The Households of George V and Mary supported the work of the monarch and his consort between May 1910 and January 1936. Previously, they had maintained separate Households as Prince and Princess of Wales (1901-1910) and a joint Household as Duke and Duchess of York (1893-1901). After the death of her husband, Queen Mary maintained her own Household until her death in 1953. The Royal Households of the United Kingdom consist of royal officials, office-holders and staff; members of the Royal Family who undertake public duties each have their own (separate or joint) Households.
Prince George of Wales (1865–1936), the future King George V, was born the second son of the then Prince and Princess of Wales (the future King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra). On the death of his elder brother in January 1892, however, he became second in line to the throne. The following month, he made the first appointments to his household: a Comptroller and Treasurer and a Chaplain; later that year he was created Duke of York. After his marriage to Princess Mary of Teck (1867–1953) in 1893, the couple maintained a shared household: the Household of the Duke and Duchess of York.
On the accession of his father, King Edward VII in January 1901, George automatically inherited the dukedom of Cornwall and was known as the Duke of Cornwall and York until the following November, when he was appointed Prince of Wales. From that time on, he and his wife each had their own household: the Household of the Prince of Wales and the Household of the Princess of Wales.
When George became King in 1910, his household became the Household of the Sovereign and was duly extended. As consort, Mary had her own household, the Household of the Queen.
Prior to 1922, the king had maintained a separate Household in Ireland, latterly consisting of two hereditary officers and a small medical establishment (along with the Office of Arms and Chancery of the Order of St Patrick); it was dissolved following the establishment of the Irish Free State in December of that year.
In 1924, following the formation of Britain's first Labour government, the number of political appointments in the Royal Household was reduced (by mutual agreement between the King and Ramsay MacDonald, after consultation with Lord Balfour and Mr Asquith). Thus in February 1924, the appointments of the Lord Steward, Lord Chamberlain, Master of the Horse, two Lords in Waiting, the Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and the Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard were gazetted, with the proviso that 'these Appointments will be of a non-political character during the present Administration'. The latter two subsequently reverted to being political appointments, but the others remained non-political.
King George V died in 1936, and was succeeded by his son Edward VIII. His widow retained her household (retitled the Household of Queen Mary) until her own demise in 1953.
Household of the Duke of York 1892–1893 and Household of the Duke and Duchess of York 1893–1901
Controller and Treasurer to His Royal Highness 1892–1901: Major General Sir Francis de Winton
Equerries in Waiting to His Royal Highness 1892–1901: Lieut. Sir Charles Leopold Cust, Bart. 1893–1901: Capt. the Hon. Derek William George Keppel
Ladies in Waiting to Her Royal Highness 1893–1901: Lady Eva Greville (afterwards Dugdale) 1895–1901: Lady Mary Lygon 1898–1901: Lady Katherine Grey Coke (Extra)
Physician Accoucheur to Her Royal Highness 1896–1901: Sir John Williams, Bt.
Physician in Ordinary to His Royal Highness 1896–1901: Robert W. Burnet
Surgeon in Ordinary to His Royal Highness 1897–1901: Frederick Treves, Esq.
Surgeon Apothecary to His Royal Highness, at Sandringham 1897–1901: Alan Reeve Manby
Hon. Chaplain to His Royal Highness 1892–1901: John Neale Dalton
Household of the Prince of Wales 1901–1910
Lords of the Bedchamber to His Royal Highness 1901–1910: Beilby Lawley, 3rd Baron Wenlock 1901–1907: Charles Cavendish, 3rd Baron Chesham 1908–1910: Luke White, 3rd Baron Annaly
Comptroller and Treasurer 1901–1910: Lt-Col. Sir William Carington
Private Secretary to His Royal Highness 1901–1910: Lt-Col. Sir Arthur Bigge (later Baron Stamfordham)
Master of the Stables 1901–1910: Capt. William Charles Wentworth-FitzWilliam
Groom of the Bedchamber to His Royal Highness 1903–1910: Edward Wallington, Esq.
