Chamberlain, THE LORD GREAT

Chamberlain, THE LORD GREAT, is a hereditary officer of great antiquity, and formerly of great importance. He has the government of the palace at Westminster, and upon solemn occasions the keys of Westminster Hall and of the Court of Requests are delivered to him. At these times the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, the Ycoman Usher, and the door-keepers are under his orders. At coronations, state trials, banquets, and the like, the fitting-up of the Hall devolves on him. When the King goes to parliament, the Lord Great Chamberlain delivers the sword of state to any member of the administration whom he chooses, to be borne before His Majesty, he himself walking on his right hand. During the sitting of parliament he has charge of the House of Lords, and issues tickets of admission on the opening or prorogation of parliament. Some fees and perquisites belong to him. This office was conferred by Henry I. in 1101 on Alberic de Vere, Mary, daughter of John de Vere, sixteenth Earl of Oxford, married Peregrine Bertie, the 'brave Lord Willoughby' (1555-1601); and on the death of their last male descendant in 1779, the honour, after much litigation, was adjudged to belong conjointly to his sisters and co-heiresses—viz. the Lady Willoughby de Eresby and the Marchioness of Cholmondeley, by whose descendants or their deputies its duties have since been discharged alternately.