A camarilla is a group of courtiers or favourites who surround a king or ruler. Usually, they do not hold any office or have any official authority at court but influence their ruler behind the scenes. Consequently, they also escape having to bear responsibility for the effects of their advice. The term derives from the Spanish word, camarilla (diminutive of cámara), meaning "little chamber" or private cabinet of the king. It was first used of the circle of cronies around Spanish King Ferdinand VII (reigned 1814-1833). The term involves what is known as cronyism. The term also entered other languages like the German and Greek language, and is used in the sense given above.
A similar concept in modern politics is that of a Kitchen Cabinet, which is often composed of unelected advisers bypassing traditional governance practices.
In particular, two groups are called camarillas: those who surrounded the Emperor Wilhelm II and the President Paul von Hindenburg.
Camarilla may refer to:
In White Wolf Game Studio's Vampire: The Masquerade books and role-playing games vampires are staunch creatures ruled by tradition passed on for millennia. These traditions over time shaped a form of society broken into three separate sects, each with their own laws and traditions. Generally, the laws vary with the sects as well as the philosophies held by the sects leading to conflict.
In the revised rulebook; the Anarchs, the Sabbat and the Camarilla are listed as the three main sects that Clans belong to. The three sects are perpetually at war with one another in varied degrees as each holds conflicting views.
These sects are not used in the Kindred of the East, Kindred of the Ebony Kingdom or Vampire: The Dark Ages, however, and only apply to Vampire: The Victorian Age, Vampire: The Masquerade and the card game Vampire: The Eternal Struggle.
The Anarchs are a fictional sect of vampires in Vampire: The Masquerade. Although they are technically members of the Camarilla, they reject the Camarilla's top down power structure, and aim to change it into the grand protector of kindred it claims to be. The name refers to their favor of an anarchic form of social organization over the Camarilla's traditional, hierarchical form. The misconception that Anarchs are a nihilistic cult, wishing to spread chaos and disorder is encouraged by the vampire elders, who hold most of the power in the game world.