Royal Windsor

The British Royal Household

Many years ago in the 1920's my great Aunt Hilda ( Suffragette and Headmistress ) traced our family tree back to the Kings and Queens of England from the 7th Century. This basically means I am related to most of the British Royal Family going back 1500 years. This has made me a great fan of English and British History and below is a description of the Royal Household, Its five departments and the A to Z of the various 135 senior Royal Household Positions.

 

There are five Departments that make up the Royal Household. These Departments are:

 

• The Private Secretary's Office.

• The Master of the Household's Department.

• The Privy Purse and Treasurer's Office.

• The Lord Chamberlain's Office.

• The Royal Collection Department.

 

It seems that most of the Departments are based at Buckingham Palace, although some staff also work at St. James's Palace, Windsor Castle, the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Royal Mews.

It also seems that some of the Royal Household employees also travel with The Queen on overseas visits and during The Queen's stay at Balmoral Castle and Sandringham, since the work of the Head of State continues even when she is away from London.

A – Z in The Royal Household

 

A

• Personal Aide-de-Camp

• Aide-de-Camp General

• Aide-de-camp

• Apothecary to the Household at Sandringham

• Apothecary to the Household at Windsor

• Armour-Bearer

• Astronomer Royal

• Astronomer Royal for Scotland

B

• Bearer of the National Flag of Scotland

• Purse Bearer

• Black Rod

• Blues and Royals

• Board of Green Cloth

C

• Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms

• Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard

• Clerk of the Closet

• Clerk of the Green Cloth

• Cofferer of the Household

• Comptroller of the Household

• Coroner of the Queen's Household

• Court dwarf

• Crown Equerry

D

• Dean of the Chapel Royal

• Defence Services Secretary

• Deputy Clerk of the Closet

• Director for Security Liaison

E

• Ecclesiastical Household

• Equerry

F

• Field Officer in Brigade Waiting

G

• Gentleman Usher

• Gentleman Usher to the Sword of State

• Gentleman of the Bedchamber

• Gentleman of the Horse

• Gold Stick and Silver Stick

• Governor of the Military Knights of Windsor

• Grand Carver of England

• Great Chamberlain

• Groom Porter

• Groom in Waiting

• Groom of the Chamber

• Groom of the Robes

• Groom of the Stole

H

• Her Majesty's Botanist

• Her Majesty's Representative at Ascot

• High Constables and Guard of Honour of the Palace of Holyroodhouse

• High Steward of Scotland

• Historiographer Royal

• Historiographer Royal (England)

• Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms

• Horse Grenadier Guards

• Apothecary to the Household

J

• Jester

K

• Keeper of the Privy Purse

• Keeper of the Queen's Swans

• Keeper of the Royal Archives

• Knight Marischal

• Knight Marshal

L

• Lady of the Bedchamber

• Lady-in-waiting

• Life Guards (British Army)

• List of Gentlemen Ushers

• Lord Chamberlain (UK)

• Lord Chamberlain's Office

• Lord Clerk Register

• Lord High Constable of Ireland

• Lord High Constable of Scotland

• Lords Justice-General

• Lords President of the Court of Session

• Lord Lyon King of Arms

• Lord of the Bedchamber

• Lord Steward

• Lord-in-Waiting

• List of Lords Chamberlain to British royal consorts

M

• Maid of Honour

• Earl Marischal

• Marker of the Swans

• Marshal of the Ceremonies

• Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps

• Master Carver

• Master of the Queen's Music

• Master of the Buckhounds

• Master of the Ceremonies

• Master of the Harriers

• Master of the Hawks

• Master of the Horse

• Master of the Household

• Master of the Household of Scotland

• Master of the Jewel Office

• Master of the Revels

• Master of the Robes

• Master of the Staghounds

• List of Masters of the Horse to British royal consorts

• Medical Officer to The Queen

• Mistress of the Robes

O

• Office of the Duke of Edinburgh

• Office of the Duke of York

• Office of the Earl of Wessex

• Office of the Prince of Wales

• Office of the Princess Royal

• Official Harpist to the Prince of Wales

P

• Page of the Backstairs

• Page of the Presence

• Page of Honour

• Painter and Limner

• Personal Protection Officer

• Piper to the Sovereign

• Poet Laureate

• Press Office (Royal Household)

