Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a title in the Royal Household, found in the Kingdom of Scotland from the 16th century and in the Kingdom of England from the early 17th century (having been introduced, in both places, by James VI and I); the title continued to be used in the Kingdom of Great Britain. A Lord of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Household, the term being first used in 1718. The duties of the Gentlemen of the Bedchamber originally consisted of assisting the monarch with dressing, waiting on him when he ate, guarding access to his bedchamber and closet, and providing companionship. Such practical functions became less important over time, but the Gentlemen of the Bedchamber continued to control access to the monarch; they were thus trusted confidants and often extremely powerful. The offices were in the gift of The Crown and were originally sworn by Royal Warrant directed to the Lord Chamberlain.
Origins Following the abdication of Mary, Queen of Scots in 1567, her one year-old son acceded to the throne of Scotland as King James VI. During his minority, a series of regents held power, with government largely exercised through the Privy Council of Scotland. The king grew up in the company of young nobles, in Stirling Castle, until 1579 when, at 13 years old, he made a ceremonial entry into Edinburgh; this signalled the end of the Regency period and the beginning of his adult rule. The Privy Council, however, was still dominated by protegés of the former regent, the Earl of Morton; so, on 15 April 1580, a new establishment was created with the intention of it forming an alternative centre of power to the Privy Council. Taking inspiration from the French court, it was named the 'Bedchamber'. It had a staff of 24 young Gentlemen, overseen by Esmé Stewart in the office of Lord Chamberlain. The Gentlemen, who were invariably sons of nobles and of barons, did duty in rotation for three months at a time. Throughout the year there were always at least four Gentlemen of the Bedchamber in attendance at the Scottish royal court.
On acceding to the throne of England, king James introduced the Bedchamber to the English court. Once in place, it quickly supplanted the Privy Chamber (its erstwhile Tudor equivalent) in importance and influence. It maintained a decidedly Scottish entourage around the king to begin with: numbered among the Gentlemen of the Bedchamber was only a single Englishman until 1615, when a second was appointed; in all, ten of the fifteen Gentlemen appointed by James I were Scots.
Description and functions There were always several holders of the office, who were invariably gentlemen and almost invariably peers, often important ones, as the regular access to the monarch which the role brought was the most valuable commodity of the courtier.R. O. Bucholz, "The bedchamber: Gentlemen of the Bedchamber", Office-Holders in Modern Britain: Volume 11 (revised): Court Officers, 1660-1837 (2006), pp. 14–19 accessed 13 October 2018. The duties of the office involved waiting on the King when he ate in private, helping him to dress, guarding the bedchamber and closet, and providing companionship.
After the Restoration, the office of first gentleman of the bedchamber was invariably combined with that of Groom of the Stole. On average the number of Gentlemen varied around 12 but fluctuated from time to time. During the reign of James II there were only eight, and none were appointed during the reign of Queen Anne. The female counterparts to the Gentlemen (or Lords) of the Bedchamber were the Ladies of the Bedchamber (appointed by Queens regnant and consort alike). Working under the Gentlemen, in the same location, were the Grooms of the Bedchamber.
