Mayordomo mayor

The Mayordomo mayor (High Steward) was the Officer of the Royal Household and Heritage of the Crown of Spain in charge of the person and rooms of the King of Spain. The Office of “Mayordomo mayor” was suppressed after the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic in 1931 and never re-created after the restoration of the Monarchy in 1975, but it can be said that it is the historical precedent of the modern Head of the Royal Household of Spain.

Being a historical precedent the Office of “Mayordomo” of the Kingdom of Castile, the “Mayordomo mayor” of the King of Spain was in charge of the entire organization of the Royal Palace and of its government, having civil and even criminal jurisdiction within its walls through the so-called “Bureo” tribunal.

Diverse dispositions regulated in the 19th and 20th centuries his functions, but they must be outlined the Royal decrees of October 28 of 1847 and September 4 of 1885.

During the reigns of the last three Kings before the Second Spanish Republic, Isabel II, Alfonso XII and Alfonso XIII, the “Mayordomo mayor” coordinated the whole palatial organization being, from 1840, the highest Office of the Royal Court and such denominated “Jefe Superior de Palacio” (High Chief of the Palace). Only a peer that had the rank of Grandee of Spain could be nominated for this Office.

Also, traditionally, the “Mayordomo mayor” was higher hierarchically than the “Sumiller de Corps”. During the reign of Alfonso XII and part of the reign of Alfonso XIII (until 1907) this latter Office was suppressed.

The “Mayordomo mayor” was equally the holder of the privy seal, or “Guardasellos” as he was called. In that position he assured the signature of all sort of documents by the King and the link between him and the Government.

...
Wikipedia