A chamberer was a female attendant of an English queen regnant, queen consort, or princess. There were similar positions in aristocratic households.
Chamberers at court Duties At court, the position was similar to a male groom of the privy chamber. The names of ten women who served Elizabeth I as chamberers are known. They were daughters of landowning gentry families.William Tighe, 'Familia reginae: the Privy Court', Susan Doran & Norman Jones,The Elizabethan World (Routledge, 2011), pp. 84-85. Duties could include some domestic labour, embroidery, and administration, as well as attendance on the queen.Ruth Elizabeth Richardson, Mistress Blanche: Queen Elizabeth I's Confidante (Logaston, 2018), p. 71: Tracy Borman, Elizabeth's Women (Vintage, 2010), p. 192. The details of the distinctions between women of the chamber and their hierarchy can be obscure.Janet Arnold, Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'd (Maney, 1988), pp. 101, 103.
An indication of chamberer's duties concerning the wardrobe of Elizabeth was included in a note written by William Cecil around 1560. Cecil was concerned about the risk that Elizabeth might be assassinated, especially by poisoning. He wanted increased security to the "chamberer's chambers, where laundresses, tailors, wardrobers, and such use to come". It was thought that assassins might apply poisons to perfumed gloves and other items of apparell brought to the queen and accepted by the chamberers.Heather Shanette, Elizabeth I's Ladies, Gentlewomen and Maids: The Women who Served the Tudor Queen (Pen and Sword, 2025), p. 105: Samuel Hopkins, The Puritans and Queen Elizabeth: Or, The Church, Court, 1 (London, 1860), p. 278 citing Samuel Haynes, Collection of State Papers (London, 1740), p. 368.
Other servants present in the royal lodging who carried out laundry work were of lower status than chamberers, and were called "lavenders".W. J. Tighe, 'Country into court', Dale Hoak, Tudor Political Culture (Cambridge, 1995), p. 163. Chamberers would embroider and launder some linen items, especially ruffs.Pam Wright, 'A Change of Direction', David Starkey, The English Court (London, 1987), pp. 150, 152: Janet Arnold, Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'd (Maney, 1988), p. 103. In Scotland, Elizabeth Gibb, took on this role for Anne of Denmark, the queen consort of James VI and I, in 1590, making and looking after ruffs and other garments.Jemma Field, "Dressing a Queen: The Wardrobe of Anna of Denmark at the Scottish Court of King James VI, 1590–1603", The Court Historian, 24:2 (2019), pp. 160–163.
Politics and influence Chamberers were close to the queen and could become influential. They could also provide information to inquisitive diplomats. The French ambassador Charles de Marillac obtained a description of Princess Mary in 1541 from a woman of her chamber (femme de chambre), presumably a chamberer, who had served her since infancy and was married to a French man.Melita Thomas, The King's Pearl: Henry VIII and his daughter Mary (Amberley, 2017), pp. 249–250: Jean Kaulek, Correspondance politique de MM. de Castillon et de Marillac (Paris, 1885), pp. 349–350 no. 368.
Outside the Tudor court, Mary Halle alias Lassels, who gave evidence concerning Catherine Howard, Henry Mannox, and Alice Wilkes, had been a nurse and a chamberer to the "old Lady of Norfolk".Letters and Papers Henry VIII, 16 (London: HMSO, 1898), p. 608 no. 1320.
Chamberers and their rewards Usually the queen was served by between two and four chamberers at any one time.Nicola Clark, 'Noblewomen, Court Service, and Crossing Borders: England c. 1500–1550', Royal Studies Journal, 11:1 (2024), p. 128 Mary Tudor, Princess of Castille had three chamberers in 1508, including Mistress Parker and Mistress Gynes.John Gough Nichols, Chronicle of Calais (London: Camden Society, 1846), pp. 64, 66. In October 1511, Catherine of Aragon's chamberers Elizabeth Colins, Elizabeth Lisle, Margaret Pennington, and Elizabeth Vergas all received gowns of damask cloth trimmed with miniver and "lettice" fur, and in November 1514 her four chamberers received russet damask gowns trimmed with mink and "calabre".Maria Hayward, Dress at Court of Henry VIII (Maney, 2007), p. 304. When Catherine Howard was sent to Syon House in November 1541, her household was reduced to four gentlewomen including Lady Baynton and two chamberers.State Papers of Henry the Eighth, vol. 1 (London, 1830), pp. 691–693.
