Gentleman Usher andLady Usher are titles for some officers of theRoyal Household of theUnited Kingdom. Historically the Gentlemen Ushers were among the most senior officials of the king's Chamber, next in rank only to theChamberlain and theVice-Chamberlain; their role was first documented in the fifteenth century (for a list of office-holders from theRestoration of the monarchy in 1660 up to the present day, seeList of Lady and Gentleman Ushers).
Gentleman Ushers were originally a class of servants found not only in the Royal Household, but in lesser establishments as well. They were regularly found in the households ofTudor noblemen, and were prescribed byRichard Brathwait, in hisHousehold of an Earle, as one of the "officers and Servants the state of an Earle requireth to have".
In a noble household, the Gentleman Usher occupied an intermediate level between thesteward (the usual head) and the ordinary servants; they were responsible for overseeing the work of the servants "above stairs", particularly those who cooked and waited upon the nobleman at meals, and saw to it the great chamber was kept clean by the lesser servants. He was also responsible for overseeing other miscellaneous service, such as the care of the nobleman's chapel and bed-chambers. It was traditionally the Gentleman Usher who swore in new members of the nobleman's service.[1]
The duties of a Gentleman Usher, not unlike those of a contemporarybutler, made him quite important in Tudor and 17th-century households.George Chapman's playThe Gentleman Usher has as its title character the pompous but easily fooled Bassiolo, Gentleman Usher to Lord Lasso.Henry VIII gave an usher's position and fee to the Italian merchantLeonardo Frescobaldi.[2]
The service of Gentleman Ushers atCourt is attested since the fifteenth century.[3] TheBlack Book of the Household of KingEdward IV lists four Gentlemen Ushers of the Chamber, "whereof one or two continually sitteth at meats and suppers in the King's chamber, to see every thing done in due order, and to keep silence".[4] Among other duties, the ushers were required to keep a tally of all food, drink and other items consumed in the Chamber and to provide a record of the same to the counting house daily.
UnderHenry VII the duties of the Gentlemen Ushers were set out in more detail: for example, at least one usher was required to be in attendance every day, wherever the King was, to 'keep the door' between the hours of 8am and nightfall, during which time they were to "suffer no stranger to come in without the commandment of theLord Chamberlain, or his deputy, or one of theKing's council".[5] The Gentlemen Ushers were high-ranking courtiers at this time, it being enjoined that "in the absence of the chamberlain, the usher shall have the same power to command in like manner". Prior to theInterregnum, Gentlemen Ushers carried a shortwhite staff, half the length of that of the Lord Chamberlain, as a symbol of their authority.[6]
Under Henry VIII the Gentleman Ushers were separated into three classes:Gentleman Ushers of the Privy Chamber,Gentleman Ushers Daily Waiters andGentleman Ushers Quarter Waiters:
Yeomen Ushers were also employed, who were junior to the Gentlemen Ushers and performed more menial tasks; these were later integrated into the establishment of theYeomen of the Guard.[8]
At theUnion of Crowns,James VI and I came to York in May 1603 and swore Elizabeth's former ushers as his servants, including Richard Coningsby and George Pollard, and the quarter waiters Thomas Rolles and Master Hariffe.[9]Anne of Denmark, queen consort of James VI and I, had four usher quarter waiters as well as a gentleman usherJohn Tunstall. The yearly fee was £40, and to buy the office in queen's household in December 1603 would cost £250.[10] When one of the ushers, Watson, died ofplague, the queen's chamberlainRobert Sidney appointed a replacement and swore him in without consulting her.[11] A Scottish usher called Bochan or Buchanan fought withEdward Herbert overMary Middlemore one of Anne of Denmark'smaids of honour.[12] Tunstall and two of Anne of Denmark's usher quarter waiters, Francis Constable ofSherburn and Timothy Pinckney, later joined the household ofHenrietta Maria as ushers with Maurice Drummond and William Gordon.[13]
Following theRestoration, KingCharles II reconstituted the royal household in a manner 'conformable to the ancient Ordinances of our House'.[14] A detailed set of regulations was published with regard to the many and various duties of the Gentlemen Ushers at this time, which ranged from having responsibility for apportioning rooms to those who were to lodge within the King's house, and 'know[ing] the King's mind when it shall please him to have any musick', to issuing the nightly call for the King's bed to be made, and having command of theKing's barge andwatermen.[6]
By the eighteenth century, the Bedchamber (which was under the authority of theGroom of the Stole, and beyond the remit of the Gentlemen Ushers) had supplanted the Privy Chamber as the monarch's private enclave, and an adjacent Drawing Room became the main place of assembly at Court (in place of the Presence Chamber). The Privy Chamber and Presence Chamber then became little more than gathering spaces for visitors, largely indistinguishable from one another. Nevertheless, both chambers retained their separate staff of Gentlemen Ushers, who (though no longer closely involved with the day-to-day routines of the monarch) continued to serve a practical role overseeing these spaces on a day-to-day basis.[15] UnderQueen Victoria the Gentlemen Ushers of the Privy Chamber were still said to be in regular attendance on the Queen: they had "the honour of conducting Her Majesty in the absence of the higher officers" and were "the sole attendants in the Closet and the Chapel".[16]
Over time, the role of the Gentleman Ushers became increasingly ceremonial and they exercised less supervision over the staff. In 1901,King Edward VII abolished the separate designations and began to appoint simplyGentleman Ushers in Ordinary.
Today an establishment of 10 Lady and Gentleman Ushers is maintained for attendance at royal events.[3] Lady and Gentleman Ushers to His Majesty The King are generally appointed from retired military officers with, currently, two representing theRoyal Navy, four representing theArmy and four representing theRoyal Air Force.
When on duty Ushers generally wear eitherService uniform with abrassard displaying theroyal cypher or morning or evening dress, depending on the occasion. They receive a modest honorarium for the upkeep of their orders of dress.
Among their duties, they act as ushers atRoyal Garden Parties andInvestitures as well as on State occasions. At royal weddings, funerals, coronations and other large church services they may be called upon to lead royal and other important guests in procession before conducting them to their seats. Occasionally they may be called upon to attend an event (e.g. amemorial service) as the monarch's representative.
The first Lady Usher of the Black Rod was appointed in 2017; the first Lady Usher in Ordinary was appointed in 2021.
Ushers retire at 70, when they may become Extra Lady or Gentleman Ushers.
Certain Gentleman Ushers have duties outside of the Royal Household, usually attached either as officers of anorder of knighthood or to a House of Parliament. These are, in order of antiquity:
Gentleman Ushers of the Black Rod also exist for New Zealand, Australia and its states, and Canada. In some respects, theMilitary Social Aides to the US President, who attend on some 2 to 4 afternoons a month to assist visitors to theWhite House, are an American and more recent equivalent to the Gentleman Ushers in Ordinary.