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Mistress of the Robes
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 Queen Anne, 1704-1714
- 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)
Mistress of the Robes to Queen Charlotte, 1761-1818
- 1761-1793: Mary, The Duchess of Ancaster (The Dowager Duchess of Ancaster from 1778)
- 1793-1818: Elizabeth, The Marchioness of Bath (The Dowager Marchioness of Bath from 1796)
Mistress of the Robes to Queen Adelaide, 1830-1837
- 1830-1837: Catherine, The Dowager Duchess of Leeds
Mistress of the Robes to Queen Victoria, 1837-1901
- 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, The Duchess of Wellington
- 1868-1870: Elizabeth Georgiana, The Duchess of Argyll
- 1870-1874: Anne, The Duchess of Sutherland
- 1874-1880: Elizabeth, The 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 Queen Alexandra, 1901-1925
Mistress of the Robes to Queen Mary, 1910-1953
- 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)
- 1937-1964: Helen Magdalen, The Duchess of Northumberland (The Dowager Duchess of Northumberland from 1946)
- 1964-1990: Mary Kathleen, The Duchess of Abercorn (The Dowager Duchess of Abercorn from 1979)
Mistress of the Robes to Queen Elizabeth II, 1953-present
- 1953-1967: Mary Alice, The Dowager Duchess of Devonshire
- 1967-present: Ann, Countess of Euston (The Duchess of Grafton from 1970)
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