Court (royal) in the context of "Courtier"

Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but it is more commonly one of the activities or events developed over thousands of years specifically to engage an audience.

Although people's attention is captured by different things due to individual preferences, most forms of entertainment are recognisable and familiar. Storytelling, music, drama, dance, and various kinds of performance exist in all cultures, were supported in royal courts, and developed into sophisticated forms over time, eventually becoming available to the general public. Modern times have accelerated this process through an entertainment industry that records and sells entertainment products. Entertainment can be adapted to suit any scale, ranging from an individual choosing private entertainment from an enormous array of pre-recorded products, to a banquet for two, to parties of any size with music and dance, to performances for thousands, and even global audiences.

A war of succession is a war prompted by a succession crisis in which two or more individuals claim to be the rightful successor to a deceased or deposed monarch. The rivals are typically supported by factions within the royal court. Foreign powers sometimes intervene, allying themselves with a faction. This may widen the war into one between those powers.

Wars of succession were some of the most prevalent types of wars by cause throughout human history, but the replacement of absolute monarchies by an international order based on democracy with constitutional monarchies or republics ended almost all such wars by 1900.

The House of Savoy-Carignano (Italian: Savoia-Carignano; French: Savoie-Carignan) originated as a cadet branch of the House of Savoy. It was founded by Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano (1596–1656), an Italian military commander who was the fifth son of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy. His descendants were accepted as princes étrangers at the court of France, where some held prominent positions. Upon the extinction of the main Savoy line, they eventually came to reign as kings of Sardinia from 1831 to 1861, and as kings of Italy from 1861 until the dynasty's deposition in 1946. The Savoy-Carignano family also briefly supplied a king each to Spain and Croatia, as well as queens consort to Bulgaria and Portugal.

The plague of Justinian or Justinianic plague (AD 541–549) was an epidemic of plague that afflicted the entire Mediterranean Basin, Europe, and the Near East, especially the Sasanian Empire and the Byzantine Empire. The plague is named for the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565) who, according to his court historian Procopius, contracted the disease and recovered in 542, at the height of the epidemic which killed about a fifth of the population in the imperial capital Constantinople. The contagion arrived in Roman Egypt in 541, spread around the Mediterranean Sea until 544, and persisted in Northern Europe and the Arabian Peninsula until 549. By 543, the plague had spread to every corner of Justinian's empire.

The plague's severity and impact remain debated. Some scholars assert that as the first episode of the first plague pandemic, it had profound economic, social, and political effects across Europe and the Near East and cultural and religious impact on Eastern Roman society. However, scholars such as Mordechai and Eisenberg have argued that the Plague of Justinian was overstated by primary sources and while would have been incredibly impactful on a personal level, did not have a severe or even a long lasting impact on the population of the Mediterranean in the Age of Justinian.

The Grand Palace (Thai: พระบรมมหาราชวัง, RTGS: Phra Borom Maha Ratcha Wang lit. 'The Supreme Grand Palace') is a complex of buildings at the heart of Bangkok, Thailand. The palace has been the official residence of the Kings of Siam (and later Thailand) since 1782. The king, his court, and his royal government were based on the grounds of the palace until 1925. King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX), resided at the Chitralada Royal Villa and his successor King Vajiralongkorn (Rama X) resides at the Amphorn Sathan Residential Hall, both in the Dusit Palace, but the Grand Palace is still used for official events. Several royal ceremonies and state functions are held within the walls of the palace every year. The palace is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Thailand, with over eight million people visiting each year.

Construction of the palace began on 6 May 1782, at the order of King Phutthayotfa Chulalok (Rama I), the founder of the Chakri dynasty, when he moved the capital city from Thonburi to Bangkok.

Valladolid (/ˌvælədəˈlɪd/ VAL-ə-də-LID; Spanish: [baʎaðoˈlið] ) is a city in Spain and the largest city as well as primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of Valladolid. With a population of 299,816, it is the 13th largest municipality in Spain.

The city is located roughly in the centre of the northern half of the Iberian Peninsula's Meseta Central, at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers 15 km (9.3 mi) before they join the Duero, surrounded by winegrowing areas. The area was settled in pre-Roman times by the Celtic Vaccaei people, and then by Romans themselves. The settlement was purportedly founded after 1072, growing in prominence within the context of the Crown of Castile, being endowed with fairs and different institutions such as a collegiate church, University (1241), Royal Court and Chancellery and a royal mint.

A camarilla is a group of courtiers or favourites who surround a king or ruler. Usually, they do not hold any office or have any official authority at the royal court but influence their ruler behind the scenes. Consequently, they also escape having to bear responsibility for the effects of their advice. The term derives from the Spanish word camarilla (diminutive of cámara), meaning 'little chamber' or private cabinet of the king. It was first used of the circle of cronies around Spanish King Ferdinand VII (reigned 1814–1833). The term involves what is known as cronyism. The term also entered other languages like Polish, German and Greek, and is used in the sense given above.

A similar concept in modern politics is that of a Kitchen Cabinet, which is often composed of unelected advisers bypassing traditional governance practices.