The King's Court

The Court means two things.  First, it is the actual place where the king dwelt - his palace.  Secondly, it is the people who dwelt with him and attended on him - the courtiers.  Courtiers were a large and varied bunch.  Some were occasional visitors - dukes dropping in for cake and ale; others lived there almost permanently.  The king's Household was part of the Court - or was the Court part of the Household?!

David Starkey made his name studying the Court and the physical lay-out of Henry's palace, and argued that Henry did something different to his predecessors: he made much more use of the privy chamber. Big deal, you might say. But it was - instead of having an accessible, splendid king, here we have a king who is interested in the minutiae of government; a king to whom access can be controlled.

 

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