• Principal Painter in Ordinary

• Private Secretary to the Sovereign

Q

• Queen's Bargemaster

• Queen's Flag Sergeant

• Physician to the Queen

R

• Removing Wardrobe

• Royal Archives

• Royal Astronomer of Ireland

• Royal Horse Guards

• Royal Household

• Royal Households of the United Kingdom

• Royal Librarian (United Kingdom)

S

• Sculptor in Ordinary for Scotland

• Serjeant Painter

• Serjeant Surgeon

• Serjeant-at-Arms

• Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures

• Surveyor of the Queen's Works of Art

T

• Treasurer of the Chamber

• Treasurer of the Household

• List of Treasurers to British royal consorts

V

• Vice-Chamberlain of the Household

• List of Vice-Chamberlains to British royal consorts

W

• Warden of the Swans

• Wardrobe (government)

• Woman of the Bedchamber

Y

• Yeomen Warders

• Yeomen of the Guard



About the Author

 

Please visit my Funny Animal Art Prints Collection @ http://www.fabprints.com

My other website is called Directory of British Icons: http://fabprints.webs.com

 

The Chinese call England "The Island of Hero's" which I think sums up what we English are all about.

 

Copyright © 2010 Paul Hussey. All Rights Reserved.

Where did the Royal family get its surname Windsor from?

The current Royal family were known as the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha prior to 1917. This name derived from King George V's Grandfather who was known as Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Under the rules of dynastic succession, a son derives his House name from his father. Therefore on Queen Victoria's death in 1901, King Edward VII became the first monarch of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Queen Victoria herself had been a member of the House of Hanover.

This changed of course following the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 due to rising anti-German sentiments which criticised the Royal family for their continued use of the name. Some went as far as to accuse the Royal family of harbouring German sentiments. As a result King Georve V went about changing the dynastic house name from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to a more appropriate English sounding name.

Some time prior to her death, Queen Victoria had her family lineage traced out of curiosity. In those days members of the Royal family didn't have a surname and were known predominately as members of their dynastic House. Queen Victoria explored her family history to find out what her surname would be. Tis was later repeated by Geroge V in his pursuit of a family surname.

It transpired that the family's surname would probably have been either 'Wettin' or 'Wipper'. These were considered inappropriate for two reasons (1) They are obviously very emarrassing surnames and would make the family the butt of jokes in High society and in Britain as a whole and (2) They were also German and therefore still inappropriate surnames. Therefore the Royal family went about simply changing their name to something more appropriate and english sounding with no real significance to their family background. They eventualy settled on the House of Windsor and the name derived from the name of their family castle. I don't know this has a connection but it is worth noting that the Hohenzollerns also derived their dynastic house name from their ancestral castle, Schloss Hohenzollern.

In any event, the House of Windsor continues to this day despite previous objections from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh who stated on his wife's accession in 1952 that he thought that he was "a bloody amoeba. I'm the only man in the country who cannot give his children his surname". This was due to the fact that Lord Louis Mountbatten had mentioned in passing that he thought that the house name would now change from Windsor to Mountbatten. King George VI mother and King Geroge V's widow, Queen Mary was outraged by this proposal and quickly corresponded with the then Prime Minister Winston Churchill insisting that her husband had meant for the house name to belong to the Royal family in perpetuity and that he did not intend for it ever to change. Winston Churchill immediately consulted with the Queen who soon put a stop to the idea.

However in an order-in-council in the 60's, the Queen decreed that although the house name would remain Windsor, all senior members of the Royal family who were descendants of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh (and excluding females who married those with different surnames) would have the surname Mountbatten-Windsor.

The Royal Windsor Horse Show - Pony Club Mounted Games - DAKS