In December 1553, a warrant was issued for a yearly clothing allowance to the women of Mary's privy chamber, including the four chamberers Jane Russell, Elizabeth Golbourne, Barbara Rice, and Elizabeth Skirlock. Every Christmas, they would each receive 14 yards of satin and three yards of velvet, with an allowance for the making of a gown. The gentlewomen of the chamber would receive 15 yards of "good velvet".Muriel St. Claire Byrne, The Lisle letters, 4 (University of Chicago, 1981), pp. 192–193.
An Elizabethan chamberer like Elizabeth Stafford would receive an annual fee of £20 or more,William Tighe, 'Familia reginae: the Privy Court', Susan Doran & Norman Jones,The Elizabethan World (Routledge, 2011), p. 80. and livery clothing. A wage list from the 1580s notes four chamberers; Elizabeth Stafford (as "Lady Drury"), Mary Scudamore, Katherine Newton, and Jane Brussels. They received their allowances on Saint Andrew's Day.Janet Arnold, Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'd (Maney, 1988), pp. 101, 103. Elizabeth intervened in the marriage plans of some chamberers, and was angry at the marriage of Mary Scudamore, an indication of their status in her household.Willam J. Tighe, 'Country into court', Dale Hoak, Tudor Political Culture (Cambridge, 1995), p. 163. Jane Hawkes alias Brussels had her own servant, John Genowe, who got married in 1579.Allegations for Marriage Licences issued by the Dean and Chapter of Westminster (London, 1886), p. 6.
Some chamberers, like Joan Russell and Elizabeth Marbery, continued their service as gentlewomen of the privy chamber or bed chamber, enjoying a higher status and salary.Maria Hayward, Dress at the Court of King Henry VIII (Maney, 2007), p. 305: Janet Arnold, Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'd (Maney, 1988), p. 101. In November 1570, "Elyzabeth Marbury" signed for a gift of a petticoat of crimson cloth of gold, and the queen's laundress Elizabeth Smythson signed for her gift of satin and velvet kirtle.Janet Arnold, Lost from Her Majesties Back (Costume Society, 1980), pp. 41–42 nos. 117, 122.
Other women present in the queen's privy chamber included the Maids of Honour, who frequently received lavish gifts of clothing,Janet Arnold, Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'd (Maney, 1988), pp. 103-4. and gentlewomen in attendance who did not receive a fee or livery clothes. These gentlewomen do not appear in financial records but their names are noted in lists of those at state occasions, especially funerals.William Tighe, "Familia reginae: the Privy Court", Susan Doran & Norman Jones,The Elizabethan World (Routledge, 2011), pp. 83-84.
Chamberers took part in Royal Entries and coronations, including the coronation of Mary I of England where they rode in procession and were given different clothes for the service in the Abbey.John Strype, Ecclesiastical Memorials, 3 (London, 1721), p. 36.
