Mistress of the Robes

{{Short description|Senior lady in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom}}

File:Sarah Churchill Duchess.jpg, mistress of the robes to Queen Anne]]

The mistress of the robes was the senior lady in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom,{{cite book |editor1-last=Allison |editor1-first=Ronald |editor2-last=Riddell |editor2-first=Sarah |title=The Royal Encyclopedia |date=1991 |publisher=Macmillan |location=London}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-63768031|title=Camilla scraps ladies-in-waiting in modernising move|work=BBC News|first=Sean|last=Coughlan|date=27 November 2022|accessdate=27 November 2022}}

List of mistresses of the robes by queen

=[[Mary I of England|Mary I]], 1553–1558=

1553–1558: Susan ClarencieuxG. 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)

=[[Elizabeth I]], 1558–1603=

1559/1562–1603: Dorothy, Lady Stafford

=[[Anne of Denmark]], 1603–1619=

1603–1619: Audrey (Etheldreda), Lady WalsinghamCarole Levin, Anna Riehl Bertolet: [A Biographical Encyclopedia of Early Modern Englishwomen: Exemplary Lives and Memorable Acts, 1500-1650], New York, 2017

=[[Henrietta Maria of France]], 1625–1669=

1626–1652: Susan Feilding, Countess of Denbigh (also called First Lady of the Bedchamber)Sandy Riley, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Pn9IDwAAQBAJ&dq=Countess+of+Denbigh+henrietta+maria+1626&pg=PA54 Charlotte de La Trémoïlle, the Notorious Countess of Derby]
1653–1669: Elizabeth Fielding Boyle, Countess of Guilford

=[[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 of England|Mary II]], 1688–1694=

1688–1694: Lady Elizabeth Butler, Countess of Derby

=[[Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Anne]], 1704–1714=

1704–1711: Sarah Churchill, Duchess of MarlboroughCokayne et al., The Complete Peerage, volume VIII, p.496
1711–1714: Elizabeth Seymour, Duchess of SomersetCokayne et al., The Complete Peerage, volume I, p.212

=[[Caroline of Ansbach]], 1714–1737=

1714–1717: Diana Beauclerk, Duchess of St AlbansWeir, Alison, Britain's Royal Family: A Complete Genealogy, The Bodley Head, 1999, p.265
1717–1723: Possibly vacant
1723–1731: Elizabeth Sackville, Duchess of DorsetCokayne et al., The Complete Peerage, volume XII/2, p.589
1731–1735: Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk (Dowager Countess of Suffolk from 1733)[http://www.history.ac.uk/office/ Institute of Historical Research]
1735–1737: Position vacant

=[[Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha|Augusta of Saxe-Gotha]] 1736–1763=

1736–1745: Lady Archibald Hamilton
1745–1747: Position vacant
1747–1763: Grace Sackville, Countess of Middlesex

