TheComptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the Britishroyal household, nominally the second-ranking member of theLord Steward's department after theTreasurer of the Household. The Comptroller was anex officio member of theBoard of Green Cloth, until that body was abolished in the reform of local government licensing in 2004. In recent times, a senior governmentwhip has invariably occupied the office. On state occasions the Comptroller (in common with certain other senior officers of the Household) carries awhite staff of office, as often seen in portraits.[1]
"Comptroller" is an alternative spelling of "controller", recorded since around 1500 in a number of British titles, and later also in the United States. The variant in spelling results from the influence of Frenchcompte "account".
Sir Edward Rogers, 'Controller to Queen Elizabeth' in the 1560s, holding his white staff of office
The office of Comptroller of the Household derives from the medieval Household office of Controller of theWardrobe, who was deputy to theKeeper (or Treasurer) of the Wardrobe, as well as an important official in his own right as keeper of thePrivy Seal. Later, both these offices became high-ranking political appointments.
In modern times, the Comptroller has become a less prominent position inBritish politics. The holder is the third-most senior Governmentwhips in theHouse of Commons and is responsible for the day-to-day activity in the House.[2] Their responsibilities for theRoyal Household are now largely ceremonial, such as serving as anusher at royal garden parties.[2]
^abcdThe Household of Edward IV, Manchester University Press NDGoogle ebook
^abThe DNB gives Sir William Parr as Comptroller of the Household from 1471 to 1483;Household of Edward IV gives Parr's office dates as 1471–1475 and again in 1481–1483
^abcKinney, Arthur F. (1973).Titled Elizabethans: A Directory of Elizabethan Court, State, and Church Officers, 1558–1603. North Haven, Connecticut: Shoe String Press.
^J. Palmer,A Biographical History of England (1824), 86–87
