The office of Royal Librarian, in the

Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic List of British royal residences, royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King ...

Department of the Royal Household of the

Sovereign ''Sovereign'' is a title that can be applied to the highest leader in various categories. The word is borrowed from Old French , which is ultimately derived from the Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, is responsible for the care and maintenance of the books and manuscripts in the Royal Library, a collection spread across all the palaces, occupied and unoccupied. In addition to their role overseeing the

librarians A librarian is a person who professionally works managing information. Librarians' common activities include providing access to information, conducting research, creating and managing information systems, creating, leading, and evaluating educat ...

in the Royal Library, the Librarian is also Deputy Keeper of the

Royal Archives The Royal Archives, also known as the King's or Queen's Archives, is a division of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It is operationally under the control of the Keeper of the Royal Archives, who is customarily the Pri ...

and is responsible for the management of the Royal Archives and its collections.Allison, R, and Riddell, S (eds.), The Royal Encyclopaedia. Macmillan Press, 1991

The role of the Royal Librarian

Today the Royal Library collections comprise the documentary and intellectual heritage of the

Monarchy of the United Kingdom The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers Constitutional monarchy, regula ...

and its predecessors, span nearly two-and-half millennia and comprise millions of pages, many unique, many encapsulating some of the most extraordinary moments in British history, and many items important in their own right. As well as books and manuscripts, The Librarian is also responsible for the collections of insignia,

coins A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by ...

and

medals A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...

, seals,

banknotes A banknote or bank notealso called a bill (North American English) or simply a noteis a type of paper money that is made and distributed ("issued") by a bank of issue, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued by commer ...

, and other material. As Assistant Keeper of the Royal Archives, The Librarian has oversight of the

, based at Windsor Castle since 1911. The Royal Library and

supports the work of th
Royal Household
in the

Royal Collection Trust The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King Charles III and overseen by the ...

Department through exhibitions, events, and publications, and the work of the

Lord Chamberlain The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom, Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Monarchy of the United Ki ...

's and Private Secretary's Offices through the creation of displays and manufacture of gifts for State Visits, for selected garden parties, and other types of official and public engagement. The Royal Library and

teams work very closely with the information assurance work of Royal Household to meet the challenges of dealing with library and archive material in the digital age. The Royal Library includes responsibility for the Royal Library bindery.

History

Although a Librarian was always required for any sizeable royal collection of books, the present office dates from 1836, when the then existing collections of books at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

were consolidated. This followed two donations of the bulk of the historic collections to the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

(now held in the split-off

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

). The so-called Old Royal Library was given under George II in 1757, and included the relatively small, but high quality, holdings of medieval manuscripts, many acquired or re-acquired long after their creation, and a collection essentially beginning with

Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...

that had been retained since new in the royal library. The

King's Library The King's Library was one of the most important collections of books and pamphlets of the Age of Enlightenment.British LibraryGeorge III Collection: the King's Libraryaccessed 26 May 2010 Assembled by George III (r.1760–1820), this schola ...

was some 65,000 volumes essentially assembled by

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

and given by

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

. The offer was made in 1823, but the physical transfer delayed until 1827, when a new gallery had been built. The office was only admitted to the Royal Household in the 19th century. John Glover was appointed in 1837 and since his time there have been 8 subsequent Librarians. They are: * John Glover 1837-1860 * Bernard Woodward 1860-1869 * Richard Holmes 1870-1905 * John Fortescue 1905-1926 *

Owen Morshead Sir Owen Frederick Morshead, (28 September 1893 – 1 June 1977) was a British Army officer and librarian, who served as Royal Librarian from 1926 to 1958. Early life Morshead was born in Tavistock, Devon, the son of Reginald Morshead and Ell ...

1926-1958 * Robin Mackworth-Young 1958-1985 * Oliver Everett 1985-2002 * Jane Roberts 2002-2013Royal Collection Trust Annual Report 2013-2014, p. 14 * Oliver Urquhart Irvine 2014-2018 * Stella Panayotova 2019- Up to and including the tenure of Oliver Everett, the Librarians were responsible for all the collections within the Royal Library at

, including the prints and drawings collections, and since the establishment of the

in the Round Tower at

in 1911, the Librarian has also been responsible for the day-to-day management of the Royal Archives answering to the Keeper of the Royal Archives, a post held by the Sovereign's Private Secretary. From 2002 to 2013 the then Librarian, Lady Jane Roberts's responsibilities included the Library and prints and drawings only, with the Assistant Keepership of the Royal Archives coming under the responsibility of Director of Records (currently David Ryan first as Assistant Keeper and now as Deputy Keeper of the Royal Archives). Since 2014, The Librarian has once again responsibility as Assistant Keeper of the Royal Archives, while the prints and drawings collections held in the

Print Room A print room is a room in an art gallery or museum where a collection of old master print, old master and modern prints, usually together with drawings, watercolours, and photographs, are held and viewed. A further meaning is a room decorated ...

became the responsibility of a newly created post of Head of Prints and Drawings (currently Martin Clayton). The current Librarian and Deputy Keeper is Stella Panayotova, formerly of the

Fitzwilliam Museum The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities University museum, museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard ...

References

External links

The Monarchy website

The Royal Archives

Queen Victoria's Journals online

The Royal Collection Trust website

The British Library
{{Coord , 51.4841, -0.6018, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Monarchy of the United Kingdom Positions within the British Royal Household *Royal Librarian Windsor Castle