Mistress of the Robes
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The Mistress of the Robes is the senior lady of the British Royal Household. Formerly (as the name implies) responsible for the Queen's clothes and jewellery, the post now has the responsibility for arranging the rota of attendance of the Ladies in Waiting on the Queen, along with various duties at State ceremonies. In the past, when the Queen was a Queen regnant rather than a queen consort, the Mistress of the Robes was a political appointment, changing with the government. However, this has not been the case since the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, and Queen Elizabeth II has only had two Mistresses of the Robes in more than fifty years' reign. Queens dowager have their own Mistresses of the Robes, and in the eighteenth century the Princess of Wales had one too. In modern times, the Mistress of the Robes is almost always a Duchess.
[edit] Mistresses of the Robes to Queen Mary I, 1553-1558
- 1553–1558: Susan Tonge[1]
[edit] Mistresses of the Robes to Queen Elizabeth I, 1558-1603
- 1559/1562–1603: Dorothy, Lady Stafford[1]
[edit] Mistresses of the Robes to Queen Anne, 1704-1714
- 1704-1710: Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough[2]
- 1710-1714: Elizabeth Seymour, Duchess of Somerset[3]
[edit] Mistresses of the Robes to Caroline, Princess of Wales, later Queen Caroline, 1714-1737
- 1714-1717: Diana Beauclerk, Duchess of St Albans[4]
- 1717-1723: Vacant?
- 1723-1731: Elizabeth Sackville, Duchess of Dorset[5]
- 1731-1735: Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk (Dowager Countess of Suffolk from 1733)[6]
- 1735-1737: Vacant[6]
[edit] Mistresses of the Robes to Augusta, Princess of Wales, 1736-1763
- 1736-1745: Lady Archibald Hamilton[6]
- 1745-1747: Vacant[6]
- 1747-1763: Grace Sackville, Countess of Middlesex[6]
[edit] Mistress of the Robes to Queen Charlotte, 1761-1818
- 1761-1793: Mary Bertie, Duchess of Ancaster and Kesteven (Dowager Duchess of Ancaster and Kesteven from 1778)[6]
- 1793-1818: Elizabeth Thynne, Marchioness of Bath (Dowager Marchioness of Bath from 1796)[6]
[edit] Mistress of the Robes to Caroline, Princess of Wales, 1795-1820
- 1795-1819: Anne Townshend, Marchioness Townshend
[edit] Mistress of the Robes to Queen Adelaide, 1830-1837
- 1830-1837: Catherine Osborne, Duchess of Leeds[6]
[edit] Mistress of the Robes to Queen Victoria, 1837-1901
- 1837-1841: Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland[7]
- 1841-1846: Charlotte Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry[8]
- 1846-1852: Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland[9]
- 1852-1853: Anne Murray, Duchess of Atholl[10]
- 1853-1858: Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland[11]
- 1858-1859: Louisa Montagu, Duchess of Manchester[12]
- 1859-1861: Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland[13]
- 1861-1868: Elizabeth Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington[14]
- 1868-1870: Elizabeth Campbell, Duchess of Argyll[15]
- 1870-1874: Anne Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland[16]
- 1874-1880: Elizabeth Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington[17]
- 1880-1883: Elizabeth Russell, Duchess of Bedford[18]
- 1883-1885: Anne Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe[19]
- 1885-1886: Louisa Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry[20]
- 1886: Vacant
- Acting Mistress of the Robes: Elizabeth Russell, Duchess of Bedford
- 1886-1892: Louisa Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry[21]
- 1892-1895: Vacant
- Acting Mistress of the Robes: Anne Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe, and Anne Murray, Dowager Duchess of Atholl (jointly)
- 1895-1901: Louisa Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry[22]
[edit] Mistress of the Robes to Queen Alexandra, 1901-1925
- 1901-1912: Louisa Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry[23]
- 1913-1925: Winifred Cavendish-Bentinck, Duchess of Portland[24]
[edit] Mistress of the Robes to Queen Mary, 1910-1953
- 1910-1916: Evelyn Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire[25]
- 1916-1921: Eileen Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland[26]
- 1921-1953: Evelyn Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (Dowager Duchess of Devonshire from 1938)
[edit] Mistress of the Robes to Queen Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, 1937-2002
- 1937-1964: Helen Percy, Duchess of Northumberland (Dowager Duchess of Northumberland from 1946)[27]
- 1964-1990: Kathleen Hamilton, Duchess of Abercorn (Dowager Duchess of Abercorn from 1979)[28]
- 1990–2002: Vacant
[edit] Mistress of the Robes to Queen Elizabeth II, 1953-present
- 1953-1967: Mary Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire[29]
- 1967-present[update]: Fortune FitzRoy, Duchess of Grafton[30]
[edit] References
- ^ a b G. A. Bergenroth, P. De Gayangos, and others, Calendar of letters, despatches, and state papers, relating to the negotiations between England and Spain, 13 vols., (1862–1954); M. A. S. Hume, Calendar of letters and state papers, relating to English affairs, preserved in the archives of Simancas, 4 vols., (1892–9)
- ^ Cokayne et al., The Complete Peerage, volume VIII, p.496
- ^ Cokayne et al., The Complete Peerage, volume I, p.212
- ^ Wier, Alison, Britain's Royal Family: A Complete Genealogy, The Bodley Head, 1999, p.265
- ^ Cokayne et al., The Complete Peerage, volume XII/2, p.589
- ^ a b c d e f g h Institute of Historical Research
- ^ The London Gazette, 29 August, 1837, p.15
- ^ The London Gazette, 10 September, 1841, p.1
- ^ The London Gazette, 10 July, 1846, p.5
- ^ The London Gazette, 16 March, 1852, p.2
- ^ The London Gazette, 18 January, 1853, p.5
- ^ The London Gazette, 5 March, 1858, p.2
- ^ The London Gazette, 24 June, 1859, p.3
- ^ The London Gazette, 26 April, 1861, p.2
- ^ The London Gazette, 22 December, 1868, p.1
- ^ The London Gazette, 25 January, 1870, p.1
- ^ The London Gazette, 3 March, 1874, p.6
- ^ The London Gazette, 7 May, 1880, p.5
- ^ The London Gazette, 12 January, 1883, p.6
- ^ The London Gazette, 27 June, 1885, p.6
- ^ The London Gazette, 3 September, 1886, p.4
- ^ The London Gazette, 16 July, 1895, p.24
- ^ The London Gazette, 8 March, 1901, p.1
- ^ The London Gazette, 28 October, 1913, p.2
- ^ The London Gazette, 21 June, 1910, p.1
- ^ The London Gazette, 14 November, 1916, p.1
- ^ The London Gazette, 5 March, 1937, p.2
- ^ The London Gazette, 17 April, 1964, p.1
- ^ The London Gazette, 20 January, 1953, p.1
- ^ The London Gazette, 3 January, 1967, p.1
