Groom of the Stool

The office developed gradually over decades and centuries into one of administration of the royal finances and, under Henry VII, the Groom of the Stool became a powerful official involved in setting national fiscal policy, under the "chamber system".

[7][8] By the Tudor age, the role of Groom of the Stool was fulfilled by a substantial figure, such as Hugh Denys (d. 1511) who was a member of the Gloucestershire gentry, married to an aristocratic wife, and who died possessing at least four manors.

[9][10][11] In the early years of Henry VIII's reign, the title was awarded to court companions of the King who spent time with him in the privy chamber.

[12]: 42  David Starkey writes: "The Groom of the Stool had (to our eyes) the most menial tasks; his standing, though, was the highest ... Clearly then, the royal body service must have been seen as entirely honourable, without a trace of the demeaning or the humiliating.

"[13] Further, "the mere word of the Gentleman of the Privy Chamber was sufficient evidence in itself of the king's will", and the Groom of the Stool bore "the indefinable charisma of the monarchy".

[17] Incongruously, the office of Groom of the Stole continued in use during the reign of Queen Anne, when it was held by a duchess who combined its duties with those of Mistress of the Robes.

[20] Chamberlayne defines the Groom of the Stole as the first of the Gentlemen of the Bedchamber; translating his title ('from the Greek') as 'Groom or Servant of the Long-robe or Vestment', he explains that he has 'the Office and Honour to present and put on his Majesty's first Garment or Shirt every morning, and to order the Things of the Bed-Chamber'.