Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2018

Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland painted by Winterhalter, 1849. source: Wikipedia

Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland was the first Mistress of the Robes to Queen Victoria.  Harriet did not have an affair with Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha as depicted in the television series Victoria. The real Harriet was twelve years older than Ernst and her husband George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland did not die until 1861. Harriet and her husband had a successful, loving marriage and had eleven children.

The Mistress of the Robes was always a Duchess and attended Queen Victoria on every State occasion. She had precedence over every lady of the Court and when in residence, presided at the Household table. She looked over and passed on the Queen’s personal bills sent to her from the Robes Office. During Queen Victoria’s reign, the Mistress of the Robes was a political appointment and changed when the political party of the government changed.

Harriet was born The Honourable Harriet Elisabeth Georgiana Howard, on May 21, 1806, to George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle and Lady Georgiana Cavendish, a daughter of the 5th Duke of Devonshire. Harriet had eleven siblings:

Harriet’s brother George, the 7th Earl of Carlisle, was appointed Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster by Queen Victoria in 1850 and served until 1852. He later served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1855 to 1858, and 1859 to 1864. He was also a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and the Privy Council of Ireland. Her sister, Caroline, married William Lascelles, who served as Comptroller of the Household from 1847 to 1851, and her sister, Blanche, was a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Victoria from 1838 until 1840.

George Leveson-Gower, Earl Gower, c1810. source: Wikipedia

On May 18, 1823, Harriet married George Leveson-Gower, Earl Gower, her father’s first cousin, nearly 20 years her senior. He was the son of George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Marquess of Stafford (later 1st Duke of Sutherland) and Elizabeth Sutherland, Countess of Sutherland. Harriet and her husband had had eleven children:

Harriet’s eldest daughter Elizabeth, Duchess of Argyll, served as Mistress of the Robes to Queen Victoria from 1868 until 1870. She was succeeded by Harriet’s daughter-in-law, Anne, Duchess of Sutherland, who served from 1870 until 1874.

Harriet with her eldest daughter Elizabeth, the future Duchess of Argyll. by: George Henry Phillips, published by Grames & Warmsley, after Sir Thomas Lawrence; mezzotint, published 15 April 1841. source: National Portrait Gallery, NPG D40930

Harriet’s title changed several times over the next ten years. Upon marriage, she became Harriet Leveson-Gower, Countess Gower, and when her father-in-law was created Duke of Sutherland in 1833, she became Marchioness of Stafford. Several months later, she became Duchess of Sutherland when her husband succeeded to the dukedom. In 1839, after his mother’s death, Harriet’s husband inherited her title as Earl of Sutherland and Chief of Clan Sutherland in Scotland. At that time, he added ‘Sutherland’ to the family’s surname.

  • The Honourable Harriet Howard (1806-1823)
  • Harriet Leveson-Gower, Countess Gower (1823-1833)
  • Harriet Leveson-Gower, Marchioness of Stafford (1833)
  • Harriet Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland (1833-1839)
  • Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland (1839-1861)
  • Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Dowager Duchess of Sutherland (1861-1868)

Dunrobin Castle. photo: By Dunrobin_Castle_-Sutherland_-Scotland-26May2008.jpg: jack_spellingbaconderivative work: Snowmanradio (talk) – originally posted to Flickr as Dunrobin castle and uploaded to commons at Dunrobin_Castle_-Sutherland_-Scotland-26May2008.jpg, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8639843

The family had numerous residences in the United Kingdom and spent time at all of them throughout the year. These included Trentham Hall in Staffordshire, Dunrobin Castle in the Scottish Highlands, Cliveden in Buckinghamshire, and the lavish Stafford House (now Lancaster House) in London.

Due to her family’s wealth and her relationship with Queen Victoria, Harriet was one of the leading ladies of British society. She turned the family’s London home, Stafford House, into one of the centers of high society and used her influence to support various philanthropic causes. In 1852, she helped to organize the ‘Stafford House Address’, a petition against slavery that was met with much resistance from the aristocracy. It also led to a rebuttal from former First Lady of the United States, Julia Tyler, who defended slavery.

Harriet was first appointed Mistress of the Robes in August 1837, the first to serve Queen Victoria. Just two years later, Queen Victoria’s refusal to give up her ladies brought about the Bedchamber Crisis. For the next 24 years, Harriet served as Mistress of the Robes whenever the Whig Party controlled  the government:

  • August 1837 – September 1841
  • July 1846 – March 1852
  • January 1853 – February 1858
  • June 1859 – April 1861

Harriet Elizabeth Georgiana Sutherland-Leveson-Gower (née Howard), Duchess of Sutherland by Hills & Saunders, albumen carte-de-visite, 1860s. source: National Portrait Gallery, NPG Ax30376

She retired a few months after her husband died in 1861 but remained a close friend and confidante to Queen Victoria for the rest of her life. When Queen Victoria was widowed in December of that year, Harriet returned to court unofficially and was The Queen’s sole companion for several weeks.

Harriet’s last public appearance was at the March 1863 wedding of the Prince of Wales and Princess Alexandra of Denmark. Later that year, she was taken ill and never fully recovered. The Dowager Duchess of Sutherland died at Stafford House in London on October 27, 1868. She is buried in the Sutherland Mausoleum in Trentham, Stoke-on-Trent.

Engagement photo of Princess Louise and John Cambell, Marquess of Lorne (Harriet’s grandson), 1871. source: Wikipedia

Through her large family, Harriet is a direct ancestor of numerous members of the British aristocracy, including the Dukes of Hamilton, Argyll, Northumberland, Leinster and Westminster; the Marquesses of Hertford and Londonderry; the Earls of Selkirk, Lichfield and Cromartie; and the Countess of Sutherland, Chief of Clan Sutherland. She was also connected to Queen Victoria through marriage. In 1871, Queen Victoria’s daughter Princess Louise married John Campbell, Marquess of Lorne, the son of Harriet’s elder daughter Elizabeth.

Recommended Book – Serving Queen Victoria: Life in the Royal Household by Kate Hubbard

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