ABSTRACT
Henry Bennet as Charles II’s chief secretary of state (1662–73) controlled the majority of written access to the king. When he ‘retired’ to the less laborious post of lord chamberlain (1673–85), Arlington became responsible for regulating physical access to the monarch. This chapter explores the political ramifications of Arlington’s control of access. It also contends that, although Arlington was a faithful servant to Charles II, his opinions about access differed from that of his royal master. His experience at Charles I’s court at Oxford and at Philip IV’s court at Madrid brought Arlington to conflate access to the king with social prominence. But for Charles, especially in the 1680s, access was a political tool that he could employ as he wished. As such, the king broke the tie between access and social prominence. Generally, there was no practical implication to this dichotomy between the king and Arlington’s views. But the difference became palpable when Arlington was denied access to the king’s bedchamber and reacted by petitioning for redress. Through analysing the investigation of the privy council into this matter, the chapter elucidates the competing views of access at Charles’s court and the political implications of bestowing or denying access.
