While it existed until modern times, its jurisdiction was more recently limited to the sale of alcohol, betting and gaming licences for premises falling within the areas attached to or governed by the Royal Palaces.
[9] The Board's judicial functions derived from the historic authority of the Lord Steward within the royal Court to dispense the King's justice; it dealt with minor disputes, small debts and breaches of the peace within the Verge.
In the early modern period the Board routinely met twice a week, wherever the monarch was residing, to draw up accounts of daily expenditure, to order and pay for provisions, and 'to see to the good government of the Sovereign's household servants'.
[6] Latterly the Board, which was chaired by the Master of the Household, met once a year to license public houses within the Verge;[8] this meeting was usually a formality, with the licensees applying jointly and the licences being routinely awarded (unless the Metropolitan Police or the local heath authority raised an objection).
[6] Until 2004, the Board had jurisdiction as a licensing authority over a number of premises in Westminster (that were within the verge of Buckingham Palace) that would have otherwise been the responsibility of the local magistrates' court, including Carlton House Terrace, the northern end of Whitehall and the National Gallery.