Mistress of the Robes

Common card · No. 380159

The mistress of the robes was the senior lady in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, 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, the 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, attending 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. This has not been the case since the death of Queen Victoria in 1901. Queen Elizabeth...

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