......................................................... 904 0 0 Comptroller ....................................................... 904 0 0 Master of the Household ...................................... 1138 0 0

The Court of the Household is held under the Lord Steward and his officers. It is called—

The Court of Marshalsea or Green Cloth, and derived its power from the Common Law, confirmed by several statutes. It had exclusive jurisdiction in the palace of the king, and within the verge, which is defined to include a circuit of 12 miles around. The Court of Marshalsea and of Green Cloth, though exercising at different times very different powers, cannot be described as two separate courts. It is of very ancient constitution, for in the Household Book of Edw. IV., ordinances of Hen. I. are quoted as relating to it.

The Steward of the Household is described as "Steward of the whole Court of Marshalsea, of which he is judge of life and limb; and, except those causes, the treasurer, comptroller, cofferer, two clerks of the Green Cloth, and the chief clerk of the enrolment, for any matters else done within the household, or appertaining thereto, they sit with him at the board of doom within the household, that is, the board of Green Cloth in the counting-house, as recorders and witnesses to the truth." The court had, when sitting under the steward as a criminal court, the power to inflict the highest penalties. False compassings and confederacies to destroy the king, or any of the household officers, by the king's servants, was declared felony by 3d Hen. VII., and the trial and judgment were committed to this court. By the 33d Hen. VIII., c. 12, its powers were extended to all treasons, misprisions of treasons, murders, manslaughters, bloodsheds, and malicious strikings, by reason whereof blood is shed, done within any of the royal houses, or houses where the king may be residing, without limitation to offences committed by the servants of the household, with the penalty of death, and forfeiture of lands and goods for all the offences except the malicious striking. For this the penalty was to have the right hand stricken off; and the statute appoints the specific duties of each of twelve of the household servants who are to take a part in this execution, commencing with the chief surgeon, who is to "sear the stump."

Charles I., by letters patent of the sixth year of his reign, in order to remove doubts as to the civil jurisdiction of this household court, and to obviate its frequent removals—for it necessarily followed the court in all its progresses—erected a new court of record called the Palace Court, with jurisdiction over all manner of personal actions whatsoever arising between any parties within 12 miles of his palace at Whitehall. The Lord Steward, the Knight Marshal, and the Steward of the Marshalsea, were named as judges, but the Deputy of the Steward of the Marshalsea usually sat alone. Charles II., by a charter of the sixteenth year of his reign, reconstituted the court, which continued to be held under that charter till 1849, when it was abolished by stat. 12 & 13, Vict. cap. 101, on the general establishment of the new county courts for the recovery of small debts. The extensive criminal jurisdiction of the Lord Steward's court gradually fell into disuse, and the statutes quoted of Henry VII. and Henry VIII. were repealed by 9th Geo. 4, cap. 31. The court became restricted in its functions to the control of the household affairs, and exercised the duties of a board, as it is now alone styled, and no longer those which belong to a court. It took account of all the expenses of the household. It made provision for the household, which in early times comprised the store and purveyance of large supplies of grain, meat, &c., and paid all such charges. It had the good government of the numerous servants and retainers. The steward, treasurer, or comptroller, were required of very special duty to be present daily at the audit of accounts, one or all of them, and to hear complaints, and to correct or appease them after due examination. It was their duty to keep the peace within the palace, and to punish the evil-doers; and for any wrong done to the king's officers or household servants in executing their office or commission, if the offender were the servant of the queen or prince, or any of the judges or lords, he was summoned to answer before the Green Cloth. The usual penalties were,—first, warning in fair manner at the counting-board openly; second, the loss of wages for one month; third, imprisonment for one month; fourth, to be put out of court, and to swear never knowingly to come near it again for ever.

The Lord Chamberlain is at the head of another great branch of the household. He is described (Lib. Niger, Edw. IV.), as sitting in the King's chamber, and when it requires for matters to be commended of in the King's Council, then in his own chamber. He was not, therefore, as that time, as has now long been the practice, a member of the Privy Council. "The chamberlain preseneth, chargeth, and dischargeth, all such persons as be of the King's chamber, except all such officers of household, as minister for any victuals for the king's mouth, or for his chamber; for all these take their charge at the Green Cloth in the counting-house. He hath the punishment of all those belonging to the chamber for any offence or outrage. The chamberlain taketh his oath and staff of the king, or of his council. He shall at no time within this court be covered in his service." He is "busily to search and oversee the King's chambers, and the estate made therein."

