Lord Great Chamberlain

The Lord Great Chamberlain, the 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley (left), holding his white staff of office; the Lord Speaker, Baroness Hayman; and the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow showing US President Barack Obama around Members' Lobby during a tour of the Palace in May 2011

The office was originally held by Robert Malet, a son of one of the leading companions of William the Conqueror. In 1133, however, King Henry I declared Malet's estates and titles forfeit, and awarded the office of Lord Great Chamberlain to Aubrey de Vere, whose son was created Earl of Oxford. Thereafter, the Earls of Oxford held the title almost continuously until 1526, with a few intermissions due to the forfeiture of some Earls for treason. In 1526, however, the fourteenth Earl of Oxford died, leaving his aunts as his heirs. The earldom was inherited by a more distant heir-male, his second cousin. The Sovereign then decreed that the office belonged to The Crown, and was not transmitted along with the earldom. The Sovereign appointed the fifteenth Earl to the office, but the appointment was deemed for life and was not hereditary. The family's association with the office was interrupted in 1540, when the fifteenth earl died and Thomas Cromwell, the King's chief adviser, was appointed Lord Great Chamberlain.[3] After Cromwell's attainder and execution later the same year, the office passed through a few more court figures, until 1553, when it was passed back to the De Vere family, the sixteenth Earl of Oxford, again as an uninheritable life appointment.[4] Later, Queen Mary I ruled that the Earls of Oxford were indeed entitled to the office of Lord Great Chamberlain on an hereditary basis.

Thus, the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth Earls of Oxford held the position on a hereditary basis until 1626, when the eighteenth Earl died, again leaving a distant relative as heir male, but a closer one as a female heir. The House of Lords eventually ruled that the office belonged to the heir general, Robert Bertie, 14th Baron Willoughby de Eresby, who later became Earl of Lindsey. The office remained vested in the Earls of Lindsey, who later became Dukes of Ancaster and Kesteven. In 1779, however, the fourth Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven died, leaving two sisters as female heirs, and an uncle as an heir male. The uncle became the fifth and last Duke, but the House of Lords ruled that the two sisters were jointly Lord Great Chamberlain and could appoint a Deputy to fulfil the functions of the office. The barony of Willoughby de Eresby went into abeyance between the two sisters, but the Sovereign terminated the abeyance and granted the title to the elder sister, Priscilla Bertie, 21st Baroness Willoughby de Eresby. The younger sister later married the first Marquess of Cholmondeley. The office of Lord Great Chamberlain, however, was divided between Priscilla and her younger sister Georgiana. Priscilla's share was eventually split between two of her granddaughters, and has been split several more times since then. By contrast, Georgiana's share has been inherited by a single male heir each time; that individual has in each case been the Marquess of Cholmondeley, a title created for Georgiana's husband.

In 1902 it was ruled by the house of Lords, that the joint office holders, the Earl of Ancaster, the Marquess of Cholmondeley and the Earl Carrington have to agree on a deputy to exercise the office, subject to the approval of the Sovereign. Otherwise the Sovereign should appoint a deputy until an agreement is reached.[5]

In 1912 an agreement was reached, that, alternating every reign, the right to appoint the person who exercises the office, rotates between the three joint office holders or respectively their heirs with the Marquess of Cholmondeley or his heirs, take turn every second reign.[6]

As the shares of the Marquess of Cholmondeley and the Earl of Ancaster are not further splitted, they decide in their turn who should or even act themselve as Lord Great Chamberlain. The share of the Earl of Carrington is widely spread and it is expected that on their turns his heirs will choose the current Lord Carrington, who is not even a shareholder of the office, to act as Lord Great Chamberlain.[7]

The Lord Great Chamberlain also has a major part to play in royal coronations, having the right to dress the monarch on coronation day and to serve the monarch water before and after the coronation banquet, and also being involved in investing the monarch with the insignia of rule.

The fractions show the holder's share in the office, and the date they held it. The current (as of 2020) holders of the office are shown in bold face.

•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Lord Great Chamberlain". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

• www.debretts.com
• 1965 decisions regarding the Lord Great Chamberlain's responsibilities in the Palace of Westminster
• Planning Act 2008, s. 227(5)(h,i)
• Principal Office Holders in the House of Lords. House of Lords Library Note (LLN 2015/007), includes a very brief overview of the Lord Great Chamberlain
• www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk