Master of the Ceremonies

The office of Master of the Ceremonies was established by James VI and I. The Master's duties were to receive foreign dignitaries and present them to the monarch at court. Below is a list of known holders until the replacement of the office by the Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps in 1920.

Masters of the Ceremonies

1603–1627: Sir Lewes Lewkenor
1627–1641: Sir John Finett
1641–1686: Sir Charles Cotterell
1686–1710: Sir Charles Lodowick Cotterell
1710–1758: Sir Clement Cottrell
1758–1779: Sir Charles Cottrell-Dormer
1779–1796: Sir Clement Cottrell-Dormer
1796–1818: Sir Stephen Cottrell
1818–1847: Sir Robert Chester
1847–1876: Sir Edward Cust, 1st Baronet
1876–1890: Sir Francis Seymour, 1st Baronet
1890–1893: Sir Christopher Teesdale
1893–1903: Sir William James Colville
1903–1907: Sir Douglas Dawson
1907–1920: Sir Arthur Walsh

Assistant Masters of the Ceremonies

1668–1672: Charles Cotterell
1672–1686: Charles Lodowick Cotterell
1686–1699: John Dormer
1699–1707: Clement Cotterell
1710–1740: John Inglis
1740–1758: Charles Cotterell
1758–1796: Stephen Cotterell
1796–1818: Robert Chester
1818–1822: Robert Chester
1822–1823: William John Crosbie
1823–1825: Henry Thomas Baucutt Mash
1825–1845: Thomas Seymour Hyde
1845–1847: Sir Edward Cust, 1st Baronet
1847–1855: William Henry Cornwall
1855–1881: Charles Bagot
1881–1887: Augustus Savile
1887–1901: William Chaine

Marshals of the Ceremonies

1660: Amice Andros
1669: Thomas Sambourne
1673: Richard Le Bas
1704: John Inglis
1740: Robert Cotterell
1745: Charles Cotterell
1759: Thomas Wright
1761: Stephen Cotterell
1796: Robert Chester, senior
1818: Robert Chester, junior
1822: William John Crosbie
1823: Henry Thomas Baucutt Mash
1825: Thomas Seymour Hyde
1845: William Henry Cornwall
1847: Spencer Lyttelton
1877: Augustus Savile Lumley
1881: William Chaine
1887: Richard Charles Moreton
1913: Charles Hubert Montgomery

Assistant Marshals of the Ceremonies

1699: Charles Sambourne Le Bas
1899: Sir Robert Follett Synge