# Did the Groom of the Stool literally have to wipe the royal bum?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-groom-of-the-stool-literally-have-to-wipe-the-royal-bum/1012587>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 5, 2025, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-groom-of-the-stool-literally-have-to-wipe-the-royal-bum/1012587 "2025-01-05T17:55:37Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\
**Post date:** [January 14, 2025, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-groom-of-the-stool-literally-have-to-wipe-the-royal-bum/1012587/61 "2025-01-14T21:52:11Z")

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Now I’m curious. Somewhere out there, I assume, is a long list of Grooms of the Stool - for historical purposes. Or there could be, if someone were to compile it.

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**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\
**Post date:** [January 14, 2025, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-groom-of-the-stool-literally-have-to-wipe-the-royal-bum/1012587/62 "2025-01-14T21:54:42Z")

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> **[Groom of the Stool](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groom_of_the_Stool)**
>
> The Groom of the Stool (formally styled: "Groom of the King's Close Stool") was the most intimate of an English monarch's courtiers, initially responsible for assisting the king in excretion and hygiene.
> The physical intimacy of the role naturally led to his becoming a man in whom much confidence was placed by his royal master and with whom many royal secrets were shared as a matter of course. This secret information—while it would never have been revealed, for it would have led to the discred...

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**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\
**Post date:** [January 14, 2025, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-groom-of-the-stool-literally-have-to-wipe-the-royal-bum/1012587/63 "2025-01-14T22:06:32Z")

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Lovely! Thank you! And on Wikipedia.

I’m fairly sure I’m not related to any of them, but someone else on the board might be.

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