The foremost function of the royal household was to satisfy the king’s needs. It saw to his requirements both basic and complex, providing food, drink, shelter, security, companionship, money, and religious comfort.
Staff and structure
Structurally, it was divided into ‘above stairs’ and ‘below stairs’, with several sub-divisions contained within each. The above stairs, or ‘upper’ household, gradually evolved into the great, privy, and bed chambers. Made to impress with its magnificence and spectacle, it was the gathering place for courtiers, nobles, and prominent visitors. The knights and esquires of the body, grooms, valets, and ushers operated within this space under the direction of the chamberlain. It was largely staffed by the gentle born and the politically powerful who were afforded enviable access to the monarch in the most intimate of spaces.
In the ‘below stairs’, the departments were divided by function mainly concerned with procuring, storing, and preparing vast quantities of food and drink.
