Grand Master of Ceremonies of France

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The Grand Maître des Cérémonies de France (Grand Master of Ceremonies of France) was in the Ancien Régime and at the time of the Restoration one of the major offices of the household of the King of France ; the task associated with the office was to organize all the public ceremonies of the French crown.

The task

The Grand Maître des Cérémonies dealt with state ceremonies ("Cérémonials d'État", Ralph E. Giesey ), but not with etiquette ("Etiquette de la cour royale"), that is, with the public but not with the private Side of the monarch. His competence therefore mainly included: births, baptisms, weddings and funerals within the royal family, the accreditation of ambassadors, the royal celebrations, the royal entrées , the coronations, the lit de justice , the estates-general and assemblies of the notables .

The Grand Maître des Cérémonies

  • organized the logistics of the ceremonies (e.g. labor and material)
  • transmitted the expressions of will of the king to parliament , the nobility and foreign governments.
  • accompanied the king and queen, but also foreign monarchs, on trips to organize the planned ceremonies.
  • documented the ceremonies carried out in his files with regard to legal aspects, but also with regard to future events.
  • advised the courtiers on their role in the ceremonies and oversaw the correct procedure.

The institution

The office was held by King Henry III. created with Ordonnance of January 1, 1585, where he separated it from the office of Grand Master of France and relieved it to the same extent. For this reason, the Grand Master of Ceremonies also took his oath of office to the Grand Master. In 1792 the office was dissolved with the abolition of the monarchy, but then re-established with the reintroduction of kingship.

In the exercise of his office, the Grand Master carried a staff covered with black velvet with an ivory knob at the end. He was supported by a "Maître des cérémonies" and an "Aide des cérémonies".

Official

The office of Grand Maître de Cérémonies de France was in the hands of the Pot family from 1585 to 1684 , after the first Grand Master, Guillaume Pot de Rhodes, had already taken over the forerunner office of Master of Ceremonies ( Maître de Cérémonies ) from his father. Due to a lack of offspring, the Pot had to give up the office. It came to the family of the Marquis de Dreux at the beginning of the 18th century , who then held it until it was abolished, interrupted by the French Revolution .

kingdom
  • 1585-1603 Guillaume Pot de Rhodes
  • 1603-1616 Guillaume II. Pot de Rhodes
  • 1616–1622 François Pot de Rhodes
  • 1622–1642 Claude Pot de Rhodes
  • 1642–1666 Henri de Rhodes
  • 1666–1684 Charles, Marquis de Rhodes
  • 1684–1701 Jules Marquis de Blainville
  • 1701–1749 Thomas II, Marquis de Dreux
  • 1749–1755 Michel, Marquis de Brézé
  • 1755–1781 Joachim, Marquis de Dreux
  • 1781–1792 Henri-Évrard, Marquis de Dreux-Brézé
restoration
  • 1814–1829 Henri-Évrard de Dreux, Marquis de Dreux-Brézé (1766–1829)
  • 1829–1830 Scipion de Dreux-Brézé (1793–1845)

The office of Grand Maître de Cérémonies also existed during the times of the French Empire ( First Empire under Napoleon Bonaparte and Second Empire under Napoleon III ):

Empire
Second empire
  • 1852–1870 Marie Jean Pierre Hubert de Cambacérès, Baron puis Duc de Cambacérès (1798–1881)

literature