When you think of a royal court you probably picture polished marble, gilded chandeliers, and genteel conversation. Yet the reality was far messier – and some of the people who served those monarchs performed duties that were downright bizarre. Below we count down 10 people who occupied the most unusual posts in history’s great courts, from witty jesters to the brave souls tasked with cleaning a king’s privy.
Why 10 People Who Served Royal Courts Still Fascinate Us
These characters show that power comes with a price, and sometimes that price is a literal seat on a stool or a forced friendship with a prince. Their stories are equal parts hilarious, grotesque, and surprisingly political.
10 Will Somers
In 1525 King Henry VIII of England appointed Will Somers as his court jester – a role that granted him a rare licence to speak truth to power, provided he cloaked his barbs in humor. Somers quickly became famous for his quick wit and fearless tongue, entertaining the Tudor court while silently critiquing its excesses.
One of the most celebrated episodes involves a jugger named Thomas, who was carrying milk and bread. Somers asked the king for a spoon; when none was found, Thomas suggested he use his hand. The fool responded with a cheeky verse:
This bit, Harry, I give to thee,
And this next bit must serve for me,
Both which I’ll eat apace.
This bit, Madam, unto you,
And this bit I myself eat now,
And the rest upon thy face.
As he finished, he flung milk straight at Thomas’s face, sending the poor juggler fleeing the hall.
Somers didn’t shy away from more daring insults. He once called Queen Anne Boleyn a “ribald” – a lewd woman – and referred to Princess Elizabeth as “a bastard.” Henry VIII threatened him with death, but the king’s temper cooled, and Somers remained in service until Henry’s own demise, proving that a good fool could survive even the most volatile monarchs.
9 Archibald Armstrong
Archibald “Archy” Armstrong served as the official fool for King James I of England. For a time, his licence to lampoon was absolute – he could mock anyone, even the highest clergy, without fear of retribution.
The turning point came during a solemn moment of grace when Archbishop William Laud was offering prayers. Armstrong blurted out a pun that cut deep: “Great praise be given to God and little Laud to the Devil.” The word “laud” meant praise, but by using the archbishop’s name, he implied the Devil deserved little praise while the archbishop deserved damnation.Laud, outraged, demanded Armstrong’s removal. The king obliged, and the jester was promptly replaced, illustrating how even a court fool could be cast out when his jokes crossed the line of acceptable sacrilege.
8 Stanczyk
Stanczyk was the court jester for three Polish monarchs – Alexander, Sigismund the Old, and Sigismund Augustus. Though a fool by title, he was a sharp satirist and a keen political observer, using his performances to lampoon contemporary politics.
In Jan Matejko’s famous painting, Stanczyk sits slumped in a chair, his jester’s cap askew, staring gloomily at a report that the Russians have taken Smolensk. While the courtiers revel at a lavish 1514 royal ball, oblivious to the looming threat, the downcast fool foresees the impending disaster.
His melancholy serves as a reminder that jesters could be more than comic relief; they sometimes possessed the insight to see what the powerful could not, making their humor a subtle form of counsel.
7 Nigel Roder
When King Charles I was beheaded in 1649, his court jester lost his position as well. Oliver Cromwell abolished the office, and England went without a royal fool for over three centuries.
That changed in 2004 when professional juggler Kester the Jester – real name Nigel Roder – entered a televised contest of wit against six rivals. The competition, held at a history festival in Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, awarded Roder the title of State Jester after he out‑performed his opponents.
Following his victory, Roder toured English Heritage sites throughout 2005, bringing medieval mirth to modern audiences. However, the National Guild of Jesters protested, claiming the contest’s short notice excluded many professional jesters from applying.
6 Hugh Denys
The most unglamorous royal role belonged to the groom of the king’s close stool – essentially the royal toilet attendant. The “stool” was a portable potty, often a velvet‑covered pine box or a specially crafted chair, reserved for the monarch’s private use.
