From 1737 to 1968, the Lord Chamberlain had the power to decide which plays would be granted a licence for performance; this meant that he had the capacity to censor theatre at his pleasure.

His department not only furnished the servants and other personnel (such as physicians and bodyguards, the Yeomen of the Guard and Gentlemen Pensioners) in intimate attendance on the Sovereign but arranged and staffed ceremonies and entertainments for the court.

3. c. 82), the Lord Chamberlain took on direct responsibility for items kept and maintained by the Great Wardrobe and the Jewel House (whereby these formerly semi-independent sub-departments were abolished).

To ensure that the chamber reflected the royal tastes, the Lord Chamberlain received commands directly from the sovereign to be transmitted to the heads of subordinate departments.

Carey served under Elizabeth I at the time and was in charge of all court entertainment, a duty traditionally given to the Master of the Revels, a deputy of the Lord Chamberlain.

Their main complaints were the lack of copyright protection for their work and more importantly that only two patent theatres in London could legitimately perform new plays.

The Act, however, did abolish the monopoly that the patent houses had in London, providing a minor win for playwrights and theatre managers wishing to produce new work.

The outbreak of both World Wars put an end to any parliamentary initiatives to change the laws regarding theatre censorship for many years.

At this point, several widely regarded authors had all been censored by the Lord Chamberlain at one time or another, including playwrights Henrik Ibsen and George Bernard Shaw.

This time the argument largely centered around this issue on the portrayal of living and recently dead individuals, particularly in reference to the monarchy as well as politicians.

[1][5] After much debate, the Theatres Act 1968 was finally passed; it officially abolished the censorship of the stage and repealed the Lord Chamberlain's power to refuse a licence to a play of any kind.

Those who opposed the termination of this particular duty of the Lord Chamberlain were mostly concerned about how to protect the reputation of the royal family and the government instead of controlling obscenity and blasphemy on stage.

[5] The long standing role of the Lord Chamberlain as theatrical censor resulted in an extensive archive of both licensed and unlicensed play scripts being preserved.

[2] On State and ceremonial occasions, the Lord Chamberlain carries specific symbols that represent his office: a white staff and a key (which is worn at the hip pocket).