After the establishment of the constitution, he managed the affairs of state as Minister of the Imperial Households who were responsible to support Emperor Meiji on various occasions, such as the ceremonial of investiture of the Crown Prince for Imperial Prince Yoshihito (later Emperor Taisho) in 1889, the inauguration of the Imperial Diet in the next year, the Sino-Japanese War which broke out in 1894, and so on.
憲法制定後は、明治22年（1889年）の嘉仁親王（のちの大正天皇）立太子式、翌年の帝国議会発足、明治27年（1894年）からの日清戦争などに際し、明治天皇を支える宮内大臣として取り仕切った。