A chamberer was a female attendant of an English queen, queen consort, or princess. There were similar positions in aristocratic households.

Chamberers at court

At court, the position was similar to a male groom of the privy chamber. The names of ten women who served

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...

as chamberers are known. They were daughters of landowning gentry families. Duties could include some domestic labour, embroidery, and administration, as well as attendance on the queen. The details of the distinctions between women of the chamber and hierarchy can be obscure. Other servants present in the royal lodging who carried out laundry work were of lower status than chamberers, and were called "lavenders". Chamberers would embroider and launder some linen items, especially ruffs. In Scotland,

Elizabeth Gibb Elizabeth or Elspeth Gibb (died 1595) was a Scottish courtier. Career She was a daughter of Robert Gibb of Carriber and Elizabeth Schaw. On 4 February 1577 she married Peter Young of Seaton, a tutor to James VI at Stirling Castle. In early moder ...

, took on this role for

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I; as such, she was Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and Queen of England and Ireland from the union of the Scottish and En ...

, the queen consort of

James VI and I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

, in 1590, making and looking after ruffs and other garments. Usually the queen was served by four chamberers at any one time. An Elizabethan chamberer like Elizabeth Stafford would receive an annual fee of £20 or more, and livery clothing. The chamberers of

received their allowances on

Saint Andrew's Day Saint Andrew's Day, also called the Feast of Saint Andrew or Andermas, is the feast day of Andrew the Apostle. It is celebrated on 30 November (according to Gregorian calendar) and on 13 December (according to Julian calendar). Saint Andrew is ...

. Elizabeth intervened in the marriage plans of some chamberers, and was angry at the marriage of

Mary Scudamore Mary Scudamore ( Shelton; c. 1550 – 1603) was a courtier to Elizabeth I. Career She was a daughter of Sir John Shelton of Shelton Hall, Norfolk and his wife, Margaret Parker. She joined the household of Queen Elizabeth around the year 1 ...

, an indication of their status in her household. Some chamberers, like Joan Russell and Elizabeth Marbery, continued their service as gentlewomen of the privy chamber or bed chamber, enjoying a higher status and salary. Other women present in the queen's privy chamber included the

Maids of Honour A maid of honour is a junior attendant of a queen in royal households. The position was and is junior to the lady-in-waiting. The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts. Role Traditionally, a queen ...

, who frequently received lavish gifts of clothing, and gentlewomen in attendance who did not receive a fee or livery clothes. These gentlewomen do not appear in financial records but their names are noted in lists of those at state occasions, especially funerals. Chamberers took part in Royal Entries and

coronations A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of ot ...

, including the

coronation of Mary I of England Mary I of England was crowned at Westminster Abbey on Sunday 1 October 1553. This was the first coronation of a queen regnant in England, a female ruler in her own right. The ceremony was therefore transformed. Ritual and costume was interlinked. ...

where they rode in procession and were given different clothes for the service in the Abbey.

Damsels and chamberers

In the context of household service in 15th-century England, a "damsel" was of higher or almost equivalent status to a chamberer. In Scotland, the word "chamberer" was only rarely used in the records of the court. An English commentator reported that

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of S ...

, was served by ladies, gentlewomen, and two chamberers when she was a prisoner at

Lochleven Castle Lochleven Castle is a ruined castle on an island in Loch Leven Loch Leven may refer to: ;Bodies of water in Scotland * Loch Leven (Kinross), a freshwater loch in Perth and Kinross ** Loch Leven Castle, a fortress on the loch ** William Douglas o ...

in 1567. A document from 1592 concerning the household of Anne of Denmark mentions "damycelles" or damsels in her chamber. Their clothing allowance suggests they were of lower status than other attendants. Two of her servants in Scotland, Margaret Hartsyde and the aristocratic Anne Livingstone, came to her court in England after the

Union of Crowns The Union of the Crowns ( gd, Aonadh nan Crùintean; sco, Union o the Crouns) was the accession of James VI of Scotland to the throne of the Kingdom of England as James I and the practical unification of some functions (such as overseas dip ...

as chamberers. Hartsyde's status as a domestic servant was emphasised by her defence lawyers when she was accused of stealing the queen's jewels. Chamberers could enjoy substantial rewards, one Danish servant, Dorothea Silking, was granted rights to run a coal mine in Somerset. Empl;oyment of chamberers from the country of origin provided continuity of service and a cultural bridge for queens consort in the early modern period.

Chamberers to Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots

* Francisca Baptiste (1503). * Catherine Crow. * Margaret Dennet * Joanna and Margery Rutherford.

Chamberers to Catherine of Aragon

* Maria de Gavara * Isabel de Vanegas, or Inés Vanegas, first a

governess A governess is a largely obsolete term for a woman employed as a private tutor, who teaches and trains a child or children in their home. A governess often lives in the same residence as the children she is teaching. In contrast to a nanny, th ...

, and her daughters Inés and Teresa. * Elizabeth Collins * Margaret and Margery Kempe, at the

Field of the Cloth of Gold The Field of the Cloth of Gold (french: Camp du Drap d'Or, ) was a summit meeting between King Henry VIII of England and King Francis I of France from 7 to 24 June 1520. Held at Balinghem, between Ardres in France and Guînes in the Englis ...

* Elizabeth Kempe * Elizabeth Lisle. * Anne Luke * Blanche Marbury. * Margaret Mulsho. * Margaret Pennington. * Dame Margaret Pole * Mistress Redynge

Chamberers to Mary Tudor, Queen of France

* Elizabeth Bradshaw * Jane Barners. * Alice Dennis (1514) * Anne Jerningham (1514).

Chamberers to Anne Boleyn

* Former chamberers of Catherine of Aragon

Chamberers to Catherine Howard

* Katherine Tylney

Chamberers to Katherine Parr

* Mary Odell

Chamberers to Anne of Cleves

* Anne Josselyn the elder (1539) * Elizabeth Rastall (1539)

Chamberers to Mary I of England

* Cecily Barnes * Edith Brediman * Lucretia the Tumbler. * Mary Brown. *

Jane Dormer Jane Dormer, Duchess of Feria (6 January 1538 – 13 January 1612) was an English lady-in-waiting to Mary I who, after the Queen's death, married Gómez Suárez de Figueroa y Córdoba, 1st Duke of Feria and went to live in Spain, where she would ...

* Barbara Eyre * Jane or Joan Russell.

Chamberers to Elizabeth I

* Alice Huntercombe * Jane Bradbelt * Elizabeth Marbery. *

Frances Newton Frances Elaine Newton ( McLemore; April 12, 1965 – September 14, 2005) was executed by lethal injection in the state of Texas for the April 7, 1987, murder of her husband, Adrian, 23, her son, Alton, 7, and daughter, Farrah, 21 months. Fo ...

(1559-1560) * Nazareth Newton *

Mary Shelton Mary Shelton (1510-1515 – 1570/71) was one of the contributors to the Devonshire manuscript. Either she or her sister Madge Shelton may have been a mistress of King Henry VIII. Family Both Margaret and Mary were daughters of Sir John Shel ...

(1567-1603). * Elizabeth Stafford Drury. * Margaret Vaughan

Chamberers to Anne of Denmark

* Margaret Hartsyde * Anne Livingstone.Jemma Field, ''Anna of Denmark: Material and Visual Culture of the Stuart Courts'' (Manchester, 2020), p. 133. * Anna Rumler * Dorothea Silking * Dorothy Speckard

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chamberer Positions within the British Royal Household Ladies of the Privy Chamber Chamberers at court