Mistress of the Robes

File:Sarah Churchill Duchess.jpg

Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, mistress of the robes to Queen Anne

The mistress of the robes was the senior lady in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom,<ref name="AllisonRiddell1991">Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

List of mistresses of the robes by queen

Mary I, 1553–1558

• 1553–1558: Susan Clarencieux<ref name="CorrSpain">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)</ref>

Elizabeth I, 1558–1603

• 1559/1562–1603: Dorothy, Lady Stafford<ref name="CorrSpain"/>

Anne of Denmark, 1603–1619

• 1603–1619: Audrey Walsingham.<ref name="ReferenceA">Carole Levin, Anna Riehl Bertolet: [A Biographical Encyclopedia of Early Modern Englishwomen: Exemplary Lives and Memorable Acts, 1500-1650], New York, 2017</ref>

Henrietta Maria of France, 1625–1669

• 1626–1652: Susan Feilding, Countess of Denbigh<ref name="ReferenceA"/> (also called First Lady of the Bedchamber)<ref>Sandy Riley, Charlotte de La Trémoïlle, the Notorious Countess of Derby</ref>
• 1653–1669: Elizabeth Fielding Boyle, Countess of Guilford<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

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<ref>Cokayne et al., The Complete Peerage, volume VIII, p.496</ref>
• 1711–1714: Elizabeth Seymour, Duchess of Somerset<ref>Cokayne et al., The Complete Peerage, volume I, p.212</ref>

Caroline of Ansbach, 1714–1737

• 1714–1717: Diana Beauclerk, Duchess of St Albans<ref>Weir, Alison, Britain's Royal Family: A Complete Genealogy, The Bodley Head, 1999, p.265</ref>
• 1717–1723: Possibly vacant
• 1723–1731: Elizabeth Sackville, Duchess of Dorset<ref>Cokayne et al., The Complete Peerage, volume XII/2, p.589</ref>
• 1731–1735: Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk (Dowager Countess of Suffolk from 1733)<ref name="IHS">Institute of Historical Research</ref>
• 1735–1737: Position vacant<ref name="IHS"/>

Augusta of Saxe-Gotha 1736–1763

• 1736–1745: Lady Archibald Hamilton<ref name="IHS"/>
• 1745–1747: Position vacant<ref name="IHS"/>
• 1747–1763: Grace Sackville, Countess of Middlesex<ref name="IHS"/>

Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, 1761–1818

• 1761–1793: Mary Bertie, Duchess of Ancaster and Kesteven (Dowager Duchess of Ancaster and Kesteven from 1778)<ref name="IHS"/>
• 1793–1818: Elizabeth Thynne, Marchioness of Bath (Dowager Marchioness of Bath from 1796)<ref name="IHS"/>

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<ref name="IHS"/>

Victoria, 1837–1901

• 1837–1841: Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland<ref>The London Gazette, 29 August 1837, p.15 Template:Webarchive</ref>
• 1841–1846: Charlotte Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry<ref>The London Gazette, 10 September 1841, p.1 Template:Webarchive</ref>
• 1846–1852: Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland<ref>The London Gazette, 10 July 1846 Template:Webarchive, p.5</ref>
• 1852–1853: Anne Murray, Duchess of Atholl<ref>The London Gazette, 16 March 1852, p.2 Template:Webarchive</ref>
• 1853–1858: Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland<ref>The London Gazette, 18 January 1853, p.5 Template:Webarchive</ref>
• 1858–1859: Louisa Montagu, Duchess of Manchester<ref>The London Gazette, 5 March 1858, p.2 Template:Webarchive</ref>
• 1859–1861: Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland<ref>The London Gazette, 24 June 1859, p.3 Template:Webarchive</ref>
• 1861–1868: Elizabeth Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington<ref>The London Gazette, 26 April 1861, p.2 Template:Webarchive</ref>
• 1868–1870: Elizabeth Campbell, Duchess of Argyll<ref>The London Gazette, 22 December 1868, p.1 Template:Webarchive</ref>
• 1870–1874: Anne Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland<ref>The London Gazette, 25 January 1870, p.1 Template:Webarchive</ref>
• 1874–1880: Elizabeth Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington<ref>The London Gazette, 3 March 1874, p.6 Template:Webarchive</ref>
• 1880–1883: Elizabeth Russell, Duchess of Bedford<ref>The London Gazette, 7 May 1880, p.5 Template:Webarchive</ref>
• 1883–1885: Anne Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe<ref>The London Gazette, 12 January 1883, p.6 Template:Webarchive</ref>
• 1885–1886: Louisa Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry<ref>The London Gazette, 27 June 1885, p.6 Template:Webarchive</ref>
• 1886: Position vacant
  • Acting mistress of the robes: Elizabeth Russell, Duchess of Bedford
• 1886–1892: Louisa Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry<ref>The London Gazette, 3 September 1886, p.4 Template:Webarchive</ref>
• 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<ref>The London Gazette, 16 July 1895, p.24 Template:Webarchive</ref>

Alexandra of Denmark, 1901–1925

• 1901–1912: Louisa Montagu Douglas Scott, Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>
• 1913–1925: Winifred Cavendish-Bentinck, Duchess of Portland<ref name=gazette>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Mary of Teck, 1910–1953

• 1910–1916: Evelyn Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire<ref>The London Gazette, 21 June 1910, p.1 Template:Webarchive</ref>
• 1916–1921: Eileen Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland<ref>The London Gazette, 14 November 1916, p.1 Template:Webarchive</ref>
• 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)<ref>The London Gazette, 5 March 1937, p.2 Template:Webarchive</ref>
• 1964–1990: Kathleen Hamilton, Duchess of Abercorn (Dowager Duchess of Abercorn from 1979)<ref>The London Gazette, 17 April 1964, p.1 Template:Webarchive</ref>
• 1990–2002: Position vacant

Elizabeth II, 1953–2022

• 1953–1967: Mary Cavendish, Dowager Duchess of Devonshire<ref>The London Gazette, 20 January 1953, p.1 Template:Webarchive</ref>
• 1967–2021: Fortune FitzRoy, Duchess of Grafton (Countess of Euston until 1970, Dowager Duchess of Grafton from 2011)<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>
• 2021–2022: Position vacant

Camilla Shand, 2022–Present

• 2022-present: 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