Master of the Revels

Master of the Revels
Revels Office
StyleThe Right Honourable
AppointerThe British monarch
Term lengthNo fixed term
Inaugural holderWalter Halliday
Formation1347

The Master of the Revels was the holder of a position within the English, and later the British, royal household, heading the "Revels Office" or "Office of the Revels". The Master of the Revels was an executive officer under the Lord Chamberlain. Originally he was responsible for overseeing royal festivities, known as revels,[1] and he later also became responsible for stage censorship, until this function was transferred to the Lord Chamberlain in 1624. However, Henry Herbert, the deputy Master of the Revels and later the Master, continued to perform the function on behalf of the Lord Chamberlain until the English Civil War in 1642, when stage plays were prohibited. The office continued almost until the end of the 18th century, although with rather reduced status.

  1. ^ Jane Ashelford, Dress in the Age of Elizabeth I (Batsford, 1988), p. 126.