Equerries in Ordinary to His Royal Highness 1901–1910: Cdr Sir Charles Cust, 3rd Baronet, Royal Navy 1901–1910: The Hon. Derek W. G. Keppel 1901–1909: Capt. the Viscount Crichton 1901–1910: Capt. Bryan Godfrey-Faussett, Royal Navy 1909–1910: Capt. the Lord Charles George Francis FitzMaurice
Extra Equerries to His Royal Highness 1901–1910: Capt. Rosslyn Erskine-Wemyss, Royal Navy 1901–1910: Maj. James Bor, Royal Marine Artillery 1901–1910: Capt. William Charles Wentworth-FitzWilliam 1906–1910: Maj.-Gen. Sir Stuart Brownlow Beatson 1906–1910: Maj. Rollo Estouteville Grimston 1906–1910: Maj. Charles Ferguson Campbell 1906–1910: Maj. Harry Davis Watson 1906–1910: Brevet Maj. Clive Wigram 1909–1910: Capt. the Viscount Crichton
Domestic Chaplain 1901–1910: Canon John Neale Dalton
Librarian to His Royal Highness 1903–: Mr G. Hua
Physicians in Ordinary 1901–1907: Sir William H. Broadbent, Bart 1901–1910:Sir James Reid, Bart 1901–1910: Sir Francis H. Laking 1906–1910: Sir Richard Havelock Charles
Surgeons in Ordinary 1901–1910: Sir Frederick Treves 1901–1904: H. W. Allingham, Esq. 1905–1910: Hugh Mallison Rigby, Esq.
Honorary Physicians 1901–1910: Robert W. Burnet, Esq. 1901–1910: Samuel J. Gee, Esq.
Surgeon-Apothecary to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales's Household 1901–1910: Sir Francis H. Laking
Surgeon-Apothecary to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, and to the Household at Sandringham 1901–1910: Alan R. Manby, Esq.
Chemist and Druggist 1901–1910: Mr. Peter Wyatt Squire
Household of the Princess of Wales 1901–1910 Chamberlain 1901–1910: Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 9th Earl of Shaftesbury
Ladies of the Bedchamber to Her Royal Highness 1901–1910: Mabell Ogilvy, Countess of Airlie 1901–1902: Ida Bridgeman, Countess of Bradford (Extra from 1905) 1902–1910: Mary Cochrane-Baillie, Baroness Lamington 1906–1910: Constance Ashley-Cooper, Countess of Shaftesbury
Extra Ladies of the Bedchamber to Her Royal Highness 1905–1910: Ida Bridgeman, Countess of Bradford 1905–1906: Constance Ashley-Cooper, Countess of Shaftesbury
Women of the Bedchamber to Her Royal Highness 1901–1910: Lady Eva Dugdale 1901–1910: Lady Mary Lygon (later Forbes-Trefusis) 1907–1910: Lady Bertha Dawkins
Extra Woman of the Bedchamber Her Royal Highness 1901–1910: Lady Katharine Coke
Private Secretary to the Princess of Wales 1901–1910: Alexander Hood
Equerry to the Princess of Wales 1901–1910: Frank Dugdale
Household of King George V 1910–1936 The headings below broadly reflect the King's Household as announced in June 1910; however, in 1920 a number of changes were made to the arrangement of departments and officers in the King's Household. The Lord Steward's Department and the Master of the Horse's Department were renamed (after their executive heads), becoming the Master of the Household's Department and the Crown Equerry's Department, respectively. The Keeper of the Privy Purse was retitled Treasurer to the King and Keeper of the Privy Purse (with oversight of a distinct Treasurer's office alongside that of the Privy Purse). The king's Equerries in Waiting, who had always (for historical reasons) been part of the Master of the Horse's department, were transferred to the Private Secretary's office. Also, as part of these rearrangements, the Lord Chamberlain's Department was split: a smaller Lord Chamberlain's Office (headed by a 'State Chamberlain') moved into Buckingham Palace, while the 'Ceremonial Department' remained at St James's Palace (under its own separate Comptroller); this arrangement, however, was short lived, with the two being reunited under a single Comptroller of the Lord Chamberlain's Office by 1925.
