Mistress of the Robes

Robe from the Rococo period

The Mistress of the Robes (literally translated: Master of the Dresses ) is the highest ranking female member of the British court, corresponding to a chief stewardess . The name goes back to the original duties of this office, which mainly included responsibility for the queen's clothing and jewelry.

The high level of trust of a "mistress of the robes" with the ruling queen or the king's wife ( Queen Consort ) has significant political status within the British court. The Queen Dowager and the Princess of Wales also had their own "Mistress of the Robes". Since the reign of Queen Victoria , almost always only Duchesses ( duchesses ) held office. As Mistress of the Robes , she lives in an apartment in Buckingham Palace and often accompanies the Queen on her travels. As her closest confidante, she has an insight into the eventful life of the British royal family .

The well-known ladies-in-waiting who later became the Queen Consort of England themselves included Anne Boleyn , Jane Seymour , Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr .

see also:

• Court
• Lady in waiting
• Royal Order of Victoria and Albert

Surname	Life dates	Mistress of the Queen's Robes	Term of office	Illustration
Susan Tonge	(1510–1564)	Queen Maria I.	1553-1558
Dorothy, Lady Stafford	(1526-1604)	Queen Elizabeth I.	1559 / 1562-1603
Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough	(1660–1744)	Queen Anne	1704-1710
Elizabeth Seymour, Duchess of Somerset	(1667–1722)	Queen Anne	1710-1714
Diana Beauclerk, Duchess of St Albans	(1679–1742)	Queen Caroline	1714-1717
Elizabeth Sackville, Duchess of Dorset	(? -?)	Queen Caroline	1723-1731
Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk	(1688–1767)	Queen Caroline	1731-1735
Harriet Hamilton, Duchess of Hamilton	(† 1788)	Augusta, Princess of Wales	1736-1745
Grace Sackville, Countess of Middlesex	(? -?)	Augusta, Princess of Wales	1747-1763
Mary Bertie, Duchess of Ancaster and Kesteven	(? -?)	Queen Charlotte	1761-1793
Elizabeth Thynne, Marchioness of Bath	(1735-1825)	Queen Charlotte	1793-1818
Anne Townshend, Marchioness Townshend	(1754-1819)	Queen Caroline	1795-1819
Catherine Osborne, Duchess of Leeds	(1794–1874)	Queen Adelheid	1830-1837
Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland	(1806–1868)	Queen Victoria	1837-1841; 1846-1852; 1853-1858 and 1859-1861
Charlotte Montagu-Douglas-Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry	(1811–1895)	Queen Victoria	1841-1846
Anne Murray, Duchess of Atholl	(1814-1897)	Queen Victoria	1852 and 1892–1895
Louisa Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire	(1832-1911)	Queen Victoria	1858-1859
Elizabeth Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington	(1820-1904)	Queen Victoria	1861-1868 and 1874-1880
Elizabeth Campbell, Duchess of Argyll	(1824–1878)	Queen Victoria	1868-1870
Anne Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland	(1829-1888)	Queen Victoria	1870-1874
Elizabeth Russell, Duchess of Bedford	(1818-1897)	Queen Victoria	1880-1883 and 1886
Louisa Montagu-Douglas-Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry	(1836–1912)	Queen Victoria	1885-1886; 1886-1892 and 1895-1901
Anne Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe	(1854-1923)	Queen Victoria	1883-1885 and 1892-1895
Louisa Montagu-Douglas-Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry	(1836–1912)	Queen Alexandra	1901-1912
Winifred Cavendish-Bentinck, Duchess of Portland	(1863–1954)	Queen Alexandra	1913-1925
Evelyn Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire	(1870–1960)	Queen Mary	1910-1916 and 1921-1953
Eileen Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland	(1891-1943)	Queen Mary	1916-1921
Helen Percy, Duchess of Northumberland	(1886–1965)	Queen Elizabeth, later Queen Mum	1937-1964
Kathleen Hamilton, Duchess of Abercorn	(1905–1990)	Queen Elizabeth, later Queen Mum	1964-1990
Mary Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire	(1895–1988)	Queen Elizabeth II.	1953-1967
Fortune FitzRoy, Duchess of Grafton	(* 1920)	Queen Elizabeth II.	1967 – today

literature

• Wieland Giebel : Sixty-nine years at the Prussian Court: From the memories of the Chief Chamberlain Sophie Marie Countess von Voss , Berlin Story Verlag (2004) ISBN 3-929829-26-6
• Katrin Keller: Court ladies: officials in the Viennese court of the 17th century , Böhlau Verlag (2005) ISBN 3-205-77418-3
• Hannelore Helfer (ed.): Liselotte von der Pfalz in her Harling letters. All of the letters from Elisabeth Charlotte, duchesse d'Orléans, to the Chief Chamberlain Anna Katharina von Harling , née von Offeln, and her husband Christian Friedrich von Harling, Privy Councilor and Chief Stable Master, in Hanover , publications of the Palatinate Society for the Advancement of Science, vol. 102 (2007) ISBN 978-3-7752-6126-5

Remarks

1. ↑ Susan Tonge  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ Dorothy, Lady Stafford  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ RoyalBerkshireHistory.com - Sarah Jennings, Duchess of Marlborough
4. ↑ BerkshireHistory.com - Charles Beauclerk, Duke of St. Albans (1670-1726)
5. ↑ Tracy Borman: Henrietta Howard - King's Mistress, Queen's Servant , (2007) ISBN 0-224-07606-X
6. ↑ Lady Harriet Stewart on thepeerage.com , accessed August 13, 2015.
7. ↑ Lady Elizabeth Cavendish-Bentinck on thepeerage.com , accessed August 13, 2015.
8. ^ Catherine Anguish on thepeerage.com , accessed August 13, 2015.
9. ↑ The London Gazette; August 29, 1839 ( Memento of the original from January 15, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
10. ↑ The London Gazette; July 10, 1846 ( Memento of the original of February 24, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
11. ↑ The London Gazette; January 18, 1853 ( Memento of the original from December 12, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
12. ↑ The London Gazette; June 24, 1859 ( Memento of the original from January 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
13. ↑ The London Gazette; September 10, 1841 ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
14. ↑ The London Gazette; March 16, 1852 ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
15. ^ Henry Vane: Affair of State: A Biography of the 8th Duke and Duchess of Devonshire , Peter Owen Ltd (2004) ISBN 0-7206-1233-0
16. ↑ The London Gazette; March 5, 1858 ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
17. ↑ The London Gazette; April 26, 1861 ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
18. ↑ The London Gazette; March 3, 1874 ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
19. ↑ The London Gazette; December 22, 1868 ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
20. ↑ The London Gazette; January 25, 1870 ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
21. ↑ The London Gazette; May 7, 1880 ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
22. ↑ The London Gazette; June 27, 1885 ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
23. ↑ The London Gazette; September 3, 1886 ( Memento of the original from December 7, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
24. ↑ The London Gazette; July 16, 1895 ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
25. ↑ The London Gazette; January 12, 1883 ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
26. ↑ The London Gazette; March 8, 1901 ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
27. ↑ The London Gazette; October 28, 1913 ( Memento of the original from February 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
28. ↑ The London Gazette; June 21, 1910 ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
29. ↑ The London Gazette; November 14, 1916 ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
30. ↑ The London Gazette; March 5, 1937 ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
31. ↑ The London Gazette; April 17, 1964 ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
32. ↑ The London Gazette; January 20, 1953 ( Memento of the original from March 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
33. ↑ The London Gazette; January 3, 1967 ( Memento of the original from February 27, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.