Throne Room - Function

Function

A throne room is an impressive setting for a monarch to preside 'in majesty' over official ceremonies, to hold council, to grant audiences, to receive homage, to award high honors and offices, and to perform other official functions. Any of these could just as well be transferred, even on a permanent basis, to one or more other rooms, even outside the palace or ambulant. A common misconception is that kings and other ruling princes governed their lands seated on a throne for most of the working day. In earlier times this may have been true for some rulers who actually presided over their council; yet often another room was used, but only in peacetime.

Many others were almost constantly on the move with an ambulant court. It could even have been that the crown did not have an effective capital, as in England during most of the time before the Norman conquest. Or it could have been that the crown had, rather, a series of alternative residences, as did the Holy Roman Emperors. In their case, these developed into palatinates under the Habsburg Dynasty when they also acquired extensive crown lands outside Germany and Austria, and their court often travelled on an almost continental scale.

Other monarchies frequently changed their capital, but then they would have used a mobile throne, possibly in addition to the permanent one used for enthronement and/or coronation. There are cases in Africa and Asia where the very name of the 'capital' is not a fixed place, but was the place wherever a king settled for a few years. In some climates court migrated annually between a summer and a winter capital. It was also common to spend quite some time, without need for practical reason, in secondary residences, not in the least hunting lodges.

Even when their capitals were well fixed English and French Renaissance kings used to travel extensively, and maintained many royal castles in addition to visits to grandees of the realm. Henry VIII's most frequently used residence was, in fact, at Hampton Court, not in London.

Even when in the main or only palace, the monarch often spent much time in other parts of the residence, such as the dining hall, the chapel, private quarters (for rest and family life), possibly separate presence room, council chamber, ballroom, gardens, court theatre and other recreational facilities.

Nowadays throne rooms are only used for occasional grand ceremonies. Paper work is done in an office, and most guests are received in a salon.