Usually, they do not hold any office or have any official authority at the royal court but influence their ruler behind the scenes.
The term derives from the Spanish word camarilla (diminutive of cámara), meaning 'little chamber' or private cabinet of the king.
A similar concept in modern politics is that of a Kitchen Cabinet, which is often composed of unelected advisers bypassing traditional governance practices.
In particular, two groups are called camarillas: those who surrounded the Emperor Wilhelm II[citation needed] and the President Paul von Hindenburg.
[7] The right-wing domestic circle with which Francisco Franco surrounded himself with in his final years at the Royal Palace of El Pardo, his official residence, has been referred to as a "camarilla" by multiple authors.