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. 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. The Mistress of the Robes is almost always a Duchess.

Mistresses of the Robes to

• 1704-1710: Sarah, The Duchess of Marlborough
• 1710-1714: Elizabeth, The Duchess of Somerset

Mistresses of the Robes to

• 1714-1717: Diana, The Duchess of St Albans
• 1717-1723: vacant?
• 1723-1731: Elizabeth, The Duchess of Dorset
• 1731-1735: Henrietta, The Countess of Suffolk (The Dowager Countess of Suffolk from 1733)

Mistresses of the Robes to

• 1736-1745: Jane, Lady Archibald Hamilton
• 1745-1747: vacant.
• 1747-1763: Grace, Countess of Middlesex

Mistress of the Robes to

• 1761-1793: Mary, The Duchess of Ancaster and Kesteven (The Dowager Duchess of Ancaster and Kesteven from 1778)
• 1793-1818: Elizabeth, The Marchioness of Bath (The Dowager Marchioness of Bath from 1796)

Mistress of the Robes to

• 1830-1837: Catherine, The Dowager Duchess of Leeds

Mistress of the Robes to

• 1837-1841: Harriet Elizabeth Georgiana, The Duchess of Sutherland
• 1841-1846: Charlotte Anne, The Duchess of Buccleuch
• 1846-1852: Harriet Elizabeth Georgiana, The Duchess of Sutherland
• 1852-1853: Anne, The Duchess of Atholl
• 1853-1858: Harriet Elizabeth Georgiana, The Duchess of Sutherland
• 1858-1859: Louisa Frederica Augusta, The Duchess of Manchester
• 1859-1861: Harriet Elizabeth Georgiana, The Duchess of Sutherland
• 1861-1868: Elizabeth Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington
• 1868-1870: Elizabeth Georgiana, The Duchess of Argyll
• 1870-1874: Anne, The Duchess of Sutherland
• 1874-1880: Elizabeth Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington
• 1880-1883: Elizabeth, The Duchess of Bedford
• 1883-1885: Anne Emily, The Duchess of Roxburghe
• 1885-1886: Louisa Jane, The Duchess of Buccleuch
• February-August 1886: vacant. Acting Mistress of the Robes: Elizabeth, The Duchess of Bedford
• 1886-1892: Louisa Jane, The Duchess of Buccleuch
• 1892-1895: vacant. Acting Mistress of the Robes: Anne Emily, The Duchess of Roxburghe, and Anne, The Dowager Duchess of Atholl (jointly)
• 1895-1901: Louisa Jane, The Duchess of Buccleuch

Mistress of the Robes to

• 1901-1912: Louisa Jane, The Duchess of Buccleuch
• 1913-1925: Winifred Anna, The Duchess of Portland

Mistress of the Robes to

• 1910-1916: Evelyn Emily Mary, The Duchess of Devonshire
• 1916-1921: Eileen Gwladys, The Duchess of Sutherland
• 1921-1953: Evelyn Emily Mary, The Duchess of Devonshire (The Dowager Duchess of Devonshire from 1938)

Mistress of the Robes to

• 1937-1964: Helen Magdalen, The Duchess of Northumberland (The Dowager Duchess of Northumberland from 1946)
• 1964-1990: Kathleen, The Duchess of Abercorn (The Dowager Duchess of Abercorn from 1979)
• vacant 1990-2002

Mistress of the Robes to

• 1953-1967: Mary Alice, The Dowager Duchess of Devonshire
• 1967-present: Fortune, The Duchess of Grafton

 

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