It’s Casual Friday again (okay, it’s Saturday morning…just blame my ISP), and this week we’re going to take a look back in history at a Cool Job that no longer exists. I first read about this job in a wonderful book by Allison Weir called Henry VIII: The King and His Court, and it has intrigued me ever since.
The Groom of the Stool was a position in the court of Henry VIII bestowed upon a favored confidante and close friend of the King: it came with a title, a tidy sum of yearly compensation, and an “all access VIP pass” to the King’s Privy Chamber where decisions affecting the future of England were made. Due to his proximity to the King’s person (more about that in a moment), the mere word of a Groom of the Stool “was evidence of the King’s will”, according to British historian David Starkey.
Why does this cool job no longer exist, you ask? Well, basically because the job title described exactly what the Groom of the Stool’s main job function was: (more…)
MY COOL JOB 