Royal Secretary is a position at the court of a monarch generally responsible for communicating the sovereign's wishes to the other members of government. At times and places it may have a number of other duties. In most cases the royal secretary is a close adviser of the monarch. In some cases the office of Royal Secretary evolved into the Secretary of State.
Biblical
editIn the Kingdom of Israel the royal secretary had both the duties of private secretary to the king and secretary of state.[1] In addition, the royal secretary exercised some fiscal duties.[1]
Great Britain
editCurrently the royal secretary of Great Britain is denominated Private Secretary to the Sovereign and has been since 1805.
England
edit- Thomas Cromwell was royal secretary to Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540.[2]
Scotland
edit- Thomas Erskine was royal secretary to James V of Scotland from 1524 to 1525
- Patrick Hepburn was royal secretary to James V of Scotland from March 1525 to June 1526
- David Ricco (David Rizzio) was royal secretary to Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots. Ricco helped to arrange her marriage to Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley.[3]
Hungary
edit- János Aczél was royal secretary to Louis II of Hungary circa 1520
Korea
editSeungjeongwon was the Royal Secretariat during the Joseon Dynasty of Korea (1392 – 1910).[4]
Poland
editOriginally of the office of royal secretary in Poland was the secretary protonotarius (or royal notary).[5] It was under this name that the office operated under Władysław II Jagiełło from 1387 to 1423. Under the Jagiellon dynasty the royal secretaries were responsible for arranging the royal correspondence, representing the king at the regional sejms, arranging all kinds of cases most often financial, diplomatic correspondence, and editing the most important public documents. They also kept deputations entertained and resolved disputes between courtiers. The elected kings maintained the tradition and the royal secretary often had a great deal of power.[6]
- Zbigniew Oleśnicki was royal secretary to Władysław II Jagiełło 1401-1434
- Piotr Gamrat was royal secretary to Sigismund I the Old
- Marcin Kromer was royal secretary to Sigismund I the Old and to Sigismund II Augustus
- Stanislaw Bojanowski was royal secretary to Sigismund II Augustus 1543-
- Jan Borukowski was royal secretary to Sigismund II Augustus 1553-1566
- Jan Zamoyski was royal secretary to Sigismund II Augustus 1566-1572
- Maciej Konopacki was royal secretary to Sigismund III Vasa from 1587–1590
- Stanisław Łubieński was royal secretary to Sigismund III Vasa from 1591–1613
- Paweł Piasecki was royal secretary to Sigismund III Vasa 1613–1627
- Jan Andrzej Morsztyn was royal secretary to Jan II Kazimierz 1656-1668
- Ignacy Kluczewski was royal secretary to Stanisław II August[7]
- Tadeusz Thullie was the last royal secretary to Stanisław II August
Vatican
editThe secretary to the Pope, formerly known as Secretarius Domesticus evolved into the Secretariat of State.[8]
Notes
edit- ^ a b De Vaux, Roland (1997) "Royal Secretary" Ancient Israel: its life and institutions pages 131-132
- ^ Cannon, John (2009) "Cromwell, Thomas" A dictionary of British history (revised edition) Oxford University Press, Oxford, England, pp. 188–189, page 189, ISBN 978-0-19-955038-8
- ^ "David Ricco" Encyclopædia Britannica online
- ^ Sin, Myŏng-ho (2004) Joseon Royal Court culture: ceremonial and daily life Dolbegae Publications, Seoul, Korea, page 276, ISBN 89-7199-187-9
- ^ "protonotariusz" Slownik online (Online Dictionary) in Polish
- ^ Walewskiego, Antoniego (1868) Historya Wyzwolenia Polski za panowania Jana Kazmierza (1655-1660), Tom. II (The History of the Liberation of Poland during the Reign of Jan Kazimierz (1655-1660) Volume II) Jagiellonian University Press, Krakow, Poland, (in Austrian Galicia at the time), page 204, OCLC 233398956in Polish
- ^ "WJP Ignacy Kluczewski pułkownik | Stowarzyszenie Rodów Grodzieńskich" (in Polish). Retrieved 2023-12-31.
- ^ Seldes, George (1934) "The Secretary of State and Others" The Vatican: yesterday, today, tomorrow Harper & Brothers, New York, page 217, OCLC 910015