Lord High Constable
The Lord High Constable, in England, is the seventh of the Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Great Chamberlain and above the Earl Marshal. His office is now called out of abeyance for coronations alone (and theoretically for trials by combat). The constable was originally the commander of the royal armies and the Master of the Horse. He was also, in conjunction with the Earl Marshal, president of the court of chivalry or court of honour. In feudal times martial law was administered in the court of the lord high constable. The constableship was granted as a grand serjeanty with the earldom of Hereford by the empress Maud to Milo of Gloucester, and was carried by his heiress to the Bohuns, earls of Hereford and Essex. Through a coheiress of the Bohuns it descended to the Staffords, dukes of Buckingham; and on the attainder of Edward Stafford, third duke of Buckingharn, in the reign of King Henry VIII. it became merged in the crown. The Lacys and Verduns were hereditary constables of Ireland from the 12th to the 14th century; and the Hays, earls of Erroll, have been hereditary constables of Scotland from early in. the 14th century.
Office Holder |
Year |
Milo de Gloucester, 1st Earl of Hereford | 1139-1143 |
Roger de Gloucester, 2nd Earl of Hereford | 1143-1155 |
Walter de Gloucester, 3rd Earl of Hereford | 1155-1159 |
Henry de Gloucester | 1159-1164 |
Humphrey de Bohun | 1164-1176 |
Henry de Bohun, 1st Earl of Hereford | 1176-1220 |
Humphrey de Bohun, 2nd Earl of Hereford and Essex | 1220-1275 |
Humphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford and Essex | 1275-1298 |
Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford and Essex | 1298-1321 |
John de Bohun, 5th Earl of Hereford and Essex | 1321-1335 |
Humphrey de Bohun, 6th Earl of Hereford and Essex | 1335-1361 |
Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford and Essex | 1361-1372 |
Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester | 1372-1397 |
Humphrey, 2nd Duke of Gloucester | 1397-1399 |
Edmund Stafford, 5th Earl of Stafford | 1399-1403 |
Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham | 1403-1460 |
Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham | 1460-1483 |
Thomas Stanley, 2nd Lord Stanley | 1483-1485 |
Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham | 1485-1521 |
at this point, the office merged in the crown, and was only revived for coronations. It was held at coronations by the following individuals: | |
Henry Grey, 3rd Marquess of Dorset | 1547 |
Henry Fitzalan, 18th Earl of Arundel | 1553 |
Henry Fitzalan, 18th Earl of Arundel | 1559 |
Edward Somerset, 4th Earl of Worcester | 1603 |
George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham | 1626 |
Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland | 1661 |
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