=[[Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]], 1761–1818=

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

=[[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

=[[Queen Victoria|Victoria]], 1837–1901=

1837–1841: Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland[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] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115194412/http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=19536&geotype=London&gpn=2281&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Sutherland&atleast=&similar= |date=15 January 2016 }}
1841–1846: Charlotte Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry[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] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303225716/http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=20017&geotype=London&gpn=2273&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Buccleuch&atleast=&similar= |date=3 March 2016 }}
1846–1852: Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland[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] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160224124840/http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=20621&geotype=London&gpn=2533&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Sutherland&atleast=&similar= |date=24 February 2016 }}, p.5
1852–1853: Anne Murray, Duchess of Atholl[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] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303183432/http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=21301&geotype=London&gpn=804&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Atholl&atleast=&similar= |date=3 March 2016 }}
1853–1858: Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland[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] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151212234808/http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=21403&geotype=London&gpn=137&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Sutherland&atleast=&similar= |date=12 December 2015 }}
1858–1859: Louisa Montagu, Duchess of Manchester[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] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303185024/http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=22109&geotype=London&gpn=1288&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Manchester&atleast=&similar= |date=3 March 2016 }}
1859–1861: Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland[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] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160103031027/http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=22279&geotype=London&gpn=2471&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Sutherland&atleast=&similar= |date=3 January 2016 }}
1861–1868: Elizabeth Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington[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] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303190016/http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=22505&geotype=London&gpn=1796&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Wellington&atleast=&similar= |date=3 March 2016 }}
1868–1870: Elizabeth Campbell, Duchess of Argyll[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] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303184546/http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=23452&geotype=London&gpn=6775&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Argyll&atleast=&similar= |date=3 March 2016 }}
1870–1874: Anne Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland[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] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303183816/http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=23580&geotype=London&gpn=477&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Sutherland&atleast=&similar= |date=3 March 2016 }}
1874–1880: Elizabeth Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington[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] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303191146/http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=24071&geotype=London&gpn=1452&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Wellington&atleast=&similar= |date=3 March 2016 }}
1880–1883: Elizabeth Russell, Duchess of Bedford[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] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303205218/http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=24842&geotype=London&gpn=2915&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Bedford&atleast=&similar= |date=3 March 2016 }}
1883–1885: Anne Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe[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] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303165346/http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=25187&geotype=London&gpn=204&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Roxburghe&atleast=&similar= |date=3 March 2016 }}
1885–1886: Louisa Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry[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] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303210840/http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=25486&geotype=London&gpn=3060&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Buccleuch&atleast=&similar= |date=3 March 2016 }}
1886: Position vacant
Acting mistress of the robes: Elizabeth Russell, Duchess of Bedford
1886–1892: Louisa Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry[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] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151207133332/http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=25622&geotype=London&gpn=4272&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Buccleuch&atleast=&similar= |date=7 December 2015 }}
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[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] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303225727/http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=26644&geotype=London&gpn=4022&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Buccleuch&atleast=&similar= |date=3 March 2016 }}

=[[Alexandra of Denmark]], 1901–1925=

1901–1912: Louisa Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry{{London Gazette |issue=27292 |date=8 March 1901 |page=1648 }}
1913–1925: Winifred Cavendish-Bentinck, Duchess of Portland{{cite web | url =https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/28768/page/7520 | title = Issue 28768 | date = 28 October 1913 | publisher =The London Gazette | access-date = 17 August 2021}}

=[[Mary of Teck]], 1910–1953=

1910–1916: Evelyn Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire[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] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303181224/http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=28386&geotype=London&gpn=4365&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Devonshire&atleast=&similar= |date=3 March 2016 }}
1916–1921: Eileen Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland[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] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303201944/http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=29822&geotype=London&gpn=10963&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Sutherland&atleast=&similar= |date=3 March 2016 }}
1921–1953: Evelyn Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (Dowager Duchess of Devonshire from 1938)

=[[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother|Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon]], 1937–2002=

1937–1964: Helen Percy, Duchess of Northumberland (Dowager Duchess of Northumberland from 1946)[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] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303173357/http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=34377&geotype=London&gpn=1486&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Northumberland&atleast=&similar= |date=3 March 2016 }}
1964–1990: Kathleen Hamilton, Duchess of Abercorn (Dowager Duchess of Abercorn from 1979)[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] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303205940/http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=43300&geotype=London&gpn=3363&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Abercorn&atleast=&similar= |date=3 March 2016 }}
1990–2002: Position vacant

= [[Elizabeth II]], 1953–2022=

1953–1967: Mary Cavendish, Dowager Duchess of Devonshire[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] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303181221/http://www.gazette-online.co.uk/ViewPDF.aspx?pdf=39756&geotype=London&gpn=423&type=ArchivedIssuePage&all=&exact=Duchess%20of%20Devonshire&atleast=&similar= |date=3 March 2016 }}
1967–2021: Fortune FitzRoy, Duchess of Grafton (Countess of Euston until 1970, Dowager Duchess of Grafton from 2011){{London Gazette|issue=44219|page=87|date=3 January 1967}}
2021–2022: Position vacant

= [[Queen Camilla|Camila Shand]], 2022–Present=

2022-present: Position vacant

References

Category:Positions within the British Royal Household

Category:Ceremonial officers in the United Kingdom