Groom of the Stole
Groom of the Stole in the British Royal Household is a position evolved from the earlier Groom of the Stool, an office under Henry VIII of England. The title originally referred to the chamberpot (or stool) of whomever the person served. The Groom of the Stool "preside[d] over the office of royal excretion,"[1] that is, he had the task of cleaning the monarch's anus after a bowel movement.[2] The position was effectively "neutralized" by Elizabeth I of England in 1559.[3] During the reign of Charles I of England the term "stool" (("stole" is a Victorian spelling[4]) came to represent the long robe of the monarch (from the Latin stola, meaning garment). The position often had considerable power because of the intimate access to the king.
The holder of the position became in the 17th century the senior Lord of the Bedchamber, always a great nobleman (the equivalent appointment to the King or Prince-consort of the Queen's Mistress of the Robes), and was discontinued on the accession of King Edward VII in 1901, to whom one had been appointed while he was Prince of Wales.
Incumbents
Grooms of the Stole to Charles I
- –1643: Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland[5]
- 1643–1649 (?): William Seymour, 1st Marquess of Hertford[5]
- 1649 (?): Thomas Blagge[6]
Grooms of the Stole to Henrietta Maria of France
- 1660–1667/1673 (?): Elizabeth Boyle, Countess of Guilford[7]
Grooms of the Stole to Charles II
- 1660: William Seymour, 1st Marquess of Hertford
- 1660–1685: Sir John Granville (later Earl of Bath)
Grooms of the Stole to James II
- 1685–1688: Henry Mordaunt, 2nd Earl of Peterborough
Grooms of the Stole to William III
- 1689–1700: William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland[8]
- 1700–1702: Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney
Grooms of the Stole to Queen Anne
- 1702–1711: Sarah Churchill, Countess of Marlborough (later Duchess of Marlborough)
- 1711–1714: Elizabeth Seymour, Duchess of Somerset
Grooms of the Stole to Prince George
- 1683–1685: John Berkeley, 3rd Baron Berkeley of Stratton
- 1685–1687: Robert Leke, 3rd Earl of Scarsdale
- 1697–1708: John West, 6th Baron De La Warr
Grooms of the Stole to George I
- 1714–1719: Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset
- 1719–1722: Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland
- 1722–1723: Vacant
- 1723–1727: Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin
Grooms of the Stole to George II
- 1727–1735: Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin
- 1735–1750: Henry Herbert, 9th Earl of Pembroke
- 1751–1755: Willem Anne van Keppel, 2nd Earl of Albemarle
- 1755–1760: William Nassau de Zuylestein, 4th Earl of Rochford
Grooms of the Stole to George III
- 1760–1761: John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute
- 1761–1770: Francis Hastings, 10th Earl of Huntingdon
- 1770–1775: George Hervey, 2nd Earl of Bristol
- 1775: Thomas Thynne, 3rd Viscount Weymouth
- 1775–1782: John Ashburnham, 2nd Earl of Ashburnham
- 1782–1796: Thomas Thynne, 3rd Viscount Weymouth (later Marquess of Bath)
- 1796–1804: John Ker, 3rd Duke of Roxburghe
- 1804–1812: George Finch, 9th Earl of Winchilsea
- 1812–1820: Charles Paulet, 13th Marquess of Winchester
Grooms of the Stole to George IV
- 1820–1830: Charles Paulet, 13th Marquess of Winchester
Grooms of the Stole to William IV
- 1830–1837: Charles Paulet, 13th Marquess of Winchester
Grooms of the Stole to Prince Albert
- 1840–1841: Lord Robert Grosvenor (later Lord Ebury)
- 1841–1846: Brownlow Cecil, 2nd Marquess of Exeter
- 1846–1859: James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn
- 1859–1861: John Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer
Grooms of the Stole to Albert Edward, Prince of Wales
- 1862–1866: John Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer
- 1866–1877: ?
- 1877–1883: Sir William Knollys
- 1883–1901: James Hamilton, 2nd Duke of Abercorn
See also
References
- ^ Bruce Boehrer, "The Privy and Its Double: Scatology and Satire in Shakespeare's Theatre," in Dutton, Richard (2003). A Companion to Shakespeare's Works: Poems, problem comedies, late plays. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 78. ISBN 9780631226352.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ "David Starkey: An appointment with Dr Rude". The Independent. 2004-06-28. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Nicholls, Mark (1999). A history of the modern British Isles, 1529-1603: the two kingdoms. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 194. ISBN 9780631193340.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Starkey, David (2004-12-21). "Majesty in all its magnificence". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b Clarendon, Edward Hyde (1888). The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England: Begun in the Year 1641. Clarendon Press. p. 146.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Evelyn, John (1907). The life of Margaret Godolphin. Chatto and Windus. p. 4.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Evelyn, John (1907). The life of Margaret Godolphin. Chatto and Windus. p. 6.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ O'Conor, Charles (1819). Bibliotheca Ms. Stowensis. A Descriptive Catalogue of the Manuscripts in the Stowe Library, Vol. II. Seeley. p. 527.
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