King Henry VIII had a laundress who would travel with him any where he goes for his Royal engagements

Sky Eclat · 2021-11-07T15:47:02+00:00

King Henry Vlll launderess would have got her job because her husband was already employed by the king, she got £10 a year which was a very good salary and had all her expenses like accommodation and food paid for although she had to buy the soap and sweet herbs, in later years a younger woman would have been employed to help with the heavier work. The launderess travelled with the king on his engagements, had her own cart that she packed herself to make sure the king always had a supply of clean clothes. She was up at the break of dawn but usually had finished by 4pm so could do what she pleased when she had finished. The Kings fine linen was often stitched with gold or silver thread which had to be carefully unpicked because it would tarnish if washed.. All garments were controlled by the "office of the king wardrobe". The Kings outer garments were sponged or brushed and each was lined with linen which would have to be unpicked and washed. Urine was used as a bleach and collected in piss pots which were in the council chamber, it was left to stand for a few days and apparently would lose most of the smell before using. Large sheets were stretched across a wooden frame to pull out creases and a wooden mushroom shaped tool was used cold as a kind of "iron" to flatten creases. Being the Royal launderess was quite an honor and you were expected to be very confidential as you were privy to certain information that others didn't know, for instance Henry's bedding and some clothing would have been stained by the sores on his legs, these things could not be spoken about to anyone.

Thread starter Sky Eclat
Start date Nov 7, 2021
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Sky Eclat

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King Henry VIII had a laundress who would travel with him any where he goes for his Royal engagements

Sky Eclat

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