Courtier
From Freepedia
Courtiers follow an ancient profession. Once part of a ruling household, they became confounded with, then separate from, the administrative staff of government, as power gravitated from individuals to republican-style assemblies. Today they are the personal confidantes and assistants of hereditary rulers.
Courtiers often flock around monarchs, but non-royal courts (ducal courts, electoral courts) also existed.
Louis XIV of France systematically subjected the French aristocracy to political emasculation by involving them as courtiers in the empty but time-consuming rituals and intrigues of a purpose-built palace of Versailles.
The placemen and rewarded campaign-donors in the American political system form a more modern group of de facto courtiers.