Below is an incomplete list of noblemen who have served as Gentlemen of the Bedchamber or Lords of the Bedchamber:
Gentlemen of the Bedchamber to James I of England (1603–1625) 1603: James Hay, 1st Earl of Carlisle 1607–1615: Robert Carr 1611–1625: Robert Carey 1612–?: Henry Gibb 1615–?: George Villiers (died 1628).G. Dyfnallt Owen, HMC 75 Downshire, vol. 5 (London: HMSO, 1995), p. 202 no. 423. 1622–1625: John Murray
Gentlemen of the Bedchamber to Charles I of England (1625–1649) 1625–1640: James Erskine, 6th Earl of Buchan 1625–?: James Stewart 1625–1639: Robert Carey ?1625–? Richard Tichborne ?1625–? Gerard Fowke 1631–1636: James Hay, 1st Earl of Carlisle 1643–1649: Montagu Bertie 1647–1649: James Harrington
Gentlemen of the Bedchamber to Charles II of England (1660–1685) 1650–1657 & 1661–1667 & 1667–1674: George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham 1652–1677: William Crofts, 1st Baron Crofts 1660– Sir John Granville (later Earl of Bath) (and Groom of the Stole) 1660–1679: Charles Gerard, 1st Earl of Macclesfield 1660–1665: Thomas Wentworth, 5th Baron Wentworth 1660–1673: John Maitland, 2nd Earl of Lauderdale 1660–1677: William Cavendish, 1st Marquess of Newcastle (Duke of Newcastle from 1665) 1660–1670: George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle 1660–1666: James Butler, 1st Marquess of Ormonde (Duke of Ormonde from 1661) 1660–1666: Mountjoy Blount, 1st Earl of Newport 1661–?: Charles Stewart, 3rd Duke of Richmond (died 1672) 1662–1685: Henry Cavendish, Viscount Mansfield (Duke of Newcastle from 1676) 1665–1681: James Howard, 3rd Earl of Suffolk 1666–1681: Robert Montagu, Viscount Mandeville (Earl of Manchester from 1671) 1666–1680: Thomas Butler, 6th Earl of Ossory 1667–1680: John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester 1669–1685: Charles Sackville, Lord Buckhurst 1672–1683 (extra) & 1673–1682: John Sheffield, 3rd Earl of Mulgrave 1672–1674: Edward Cranfield 1673–?: Christopher Monck, 2nd Duke of Albemarle (died 1688) 1673–1674: Lionel Cranfield, 3rd Earl of Middlesex 1673–1674 (extra) & 1674–?: Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland 1674–1685: Robert Bertie, 3rd Earl of Lindsey 1677–?: Aubrey de Vere, 20th Earl of Oxford (died 1703) 1679–?: Richard Jones, 1st Earl of Ranelagh (died 1712) 1679–1682 (extra) & 1682–1685: James Hamilton, Earl of Arran 1680–?: Peregrine Osborne, Viscount Latimer 1680–1685: Thomas Lennard, 1st Earl of Sussex 1682–1685: Louis de Duras, 2nd Earl of Feversham (extra) 1683–1685: Edward Lee, 1st Earl of Lichfield 1685: Thomas Bruce, Lord Bruce
Gentlemen of the Bedchamber to James II of England (1685–1688) 1669–1684: Francis Hawley, 1st Baron Hawley 1673–?: John Churchill, 1st Baron Churchill 1685–1687: Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset 1685–1688: Thomas Bruce, 2nd Earl of Ailesbury 1685–1688: Edward Lee, 1st Earl of Lichfield 1685–1688: Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort 1685–1688: James Butler, Earl of Ossory 1685–?: John Sheffield, 3rd Earl of Mulgrave 1685–1688: Louis de Duras, 2nd Earl of Feversham 1687–?: George Douglas, 1st Earl of Dumbarton 1688: George FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Northumberland 1688: James Cecil, 4th Earl of Salisbury
Gentlemen of the Bedchamber to William III of England (1689–1702) 1689–1697: Charles Mordaunt, 1st Earl of Monmouth 1689–1699: James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde 1689–?: Hon. H. Sydney 1689–?: Aubrey de Vere, 20th Earl of Oxford 1689–?: John Churchill, 1st Baron Churchill 1689–?: Richard Lumley, 2nd Viscount Lumley (Earl of Scarbrough from 1690) 1689–1700: Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney 1689–?: John Holles, 4th Earl of Clare 1689–?: James Douglas, Earl of Drumlanrig 1689–1702: Charles Douglas, 2nd Earl of Selkirk 1691–1702: Algernon Capell, 2nd Earl of Essex 1692–1693: Charles Granville, Viscount Granville 1692–1702: Robert Sutton, 2nd Baron Lexinton 1697–1702: Charles Boyle, 4th Viscount Dungarvan (Earl of Cork and Burlington from 1698) 1699–1702: Charles Butler, 1st Earl of Arran 1699–1702: James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton 1700–1702: Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle 1701–1702: Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford 1701–1702: Arnold van Keppel, 1st Earl of Albemarle
