the Grand Chamberlain was in the second rank during ambassadorial receptions, he served the king at table, and, at the ceremony of the Levée or royal awakening, he presented the king with a shirt. The position played a key role in state affairs in the sixteenth century, but became merely honorific in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

The political importance of the Grand Chamberlain stemmed from his having permanent access to the King's Chamber. His symbol of office was the keys