In the present day the duties of the Lord Chamberlain continue nearly those described above. He is an officer of great honour and trust. He is always sworn of the Privy Council. He has control over all the officers and servants of the royal chambers (except the bedchamber), and over the establishment of the chapel-royal, and the physicians, surgeons, and apothecaries of the household; also over the queen's band, and all comedians, trumpeters, and messengers, and all artificers in the queen's service. The performance of stage plays in the metropolis, and wherever there is a royal palace, is illegal, unless the premises in which the performance takes place are licensed by him; nor can any play, or part of a play, be legally acted in any part of Great Britain without his license. It is the Lord Chamberlain's duty to see that persons who wish to be presented to the sovereign at the drawing-rooms and levees are entitled by station and character to that distinction; also to issue, in the Queen's name, invitations to Her Majesty's balls, parties, &c.

The Vice-Chamberlain is an ancient officer of the household. The office is shown to have existed in the 13th Richard II. (1389). It is described as of high rank in the reign of Henry IV. The Vice-Chamberlain is now usually sworn a member of the Privy Council. He is the deputy and assistant of the Lord Chamberlain, in whose absence he conducts the Sovereign, and acts with full authority over all the officers and servants subject to his control. Like his principal, he quits office on a change of the government.

The yearly salaries of these officers under different reigns have been as follows:—

Under Elizabeth— Lord Chamberlain...........................................200 marks. Vice-Chamberlain.............................................100

Under William and Mary— Lord Chamberlain...........................................L100 0 0 Board wages.L1100 0 0 Vice Chamberlain...........................................68 13 4 .... 492 15 0

Under Victoria— Lord Chamberlain...........................................L2000 0 0 Vice-Chamberlain............................................924 0 0

In the same book (Lib. Niger, Edw. IV.), and in the following order, are also described the officers who formed the chamberlain's branch of the household, with most particular accounts of their places in the house, their allowances, perquisites, and number of attendants. Four baronets or bachelor knights, called knights of the chamber, twelve knights of the household, a secretary (origin of the secretary of state), with four clerks; four chaplains, four esquires of the body; server of meats, a surveyor of cooks for the king, a wardrober, four gentlemen ushers to pay special attention to strangers; twenty-four yeomen, the watchmen of the previous reign, four yeomen to make beds, an officer of wardrobe of robes, officer of wardrobe of beds, ten grooms of chamber, three pages of chamber; the keeper of the king's jewels, the doctor of physic, the master surgeon, the apothecary, the barber for the king, six henchmen (pages) and their master, and forty esquires of household of different counties, men of education, to give the king counsel.

All the foregoing officers, except the wardrober, either daily or during their rotation of attendance, have their stated allowances; those of higher degree, who take their meals in their own chambers, have livery of "messes of grete mete and roste," wine, torches, candles, faggots, &c.; and those of lesser rank have "etyng in the hall," and take allowances for their chamber at night of wine, ale, bread, candles, and firewood, the quantities being regulated according to the rank of their offices. The number of servants allowed to be brought into the household, and to have livery out of the household, and the allowances which these servants are entitled to receive daily, are also regulated with the same precision.

Then follow the kings of arms, heralds, and pursuants, whose number is not given. Four sergeants of arms, thirteen minstrels, a wayte, four messengers, priests, dean of chapel, twenty-six chaplains, two yeomen of the chapel, eight children of the chapel, the clerk of the closet, the master of grammar, the officer of vestuary, and the clerk of the crown.

Of the foregoing officers of the Lord Chamberlain's department, the chief, who present represent their duties, are—The Lords-in-Waiting, who attend in rotation, form part of the ordinary court of the Sovereign, and are present on all state occasions. Their appointments are deemed political, and depend upon the existence of the ministry. The Grooms-in-Waiting attend in a similar manner. The Gentlemen Ushers of the Privy Chamber, who are in constant attendance, and conduct the Sovereign in the absence of the higher officers. The Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber. This latter office has become a merely honorary appointment as, of late years, no services have been required. During the present female reign the office of Groom of the Stole is in abeyance. His authority in the last reign was exclusive in all matters relating to the bed-chamber. He had no fixed routine of duty, attending only on state occasions. Under his authority were twelve Lords of the Bedchamber, officers also in abeyance, and thirteen Grooms of the Bedchamber.

The Yeomen of the Guard and the Gentlemen-at-Arms are the ancient guards of the household. The former corps Household was established by Henry VII., as his body-guard in 1485, Royal, and as a royal guard a detachment is still mustered daily in the guard-chamber. The corps now consists of a captain, lieutenant, ensign, four exons, and one hundred yeomen. The yeomen are selected by the commander-in-chief from meritorious men who have served in the army. The captain is usually a peer and a privy councillor, and holds a political appointment dependent upon the government of the day, as does also the captain of the Gentlemen-at-Arms. This latter corps was established by Henry VIII. in 1509, and was called the Band of Gentlemen-Pensioners, until 1834 when it was re-modelled by William IV., and resumed its ancient title. The appointments are made by the crown on the recommendation of the commander-in-chief, and are restricted to officers of the British army or marines. The corps consists of the captain, lieutenant, standard-bearer, and forty gentlemen, who form the guard to the Queen's person; but their duties now chiefly consist in attendance at drawing-rooms, levees, and state ceremonials.

The Master of the Horse is the third greatest officer of the household, and his office is always described as of great antiquity and trust; but no mention is made of it in the Household Books of Hen. VI. or Edw. IV. He is appointed by letters-patent, and has the government and direction of the royal stables, and of all horses and breeds of horses belonging to the crown. His authority extends over all the equerries and pages, grooms, coachmen, saddlers and farriers—and he has the appointment and control of all artificers working for the royal stables. He has the disbursement of the money assigned for the expenses of this department of the household, and exhibits his accounts for the audit of the Green Cloth. He alone is privileged to use the royal horses and carriages, and upon state occasions he rides next to the Sovereign. The Clerk-Marshal and Chief Equerry has authority next to the Master of the Horse, and has power to act for him in all matters when absent. He attends the Queen on her rides and upon all state occasions. The four equerries, and four pages of honour, are the remaining head officers. They are the personal attendants upon the Queen, and form part of the state of her court. On attaining a suitable age the pages receive a commission in the Guards without purchase. The Master of the Buckhounds is another ancient office connected with this part of the household. His duties seem now to be restricted to the management of the royal hunt. The offices of the Master of the Horse, the Chief Equerry and the Master of the Buckhounds, are dependent upon the duration of the political party in power.

The yearly salary of the Master of the Horse under different reigns has been as follows:

| Under Queen Elizabeth | 1000 marks | |-----------------------|-----------| | Under William and Mary | L1200 | | Under Victoria | 2500 |

The Ladies of the Household fill a more important rank in the court of a female sovereign. The Mistress of the Robes is at the head of this part of the household. Her office is ancient and of high dignity. She has the superintendence of all duties belonging to the bedchamber, within which the Lord Chamberlain has no authority. She regulates the rotation and times of attendance of all the ladies. She has the custody of the robes; and on state occasions sees that the ceremony of robing the Queen is properly performed. She rides in the same carriage with the Queen on state occasions. The Ladies of the Bedchamber are the personal attendants upon the Queen, and form part of her court on state occasions. There are now eight, and two extra. The Bedchamber Women, also eight, and one extra, are subordinate to them. The Maids of Honour, eight, are the immediate attendants upon the Queen. They are on duty in rotation, and accompany Her Majesty upon all occasions.

The yearly salaries attached to each of the foregoing offices are as follow:

| Office | Salary | |------------------------|--------| | Lord-in-Waiting | L703 | | Groom-in-Waiting | 335 | | Groom of the Stable | 2000 | | (in abeyance) | | | Lords of the Bedchamber | 1000 | | (in abeyance) | | | Grooms of the Bedchamber| 500 | | Yeomen of the guard | 1000 | | Captain | | | Lieutenant | 500 | | Ensign | 300 | | Exons | 150 | | Yeomen | 60 | | Gentlemen-at-arms | 1000 | | Captain | | | Gentlemen-at-arms | L500 | | Standard-bearer | 310 | | Clerk of the Chaque | 120 | | Gentlemen | 70 | | Master of the Horse | 2500 | | Clerk-Marshal, &c. | 1000 | | Equerries | 700 | | Pages | 200 | | Master of the Buckhounds| 1700 | | Ladies of the Household | | | Mistress of the Robes | | | Ladies of the Bedchamber| 500 | | Bedchamber Women | 300 | | Maids of Honour | 400 |

The household officers described in the foregoing are distinct from a class of hereditary officers of great consideration and rank, who on certain state ceremonies perform duties to the sovereign.