Gentlemen of the Bedchamber to Prince George of Denmark (1702–1708) 1703–1705: Scroop Egerton, 4th Earl of Bridgwater 1704–?: Thomas Fane, 6th Earl of Westmorland 1706–1708: Thomas Howard, 6th Baron Howard of Effingham 1708: Henry Clinton, 7th Earl of Lincoln ?–?: Archibald Primrose, 1st Earl of Rosebery
Gentlemen and Lords of the Bedchamber to George I of Great Britain (1714–1727) Lord 1721–1723: 2nd Earl of Bute
Gentlemen 1714–1716: Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent 1714–1716: Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of Orrery 1714–1717: Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton 1714–1721: John Carteret, 2nd Baron Carteret 1714–1722: Charles Montagu, 4th Earl of Manchester (Duke of Manchester from 1719) 1714–1723: Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond 1714–1727: James Berkeley, 3rd Earl of Berkeley 1714–1727: Henry Clinton, 7th Earl of Lincoln 1714–1727: John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair 1714–1727: Charles Douglas, 2nd Earl of Selkirk 1716–1723: Francis Godolphin, 2nd Earl of Godolphin 1716–1727: George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney 1717–1727: John Sidney, 6th Earl of Leicester 1717–1726: Henry Bentinck, 1st Duke of Portland 1717–1727: Henry Lowther, 3rd Viscount Lonsdale 1719–1721: Edward Rich, 7th Earl of Warwick 1719–1721: Robert Darcy, 3rd Earl of Holderness 1719–1727: Scroop Egerton, 4th Earl of Bridgwater (Duke of Bridgwater from 1720) 1719–1727: Peregrine Bertie, Marquess of Lindsey 1720–?: Charles Douglas, 3rd Duke of Queensberry 1720–1723: Anthony Grey, Earl of Harold 1721–1727: John Manners, 3rd Duke of Rutland 1721–1727: William Montagu, 2nd Duke of Manchester 1722–1727: Talbot Yelverton, 1st Earl of Sussex 1723–?: Henry Roper, 8th Baron Teynham 1723–1727: Charles Townshend, Lord Lynn 1723–?: James Waldegrave, 1st Earl Waldegrave 1725–?: John West, 7th Baron De La Warr 1726–1727: Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond 1727: James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton
Lords and Gentlemen of the Bedchamber to George II of Great Britain (1714–1760) Lords 1722–1751: 2nd Earl of Albemarle; appointed when Prince of Wales. 1727–1730: Lord Philip Stanhope 1727–1736: Thomas Paget, Lord Paget 1727–1738: Lord William Manners 1752–1760: George Coventry, 6th Earl of Coventry 1757–1760: John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire
Gentlemen 1714–1721: John Hamilton, 3rd Lord Belhaven and Stenton 1714–1722: Charles Paulet, 3rd Duke of Bolton 1714–1735: Henry Herbert, Lord Herbert (Earl of Pembroke from 1733) 1715–1730: Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield 1718–1722: Edward Watson, Viscount Sondes 1719–1736: Henry Paget, Lord Paget 1727–1730: Henry Scott, 1st Earl of Deloraine 1727–?: William Capell, 3rd Earl of Essex 1727–1733: James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton 1727–1739: Charles Douglas, 2nd Earl of Selkirk 1727–?: Hugh Fortescue, 1st Earl Clinton 1727–?: James Waldegrave, 1st Earl Waldegrave 1731–1752: John Murray, 2nd Earl of Dunmore 1733–1755: John Poulett, 2nd Earl Poulett 1733–1747: William Clavering-Cowper, 2nd Earl Cowper 1735–1751: Simon Harcourt, 2nd Viscount Harcourt (Earl Harcourt from 1749) 1737–?: Charles Bennet, 2nd Earl of Tankerville 1738–1743: Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough 1738–1755: William Nassau de Zuylestein, 4th Earl of Rochford 1738–1751: Charles Beauclerk, 2nd Duke of St Albans 1738–1760: Thomas Belasyse, 4th Viscount Fauconberg (Earl Fauconberg from 1756) 1739–1760: Robert Montagu, 3rd Duke of Manchester 1741–1751: Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness 1741–?: Evelyn Pierrepont, 2nd Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull 1743–1752: James Waldegrave, 2nd Earl Waldegrave 1743–1760: Henry Clinton, 9th Earl of Lincoln 1748–1760: John Ashburnham, 2nd Earl of Ashburnham 1751–1760: Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Earl of Hertford 1751–1756: William FitzWilliam, 3rd Earl FitzWilliam 1751–1760: Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham 1752–?: James Carmichael, 3rd Earl of Hyndford 1753–1760: Hugh Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland 1755–1760: Peregrine Bertie, 3rd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven 1755–1760: William Capell, 4th Earl of Essex 1755–1760: George Walpole, 3rd Earl of Orford 1756–1757: John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire