The General Ordinance for the government and administration of the Royal House and Heritage was a rule dictated by María Cristina de Borbón, as queen governor on behalf of her daughter Isabel II of Spain in order to restructure that institution.[1]​.

After the return of Ferdinand VII to the throne in 1814, he had granted various ordinances and rules for the organization of his house.

After his death in 1833, an effort became necessary to improve the organization and structure of the Royal House and Patrimony, as well as its economic and functional efficiency, especially as a consequence of the political and economic tensions generated by the First Carlist War. camera.[3]​.

The General Ordinance continued in force during the rest of the reign of Isabel II (except in the period 1847-1852) and established the functional bases of the Royal House and Patrimony until its disappearance in 1931.[4]​.

The General Ordinance divided the functions of employees in the Royal House into three types:

Furthermore, among other novelties, it introduced the figure of the General Mayor, the true manager of the Royal House and Heritage. Under his responsibility were new positions with a clear technical profile:

In addition to the Quartermaster General, the General Ordinance provided for the existence of five other chiefs (whose positions already existed previously) whose functions were reduced to domestic and etiquette. Each of these heads directed a department:[5]​.