Mistress of the Robes explained

The mistress of the robes was the senior lady in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom,^[1] who would, by appointment, attend on the Queen (whether queen regnant or a queen consort). Queens dowager retained their own mistresses of the robes. In the 18th century Princesses of Wales had one, too.

Initially responsible for the queen's clothes and jewellery (as the name implies), the post-holder latterly had the responsibility for arranging the rota of attendance of the ladies-in-waiting on the queen, being in attendance herself on more formal occasions, and undertaking duties at state ceremonies. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this role often overlapped with or was replaced as first lady of the bedchamber. In modern times, the mistress of the robes was almost always a duchess.

In the past, whenever the Queen was a queen regnant, 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 had only had two mistresses of the robes in more than seventy years' reign.

Since the accession of King Charles III no appointment of a Mistress of the Robes has been announced. In November 2022, it was announced that Queen Camilla would end the tradition of having ladies-in-waiting. Instead, she will be helped by "Queen's companions"; their role will be informal and they will not be involved in tasks such as replying to letters or developing schedules.^[2]

List of mistresses of the robes by queen

Mary I, 1553–1558

• 1553–1558: Susan Clarencieux^[3]

Elizabeth I, 1558–1603

• 1559/1562–1603: Dorothy, Lady Stafford^[3]

Anne of Denmark, 1603–1619

• 1603–1619: Audrey (Etheldreda), Lady Walsingham^[4]

Henrietta Maria of France, 1625–1669

• 1626–1652: Susan Feilding, Countess of Denbigh^[4] (also called First Lady of the Bedchamber)^[5]
• 1653–1669: Elizabeth Fielding Boyle, Countess of Guilford^[4]

Catherine of Braganza, 1662–1692

• 1660–1692: Position vacant, replaced by a First Lady of the Bedchamber

Mary of Modena, 1673–1688

• 1673–1688: Position vacant, replaced by a First Lady of the Bedchamber

Mary II, 1688–1694

• 1688–1694: Lady Elizabeth Butler, Countess of Derby

Anne, 1704–1714

• 1704–1711: Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough^[6]
• 1711–1714: Elizabeth Seymour, Duchess of Somerset^[7]

Caroline of Ansbach, 1714–1737

• 1714–1717: Diana Beauclerk, Duchess of St Albans^[8]
• 1717–1723: Possibly vacant
• 1723–1731: Elizabeth Sackville, Duchess of Dorset^[9]
• 1731–1735: Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk (Dowager Countess of Suffolk from 1733)^[10]
• 1735–1737: Position vacant^[10]

Augusta of Saxe-Gotha 1736–1763

• 1736–1745: Lady Archibald Hamilton^[10]
• 1745–1747: Position vacant^[10]
• 1747–1763: Grace Sackville, Countess of Middlesex^[10]

Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, 1761–1818

• 1761–1793: Mary Bertie, Duchess of Ancaster and Kesteven (Dowager Duchess of Ancaster and Kesteven from 1778)^[10]
• 1793–1818: Elizabeth Thynne, Marchioness of Bath (Dowager Marchioness of Bath from 1796)^[10]

Caroline of Brunswick 1795–1821

• 1795–1808: Anne Townshend, Marchioness Townshend
• 1808–1817: Catherine Douglas, Baroness Glenbervie
• 1817–1821: Possibly vacant

Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, 1830–1837

• 1830–1830: Elizabeth Gordon, Duchess of Gordon
• 1830–1837: Catherine Osborne, Duchess of Leeds^[10]

Victoria, 1837–1901

• 1837–1841: Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland^[11]
• 1841–1846: Charlotte Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry^[12]
• 1846–1852: Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland^[13]
• 1852–1853: Anne Murray, Duchess of Atholl^[14]
• 1853–1858: Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland^[15]
• 1858–1859: Louisa Montagu, Duchess of Manchester^[16]
• 1859–1861: Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland^[17]
• 1861–1868: Elizabeth Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington^[18]
• 1868–1870: Elizabeth Campbell, Duchess of Argyll^[19]
• 1870–1874: Anne Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland^[20]
• 1874–1880: Elizabeth Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington^[21]
• 1880–1883: Elizabeth Russell, Duchess of Bedford^[22]
• 1883–1885: Anne Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe^[23]
• 1885–1886: Louisa Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry^[24]
• 1886: Position vacant
  • Acting mistress of the robes: Elizabeth Russell, Duchess of Bedford
• 1886–1892: Louisa Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry^[25]
• 1892–1895: Position vacant
  • Acting mistress of the robes: Anne Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe, and Anne Murray, Dowager Duchess of Atholl (jointly)
• 1894: Position vacant
  • Acting mistress of the robes: Louisa McDonnell, Countess of Antrim
• 1895–1901: Louisa Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry^[26]

Alexandra of Denmark, 1901–1925

• 1901–1912: Louisa Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry
• 1913–1925: Winifred Cavendish-Bentinck, Duchess of Portland^[27]