Personal appointments
Keeper of His Majesty's Privy Purse
1910–1914: Lt-Col. The Hon. Sir William Henry Peregrine Carington 1914–1935: Lt-Col. Sir Frederick Edward Grey Ponsonby (Treasurer to the King and Keeper of the Privy Purse from 1920) 1935–1936: Col. the Rt Hon. Clive, Baron Wigram (Private Secretary to the King and Keeper of His Majesty's Privy Purse)
Secretary of His Majesty's Privy Purse 1910–1918: Walter Matthew Gibson, Esq. 1918–1923: Paymaster Rear-Adm. Sir John Henry George Chapple (Assistant Treasurer to The King and Secretary of the Privy Purse from 1920) 1923–1932: Paymaster-Captain Philip John Hawkins Lander Row 1932–1936: Paymaster-Commander Ernest Dudley Gordon Colles
Deputy Treasurer to His Majesty 1923–1936: Ralph Endersby Harwood, Esq. (Financial Secretary to the King from 1935)
Private Secretaries to His Majesty
1910–1913: The Lord Knollys 1910–1931: Lt-Col. Sir Arthur John Bigge 1931–1936: Col. Sir Clive Wigram (also Keeper of His Majesty's Privy Purse from 1935)
Assistant Private Secretaries to His Majesty 1910–1914: Lt-Col. Frederick Edward Grey Ponsonby 1910–1931: Brevet Maj. Clive Wigram 1916–1920: Rowland Thomas Baring, The Viscount Errington (later Earl of Cromer) 1920–1936: Lt the Hon. Alexander Henry Louis Hardinge (also Assistant Keeper of His Majesty's Privy Purse from 1935) 1931–1936: Frank Herbert Mitchell, Esq. 1935–1936: Alan Frederick Lascelles, Esq.
Lord Steward's Department (Board of Green Cloth, Buckingham Palace)
Lord Steward of His Majesty's Household
May–June 1910: William, Earl Beauchamp 1910–1915: Edwyn Francis, Earl of Chesterfield 1915–1922: Horace Farquhar, 1st Viscount Farquhar (later Earl Farquhar) 1922–1936: Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 9th Earl of Shaftesbury
Treasurer of the Household
Comptroller of the Household
Master of His Majesty's Household
1910–1912: Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Charles Arthur Frederick 1913–1936: The Hon. Sir Derek William George Keppel
Deputy Master of His Majesty's Household 1910–1911: Harry Lloyd Verney, Esq. 1913–1914: Captain the Lord Arthur John Hamilton 1918–1921: the Hon. Henry Julian Stonor 1921–1924: Lord Claud Nigel Hamilton 1929–1936: Brigadier General Sir Smith Hill Child, Bt.
Gentleman of the Cellars to His Majesty 1910–1919: Thomas Arthur FitzHardinge Kingscote, Esq. 1919–1922: Major Edric Thomas Kingscote
Coroner to His Majesty's Household
1910–1934: Arthur Walter Mills, Esq. 1934–1936: Lt-Col. William Hilgrove Leslie McCarthy
Paymaster of the Household 1910: Lt-Col. The Right Hon. Sir Fleetwood Isham Edwards 1911–1915: the Hon. Sidney Robert Greville 1915–1924: Col. the Hon. Sir Harry Legge
Lord Chamberlain's Department (Lord Chamberlain's Office, Stable Yard, St James's Palace)
Lord Chamberlain
1910–1912: Charles Spencer, 6th Earl Spencer (Viscount Althorp until August 1910) 1912–1921: William Mansfield, 1st Viscount Sandhurst 1921–1922: John Stewart-Murray, 8th Duke of Atholl 1922–1936: Rowland Baring, 2nd Earl of Cromer
Vice-Chamberlain
State Chamberlain 1920–1924: Brig.-Gen. Sir Douglas Frederick Rawdon Dawson
Comptroller, Lord Chamberlain's Department 1910–1920: Col. Sir Douglas Frederick Rawdon Dawson 1920–1936: Maj. The Hon. George Arthur Charles Crichton (Comptroller of the Ceremonial Department, 1920–1925; Comptroller, the Lord Chamberlain's Office 1925–1936)
Assistant Comptroller of the Lord Chamberlain's Department 1910–1920: Maj. The Hon. George Arthur Charles Crichton 1925–1936: Major Colin Lindsay Gordon
Lords in Waiting in Ordinary to His Majesty
1910–1921: Luke, 3rd Lord Annaly (Lord of the Bedchamber in Waiting) (Permanent) 1910–1915: Granville George, Earl Granville 1910–1911: Gavin George, Lord Hamilton of Dalzell 1910–1915: Richard Maximilian, Lord Acton 1910–1911: Edward Arthur, Lord Colebrooke 1910–1919: Richard Farrer, Lord Herschell