Royal Household in the context of "Print Room, Windsor"

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⭐ Core Definition: Royal Household

A royal household or imperial household is the residence and administrative headquarters in ancient and post-classical monarchies, and papal household for popes, and formed the basis for the general government of the country as well as providing for the needs of the sovereign and their relations. It is the core of the royal court, though a court includes many courtiers who are not directly employed by the monarch as part of the household.

Traditionally there often have been large numbers of employees in the household, strictly differentiated by rank, from nobles with highly sought-after positions that gave close access to the monarch, to all the usual servants such as cooks, footmen, and maids. Traditionally the household typically includes military forces providing security. Specialists such as artists, clock-makers and poets might be given a place in the household, often by appointing them as valet de chambre or the local equivalent.

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👉 Royal Household in the context of Print Room, Windsor

The Print Room at Windsor Castle is a print room which is an office in the Royal Collection Department of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the care and maintenance of the royal collections of drawings and old master prints, including watercolours. The term refers to both an institution and a room, and is under the direction of the Head of Prints and Drawings, currently Martin Clayton MVO.

The collection is exceptionally strong, with famous holdings of drawings by Leonardo da Vinci (550), Raphael, Michelangelo and Hans Holbein the Younger (85). A large part of the Old Master drawings were acquired by George III.

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Royal Household in the context of Groom of the Chamber

Groom of the Chamber was a position in the Household of the monarch in early modern England. Other Ancien Régime royal establishments in Europe had comparable officers, often with similar titles. In France, the Duchy of Burgundy, and in England while French was still the language of the court, the title was varlet or valet de chambre. In German, Danish and Russian the term was "Kammerjunker" and in Swedish the similar "Kammarjunkare".

In England after the Restoration, appointments in the King's Household included Groom of the Great Chamber, Groom of the Privy Chamber and Groom of the Bedchamber. The first two positions were appointed by Lord Chamberlain's warrant; the third, of greater importance, was a Crown appointment.

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Royal Household in the context of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester

Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester (24 June 1532 – 4 September 1588) was an English statesman and the favourite of Elizabeth I from her accession until his death. He was a suitor for the queen's hand for many years.

Dudley's youth was overshadowed by the downfall of his family in 1553 after his father, the Duke of Northumberland, had failed to prevent the accession of Mary I. Robert Dudley was condemned to death but was released in 1554 and took part in the Battle of St. Quentin under Mary's husband and co-ruler, Philip, which led to his full rehabilitation, but also to the death of his younger brother Henry. On Elizabeth I's accession in November 1558, Dudley was appointed Master of the Horse. In October 1562, he became a privy councillor and, in 1587, was appointed Lord Steward of the Royal Household. In 1564, Dudley became Earl of Leicester and, from 1563, one of the greatest landowners in North Wales and the English West Midlands by royal grants.

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Royal Household in the context of Office of Works

The Office of Works was an organisation responsible for structures and exterior spaces, first established as part of the English royal household in 1378 to oversee the building and maintenance of the royal castles and residences.

In 1832 it became the Works Department within the Office of Woods, Forests, Land Revenues, Works and Buildings. It was reconstituted as a government department in 1851, which in 1940 became part of the Ministry of Works.

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Royal Household in the context of Surveyor of the King's Pictures

The office of the Surveyor of the King's/Queen's Pictures, in the Royal Collection Department of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, is responsible for the care and maintenance of the royal collection of pictures owned by the Sovereign in an official capacity – as distinct from those owned privately and displayed at Sandringham House and Balmoral Castle and elsewhere. The office has only been full-time since 1972. It now operates in a professional capacity with a staff of a dozen people.

Although the office dates from 1625, during the reign of Charles I (a noted art connoisseur), there has always been someone responsible for pictures in the Royal Household. Notable recent office-holders have included Sir Lionel Cust (1901–1927), Sir Kenneth Clark (1934–1944), Professor Anthony Blunt (1945–1972), one of the Cambridge Five Soviet spies, and Sir Oliver Millar (1972–1988). The current surveyor is Anna Reynolds, who was appointed in December 2023. She is the first woman to hold the position.

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