The Lord Chamberlain is always a Peer and a Privy Councillor , and before 1782 was of Cabinet rank. Until 1924 the position was a political one. The Lord Chamberlain is the chief functionary of the court, and is generally responsible for organizing all court functions. Until recently, the Lord Chamberlain also had the role of licenser of plays in the City Of London , Westminster , and certain other areas. This role made the Lord Chamberlain effectively the official censor of theatrical performances, though the responsibility was in practice delegated to the Lord Chamberlain's Office . This duty was abolished under the Theatres Act of 1968 .
Although the senior officer of the Royal Household on a daily basis is the Private Secretary To The Sovereign , the Lord Chamberlain exercises a major co-ordination role. The post is normally part-time, though in recent times Lord Maclean served full-time.
In Denmark there is also a Lord Chamberlain (Hofmarskallatet) who fulfils a similar role for the Danish Royal Family
- Sir William Stanley 1485-1508
- Charles Somerset, 1st Earl Of Worcester 1508-1526
- William FitzAlan, 18th Earl Of Arundel 1526-1530
- William Sandys, Lord Sandys 1530-1535
- William Paulet, 1st Lord St John Of Basing 1535-1550
- Thomas Wentworth, Lord Wentworth 1550-1551
- Thomas D'Arcy, Lord D'Arcy 1551-1553
- John Williams, Lord Williams 1553-1557
- William Howard, 1st Lord Howard Of Effingham 1557-1572
- Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl Of Sussex 1572-1585
- Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon 1585-1596
- William Brooke, 10th Baron Cobham 1596-1597
- George Carey, 2nd Baron Hunsdon 1597-1603
- Thomas Howard, 1st Earl Of Suffolk 1603-1613
- Robert Carr, 1st Earl Of Somerset 1613-1615
- William Herbert, 3rd Earl Of Pembroke 1615-1625
- Philip Herbert, 1st Earl Of Montgomery 1625-1641
- Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl Of Essex 1641-1642
- Edward Sackville, 4th Earl Of Dorset 1642-1649
Commonwealth and Protectorate 1649-1660
- Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl Of Manchester 1660-1671
- Henry Jermyn, 1st Earl Of Saint Albans 1671-1674
- Henry Bennet, 1st Earl Of Arlington 1674-1685
- Robert Bruce, 1st Earl Of Ailesbury 1685
- Thomas Bruce, 2nd Earl Of Ailesbury 1685-1686
- John Sheffield, 3rd Earl Of Mulgrave 1686-1688
- Charles Sackville, 6th Earl Of Dorset 1689-1697
- Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl Of Sunderland 1697
- ''vacant'' 1697-1699 (the King did not accept Sunderland's resignation)
- Charles Talbot, 1st Duke Of Shrewsbury 1699-1700
- Edward Villiers, 1st Earl Of Jersey 1700-1704
- Henry Grey, 1st Marquess Of Kent 1704-1710
- Charles Talbot, 1st Duke Of Shrewsbury 1710-1715
- Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke Of Bolton 1715-1717
- Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke Of Newcastle 1717-1724
- Charles Fitzroy, 2nd Duke Of Grafton 1724-1757
- William Cavendish, 4th Duke Of Devonshire 1757-1762
- George Spencer, 4th Duke Of Marlborough 1762-1763
- Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Gower 1763-1765
- William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke Of Portland 1765-1766
- Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Earl Of Hertford 1766-1782
- George Montagu, 4th Duke Of Manchester 1782-1783
- Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Earl Of Hertford 1783
- James Cecil, 1st Marquess Of Salisbury 1783-1804
- George Legge, 3rd Earl Of Dartmouth 1804-1812
- Francis Seymour-Conway, 2nd Marquess Of Hertford 1812-1821
- James Graham, 3rd Duke Of Montrose 1821-1827
- William Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke Of Devonshire 1827-1828
- James Graham, 3rd Duke Of Montrose 1828-1830
- George Child Villiers, 5th Earl Of Jersey 1830
- William Spencer Cavendish, 6th Duke Of Devonshire 1830-1834
- George Child Villiers, 5th Earl Of Jersey 1834-1835
- Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley 1835
- Francis Nathaniel Conyngham, 2nd Marquess Conyngham 1835-1839
- Henry Paget, Earl Of Uxbridge 1839-1841
- George John Sackville-West, 5th Earl De La Warr 1841-1846
- Frederick Spencer, 4th Earl Spencer 1846-1848
- John Campbell, 2nd Marquess Of Breadalbane 1848-1852
- Brownlow Cecil, 2nd Marquess Of Exeter 1852
- John Campbell, 2nd Marquess Of Breadalbane 1853-1858
- George John Sackville-West, 5th Earl De La Warr 1858-1859
- John Robert Townshend, 3rd Viscount Sydney 1859-1866
- Orlando George Charles Bridgeman, 3rd Earl Of Bradford 1866-1868
- John Robert Townshend, 3rd Viscount Sydney 1868-1874
- Francis Hugh George Seymour, 5th Marquess Of Hertford 1874-1879
- William Henry Edgcumbe, 4th Earl Of Mount Edgcumbe 1879-1880
- Valentine Augustus Browne, 4th Earl Of Kenmare 1880-1885
- Edward Bootle-Wilbraham, 1st Earl Of Lathom 1885-1886
- Valentine Augustus Browne, 4th Earl Of Kenmare 1886
- Edward Bootle-Wilbraham, 1st Earl Of Lathom 1886-1892
- Charles Robert Wynn-Carington, 3rd Baron Carrington 1892-1895
- Edward Bootle-Wilbraham, 1st Earl Of Lathom 1895-1898
- John Hope, 7th Earl Of Hopetoun 1898-1900
- Edward Hyde Villiers, 5th Earl Of Clarendon 1900-1905
- Charles Robert Spencer, 1st Viscount Althorp 1905-1912 (from 1910, 6th Earl Spencer)
- William Mansfield, 2nd Baron Sandhurst 1912-1921 (from 1917, 1st Viscount Sandhurst)
- John George Stewart-Murray, 8th Duke Of Atholl 1921-1922
- Rowland Thomas Baring, 2nd Earl Of Cromer 1922-1938
- George Herbert Hyde Villiers, 6th Earl Of Clarendon 1938-1952
- Lawrence Lumley, 11th Earl Of Scarbrough 1952-1963
- Cameron Fromanteel Cobbold, 1st Baron Cobbold 1963-1971
- Charles Hector Fitzroy Maclean Of Duart, Baron Maclean 1971-1984
- David George Patrick Coke Ogilvy, 13th Earl Of Airlie 1984-1997(December 31)
- Ralph Thomas Campion George Sherman Stonor, 7th Baron Camoys 1998-2000
- Richard Napier Luce, Baron Luce 2000-present
- Dominic Shellard, Steve Nicholson and Miriam Handley: ''The Lord Chamberlain Regrets ... A History of British Theatre Censorship'' ( British Library : 2004) (ISBN 0712348654).
- J.R. Stephens. ''The Censorship of English Drama 1824-1901'' (Cambridge University Press, 1981).
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