Damsels and chamberers In the context of household service in 15th-century England, a "damsel" was of higher or almost equivalent status to a chamberer.J. L. Laynesmith, The Last Medieval Queens: English Queenship 1445-1503 (Oxford, 2004), p. 226. It has been suggested that the Latin terms, domicella camerae and domicella Reginae may distinguish a lady of the bedchamber or chamberer from a queen's maid of honour. Alice Perrers, a goldsmith's widow, became a damoiselle or domicella in the household of Philippa of Hainault, consort of Edward III.Emily Sarah Holt, John de Wycliffe (London, 1884), p. 53: Laura Tompkins, 'Alice Perrers and the Goldsmiths' Mistery: New Evidence Concerning the Identity of the Mistress of Edward III', The English Historical Review, 130:547 (December 2015), pp. 1361-1391
Mary, Queen of Scots In Scotland, the word "chamberer" was only rarely used in the records of the court. Two young women, Marie MacLeod and Margaret Fame, were maidens in the chamber of Mary, Queen of Scots.James Balfour Paul, Accounts of the Treasurer, 1559-1566, 11 (Edinburgh, 1916), pp. 249, 349-350, 358-359. Margaret received linen or canvas used to line Mary's bed curtains and was described as the "famme de chanbre", the chamber woman.Joseph Robertson, Inventaires (edinburgh, 1863), p. 147. The accounts mention the "famis" (French, femmes, women) of Mary's chamber, including Alice Bog.Accounts of the Treasurer, 11, pp. 490–91, 534.
In France, in 1551, the "femmes de chambre" included Barbara Cochrane, the wife of the household clerk James Alexander, and Agathe Burgensis, who made linen items for Queen Mary.Alphonse Ruble, La première jeunesse de Marie Stuart (Paris, 1891), pp. 294-295. In 1560, six femmes de chambre worked in Mary's wardrobe, as washerwomen, or servants to the maids of honour,Belleval, Les fils de Henri II, 2 (Paris, 1898), p. 83. in 1562 in Scotland there were as many as fourteen.Rosalind K. Marshall, Queen Mary's Women: Female Relatives, Servants, Friends and Enemies (Edinburgh: Birlinn, 2006), pp. 52, 86, 163: Sébastien de L'Aubespine, Négociations, Lettres et Pièces Diverses relatives au Règne de François II (Paris, 1841), p. 746.
Anthony Standen wrote that Mary's chamberer rode behind him when Mary and Darnley escaped from Holyrood Palace to Dunbar Castle after the murder of David Rizzio.HMC Calendar of the Manuscripts of the Marquis of Salisbury at Hatfield, vol. 16 (London, 1933), p. 17 An English commentator reported that Mary, Queen of Scots, was served by ladies, gentlewomen, and two "chamberers", one Scottish and one French, when she was a prisoner at Lochleven Castle in 1567. The French chamberer was Marie Courcelles,Joseph Bain, Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1900), p. 350 no. 560: Accounts of the Treasurer, 11, p. 163: Joseph Stevenson, Selections from unpublished manuscripts illustrating the reign of Mary Queen of Scotland (Glasgow, 1837), p. 205 Mary mentioned the "deux fames" at Lochleven in a letter to Elizabeth I.Joseph Bain, Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1900), p. 700. An Italian account of her escape from Lochleven says that Mary wore the clothes of the elder of her two chamberers or maids, "s'era messe le vesti della maggior di due cameriere" and the younger servant was 10 years old.Patrick Fraser Tytler, History of Scotland, 7 (Edinburgh: William Nimmo, 1866), p. 378
Anne of Denmark A document from 1592 concerning the Scottish household of Anne of Denmark, wife of James VI and I, mentions "damycelles" or damsels in her chamber. Their clothing allowance suggests they were of lower status than other attendants. "Little Anna", who married the preacher Johannes Sering was described as "ane woman of hir chalmer". Two of Anne of Denmark's servants in Scotland, Margaret Hartsyde and the aristocratic Anne Livingstone, came to her court in England after the Union of Crowns as chamberers. Hartsyde's status as a domestic servant was emphasised by her defence lawyers when she was accused of stealing the queen's jewels.Michael Pearce, 'Anna of Denmark: Fashioning a Danish Court in Scotland', The Court Historian, 24:2 (2019), p. 147
An ordinance for the English household of Anne of Denmark made on 20 July 1603 allows for six maids and a mother of maids and four chamberers.HMC 6th Report: Moray (London, 1877), p. 672.