From the Archives: King William III's Private Place

Loretta reports:

State apartments are all very well, and I can be easily awestruck by, say, a magnificent painted ceiling, or candle stands that tower over my head.

But the most fun for me in touring a historic site is looking into the less public spaces:  kitchens, for instance.  Wine cellars.  Bathrooms.

Previously we looked into Queen Caroline’s (Caroline of Ansbach 1683-1737) bathroom at Hampton Court Palace.

Nowhere in my perambulations, however, did I come upon the King’s bathroom.  I did find his lavatory, though.

King William III (1650–1702) was not an extrovert.  He liked to be alone or with small groups of friends.  One of the places where he could have some privacy was what’s called the King’s Closet.  Here he’d meet with the privileged few and work at his modest-looking walnut desk.  His long-case clock nearby needs to be wound only once a year—highly advanced technology for the time.

And in this private area, not far away, and in plain sight between the jib doors* is King William's own actual close stool.  According to the brochure, “the Groom of the Stool was a senior courtier who not only ran the Bedchamber department but also had to personally attend the king on his ‘stool.’”

I leave you to surmise what attendance entailed.

*"In Architecture, a door so constructed that it stands flush with the adjoining face of the wall on both sides, and without dressings or architraves. Thus it appears to form part of the wall, the intention of a jib door being simply to disguise the aperture." —A Dictionary of Science, Literature, & Art, 1875

Casual Friday: Royal Bedchamber

Loretta reports:

A friend recently returned from London reported happily on an exhibition at Hampton Court Palace, “Secrets of the Royal Bedchamber.” 

As one who only a few years ago discovered Hampton Court Palace’s delights (blogs here and here and here, and here and here, for instance) and who spent some time studying the royal bedrooms (and the lavatories), I was very excited to visit online.  The Historic Royal Palaces website offers several wonderful, short videos about the exhibition, as well information about how to conserve your own precious objects.

This made it hard to choose among the riches.  But I thought our Nerdy History readers would be as fascinated as I was by the painstaking methods used to conserve a bed rail.








Readers who receive our blog via email might see a rectangle, square, or nothing where the video ought to be.  To watch the video, please click on the title to this post.

The Frozen Yeomen of Hampton Court Palace

Loretta reports:

I had so much fun visiting Hampton Court Palace last year that I had the characters in my latest book, Scandal Wears Satin, make a stop there.

On of the palace’s many delights (I’ve blogged about others here and here and here and here) were these stone yeomen, who support the chimneypiece in The Queen’s Guard Chamber.


   
The room is one of Queen Mary II’s (of William & Mary) Apartments and part of a palace renovation, abandoned when the queen died in 1694.  No major work was done until 1717, when the Prince & Princess of Wales—the future King George II and Queen Caroline—hired Christopher Wren to bring the place back to life.  He designed this pair of figures in honor of the Yeomen of the Guard—the soldiers who guarded the monarch’s private rooms in a palace.  In the Guard Room, according to Historic Royal Palaces, they “met courtiers on their way to meet the sovereign. Their job was to ensure that no ‘idle, mean or unknown persons’ would pass through into the more important rooms beyond.”

I love that Wren gave them personalities.

Royal loos through time

Loretta reports:

My recent blog about King William III's close stool came to the notice of the Historic Royal Palaces Twitter account, who sent along a link to their YouTube video,  Toilets through time (Or, a royal flush).

 

Wait until you hear the description of King Henry VIII's special throne.  Lots of interesting information in this one, and amusement for all who enjoy scatological humor.

Thank you, Historic Royal Palaces!

King William's private place

Loretta reports:

State apartments are all very well, and I can be easily awestruck by, say, a magnificent painted ceiling, or candle stands that tower over my head.

But the most fun for me in touring a historic site is looking into the less public spaces:  kitchens, for instance.  Wine cellars.  Bathrooms.

Not too long ago we looked into Queen Caroline’s (Caroline of Ansbach 1683-1737) bathroom at Hampton Court Palace.

Nowhere in my perambulations, however, did I come upon the King’s bathroom.  I did find his lavatory, though.

King William III (1650–1702) was not an extrovert.  He liked to be alone or with small groups of friends.  One of the places where he could have some privacy was what’s called the King’s Closet.  Here he’d meet with the privileged few and work at his modest-looking walnut desk.  His long-case clock nearby needs to be wound only once a year—highly advanced technology for the time.

And in this private area, not far away, and in plain sight between the jib doors* is King William's own actual close stool.  According to the brochure, “the Groom of the Stool was a senior courtier who not only ran the Bedchamber department but also had to personally attend the king on his ‘stool.’”

I leave you to surmise what attendance entailed.

*In architecture a jib door is a door made flush with the wall, without dressings or mouldings, often as a disguised or concealed door.—Probert Encyclopaedia of Architecture.

How King William III kept warm

Loretta reports:

As our readers know, the Nerdy History Girls are fascinated by the ordinary details of everyday life, even (or perhaps especially) when we’re talking about those who are not everyday people.  Monarchs, for instance.  That’s why, while visiting Hampton Court Palace, I admired the magnificent architecture and the paintings, yes. But my camera was also strongly attracted to some of the more mundane articles about me.

Part of the palace is clearly Tudor era, bearing the distinct imprint of Henry VIII.  Another part belongs to the reign of William and Mary (reigned 1689-1702 and 1689-1694 respectively).

Unlike other furnishings in the king’s (that is, William III's) apartments, these two braziers are plainly utilitarian.  The other pictures give a sense of their context: the King’s Presence Chamber, the first reception room of the King’s apartments.  I did like their homely look, among the rich tapestries from King Henry VIII’s collection, the silver chandelier, the mile high canopy, and the grandiose equestrian portrait by Sir Godfrey Kneller.


Servants could roll the braziers to wherever his majesty, who was frail and asthmatic, required the most warmth, or roll them away if he was too hot.  Not that he spent much time here.  Apparently, the Presence Chamber had become something of a relic by his day, and courtiers were more likely to bow to a chair as empty as the one we visitors see.

This part of the palace was still being built when Queen Mary died, at which point the work was abandoned.  Five years later, the king came back to complete the work and furnish the rooms.  He personally selected the art and tapestries for his palace—and I have a poignant image of a solitary man (he was not an extrovert) carefully choosing this and that for a palace his wife hadn’t lived to see finished, which he had no children to pass on to—and which he’d live to enjoy for only two years.

Inept photos courtesy me.