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.

Mistress of the Robes to Queen Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, 1937-2002

• 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)
• vacant 1990-2002