Usually drawn from the nobility, the groom assisted the king with the most intimate bodily functions: monitoring bowel movements, managing diet, scheduling court events around bathroom breaks, and even wiping the sovereign’s backside. Hugh Denys of Osterley, serving Henry VII, is thought to be the earliest recorded holder of this position.Beyond the excretory duties, the groom became a trusted confidant, advising the king on matters of state and the heart, proving that proximity to the monarch could translate into political influence.
5 Sir William Compton And Sir Henry Norris
Sir William Compton, a groom of the stool under Henry VIII, was perpetually busy because the king’s prodigious appetite demanded frequent trips to the privy. Compton also managed the king’s linen, jewelry, tableware, and a host of royal manors.
His responsibilities extended into the more salacious side of court life: procuring women for Henry’s insatiable desires and arranging the monarch’s schedule to accommodate his numerous affairs. In exchange, Compton amassed wealth by accepting payments for favors.
His successor, Sir Henry Norris, suffered a far grimmer fate. After backing Anne Boleyn, who was later executed, Norris was charged with treason and beheaded, showing how the groom’s political entanglements could be deadly.
4 Sarah Churchill
When the office of groom of the stool evolved into “groom of the stole,” the role shifted from toilet‑related chores to assisting the monarch with dressing. Queens, in turn, had female grooms to perform comparable duties.
Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, served as one such lady‑groom for Queen Anne of Great Britain. Though they had been childhood friends, Churchill’s ambition soon strained the relationship. She grew jealous of her cousin Abigail Hill, who was appointed lady of the bedchamber and received rooms Churchill considered hers.
Churchill’s overreach culminated in a power struggle: she forced Anne to relocate from Kensington Palace to St. James’s Palace after the queen’s husband died, and she even removed a portrait of the late husband from the queen’s bedchamber, refusing to return it. The queen finally severed ties, illustrating how even a groom could become a political rival.
3 Eutropius
Eutropius began life as a slave in the Eastern Roman Empire. After being given as a gift to a noblewoman, he was dismissed and left to wander Constantinople in destitution. A court officer eventually installed him as a low‑ranking imperial chamberlain.
Through shrewd networking, Eutropius rose to become chief chamberlain and a key adviser to Emperor Arcadius. He monetised his influence, selling favours and accumulating a personal fortune while the emperor grew increasingly disengaged from governance.
His power eventually provoked a backlash. When Gothic commander Gainas rebelled, he demanded Eutropius’s exile. Empress Eudoxia supported the move, and although Eutropius initially found sanctuary in a church, he soon left, was captured, tried for various crimes, and beheaded – a grim end for a man who once ruled the empire from behind the scenes.
2 Liu Jin
During the Ming dynasty, the Zhengde Emperor was notorious for his erratic behaviour and cruelty. He even commanded imaginary doubles, such as the fabricated General Zhu Shou, to lead his troops on reckless campaigns.Early in his reign, the emperor handed the empire’s affairs to the eunuch Liu Jin, granting him near‑absolute authority. Their relationship soured after five years, and the emperor ordered Liu Jin’s execution by slow slicing – a torturous method intended to last three days.
Liu Jin did not survive the full ordeal; he succumbed on the second day of the gruesome punishment, becoming one of the most infamous victims of imperial cruelty.
1 William Murray
The role of “whipping boy” was a peculiar solution to a royal conundrum: only the king could punish a prince, yet the monarch was often absent. To enforce discipline, a boy of noble birth was raised alongside the prince, forming a close friendship.
If the prince misbehaved, his companion would receive the beating, a punishment intended to make the prince feel guilt and remorse through empathy. William Murray served as the whipping boy for Charles I of England, sharing the prince’s upbringing and luxuries.
When Charles ascended the throne, he rewarded his lifelong friend by creating him the first Earl of Dysart in 1643, demonstrating how a bizarre childhood role could later translate into noble stature.