Anne Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland

by Scott Mehl
© Unofficial Royalty 2018

Anne Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland; Credit – Wikipedia

Anne Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland, served as Mistress of the Robes to Queen Victoria from 1870 until 1874. 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.

Born Anne Hay-Mackenzie on April 21, 1829, she was the only child of John Hay-Mackenzie of Newhall and Cromarty and Anne Gibson-Craig. Through her father, Anne was the great-great-granddaughter of George Mackenzie, 3rd Earl of Cromartie, who had participated in the Jacobite rising of 1745, the attempt of Charles Edward Stuart to take the British throne for the House of Stuart. He was captured, tried, and sentenced to death, but managed to get a pardon. In exchange for his life, he was stripped of his titles and all of his estates were confiscated. His eldest son was able to get the family’s estates restored in 1784, but not the titles.

George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland. source: Wikipedia

On June 27, 1849, Anne married George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Marquess of Stafford (later 3rd Duke of Sutherland), the son of George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland and Lady Harriet Howard. Anne and George had five children:

Anne became Duchess of Sutherland on February 22, 1861 upon her husband’s accession to the dukedom. Later that year, she also received titles of her own. On October 21, 1861, Anne was created Countess of Cromartie, Viscountess Tarbat, Baroness Castlehaven and Baroness MacLeod in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. These were all titles previously held by her ancestors, and were granted with special remainder to her younger son, Francis.  She also inherited Castle Leod in the Scottish Highlands, the seat of the Earls of Cromartie going back to the 17th century.

Castle Leod in the Scottish Highlands. photo: By Craig Wallace, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36322284

In 1870, she succeeded her sister-in-law, Elizabeth Campbell, Duchess of Argyll, as Mistress of the Robes, and served until 1874. The position had also previously been held by her mother-in-law Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland four different times between 1837 and 1861.

The Duchess of Sutherland died on November 25, 1888, at Stafford House in London. She is buried at Babbacombe Cemetery in Torquay, Devon, England.

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