Searched: Googled various strings about the duties of royal court officers, searched through Wikipedia's category on positions within the royal household, and looked through R.O. Bucholz's Office Holders in Modern Britain.
I know that what I'm looking for is probably in one of the above resources, but I'm either blind or daft, because I can't find it. When the royal court was on the move...say the king wanted to go to Newmarket or from Whitehall to Hampton Court or Richmond or Windsor...which department in the royal household was responsible for dealing with the headache of arranging the journey and accommodations for everyone at court who was traveling with the king?
In Bucholz's book, it mentions a department of transport and says that the knight harbinger(s) were responsible for arranging the day-to-day accommodation during the journey, but I'd like to know who the senior official is...I'm unsure if it would be the Lord Steward's headache or that of the Master of the Horse...or perhaps I'm way off in left field and it's someone else entirely. Also, does anyone have a hunch when it comes to figuring out how the organizer knew which people needed accommodations? Did courtiers have to submit paperwork to someone saying in effect, "Yes, I'm planning on traveling with the king to ______, reserve me a room"?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.