Mary of Teck, 1910–1953

• 1910–1916: Evelyn Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire^[28]
• 1916–1921: Eileen Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland^[29]
• 1921–1953: Evelyn Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (Dowager Duchess of Devonshire from 1938)

Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, 1937–2002

• 1937–1964: Helen Percy, Duchess of Northumberland (Dowager Duchess of Northumberland from 1946)^[30]
• 1964–1990: Kathleen Hamilton, Duchess of Abercorn (Dowager Duchess of Abercorn from 1979)^[31]
• 1990–2002: Position vacant

Elizabeth II, 1953–2022

• 1953–1967: Mary Cavendish, Dowager Duchess of Devonshire^[32]
• 1967–2021: Fortune FitzRoy, Duchess of Grafton (Countess of Euston until 1970, Dowager Duchess of Grafton from 2011)
• 2021–2022: Position vacant

See also

• Chief Court Mistress, Dutch, German, Scandinavian and Russian equivalent
• Camarera mayor de Palacio, Spanish equivalent
• Première dame d'honneur, French equivalent
• Surintendante de la Maison de la Reine, French equivalent

Notes and References

1. Book: Allison . Ronald . Riddell . Sarah . The Royal Encyclopedia . 1991 . Macmillan . London.
2. Web site: Camilla scraps ladies-in-waiting in modernising move. BBC News. Sean. Coughlan. 27 November 2022. 27 November 2022.
3. [Gustav Adolf Bergenroth|G. A. Bergenroth]
4. Carole Levin, Anna Riehl Bertolet: [A Biographical Encyclopedia of Early Modern Englishwomen: Exemplary Lives and Memorable Acts, 1500-1650], New York, 2017
5. Sandy Riley, Charlotte de La Trémoïlle, the Notorious Countess of Derby
6. [George Cokayne|Cokayne]
7. [George Cokayne|Cokayne]
8. Weir, Alison, Britain's Royal Family: A Complete Genealogy, The Bodley Head, 1999, p.265
9. [George Cokayne|Cokayne]
10. http://www.history.ac.uk/office/ Institute of Historical Research
11. http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=19536&geotype=London&gpn=2281&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Sutherland&atleast=&similar= The London Gazette, 29 August 1837, p.15
12. http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=20017&geotype=London&gpn=2273&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Buccleuch&atleast=&similar= The London Gazette, 10 September 1841, p.1
13. http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=20621&geotype=London&gpn=2533&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Sutherland&atleast=&similar= The London Gazette, 10 July 1846
14. http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=21301&geotype=London&gpn=804&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Atholl&atleast=&similar= The London Gazette, 16 March 1852, p.2
15. http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=21403&geotype=London&gpn=137&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Sutherland&atleast=&similar= The London Gazette, 18 January 1853, p.5
16. http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=22109&geotype=London&gpn=1288&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Manchester&atleast=&similar= The London Gazette, 5 March 1858, p.2
17. http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=22279&geotype=London&gpn=2471&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Sutherland&atleast=&similar= The London Gazette, 24 June 1859, p.3
18. http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=22505&geotype=London&gpn=1796&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Wellington&atleast=&similar= The London Gazette, 26 April 1861, p.2
19. http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=23452&geotype=London&gpn=6775&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Argyll&atleast=&similar= The London Gazette, 22 December 1868, p.1
20. http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=23580&geotype=London&gpn=477&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Sutherland&atleast=&similar= The London Gazette, 25 January 1870, p.1
21. http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=24071&geotype=London&gpn=1452&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Wellington&atleast=&similar= The London Gazette, 3 March 1874, p.6
22. http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=24842&geotype=London&gpn=2915&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Bedford&atleast=&similar= The London Gazette, 7 May 1880, p.5
23. http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=25187&geotype=London&gpn=204&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Roxburghe&atleast=&similar= The London Gazette, 12 January 1883, p.6
24. http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=25486&geotype=London&gpn=3060&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Buccleuch&atleast=&similar= The London Gazette, 27 June 1885, p.6
25. http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=25622&geotype=London&gpn=4272&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Buccleuch&atleast=&similar= The London Gazette, 3 September 1886, p.4
26. http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=26644&geotype=London&gpn=4022&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Buccleuch&atleast=&similar= The London Gazette, 16 July 1895, p.24
27. Web site: Issue 28768 . 28 October 1913 . The London Gazette . 17 August 2021.
28. http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=28386&geotype=London&gpn=4365&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Devonshire&atleast=&similar= The London Gazette, 21 June 1910, p.1
29. http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=29822&geotype=London&gpn=10963&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Sutherland&atleast=&similar= The London Gazette, 14 November 1916, p.1
30. http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=34377&geotype=London&gpn=1486&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Northumberland&atleast=&similar= The London Gazette, 5 March 1937, p.2
31. http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=43300&geotype=London&gpn=3363&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Abercorn&atleast=&similar= The London Gazette, 17 April 1964, p.1
32. http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=39756&geotype=London&gpn=423&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Devonshire&atleast=&similar= The London Gazette, 20 January 1953, p.1