Anne Murray, Duchess of Atholl (17 June 1814 – 22 May 1897), born Anne Home-Drummond and known as The Lady Glenlyon between 1839 and 1846, as The Duchess of Atholl between 1846 and 1864 and as The Dowager Duchess of Atholl between 1864 and 1897, was a Scottish courtier and close friend of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

. Murray was born at

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, Scotland, the daughter of Henry Home-Drummond, of

Blair Drummond Blair Drummond is a small rural community northwest of Stirling in the Stirling district of Scotland, predominantly located along the A84 road. Lying to the north of the River Forth, the community is within the registration county of Perthshire ...

, by Christian, daughter of Charles Moray. On 29 October 1839 she married George Murray, 2nd Baron Glenlyon, at Blair Drummond, thereby becoming Lady Glenlyon. In 1846 he succeeded his uncle as sixth

Duke of Atholl Duke of Atholl, named for Atholl in Scotland, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland held by the head of Clan Murray. It was created by Queen Anne in 1703 for John Murray, 2nd Marquess of Atholl, with a special remainder to the heir male of ...

, and Anne became Duchess of Atholl.thepeerage.com Anne Home-Drummond
/ref> She served as

Mistress of the Robes The mistress of the robes was the senior lady in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. Formerly responsible for the queen consort's/regnant's clothes and jewellery (as the name implies), the post had the responsibility for arranging the rota ...

Lord Derby Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, (29 March 1799 – 23 October 1869, known before 1834 as Edward Stanley, and from 1834 to 1851 as Lord Stanley) was a British statesman, three-time Prime Minister of the United Kingdom ...

's short-lived government of 1852. She subsequently served the queen as a

Lady of the Bedchamber Lady of the Bedchamber is the title of a lady-in-waiting holding the official position of personal attendant on a British queen regnant or queen consort. The position is traditionally held by the wife of a peer. They are ranked between the Mis ...

for almost forty years and was one of Victoria's closest friends. When The Prince Consort died, the Queen came out of the room where he had died and proclaimed, "Oh, Duchess, he is dead!" The Duke of Atholl died in 1864, and Anne became the Dowager Duchess of Atholl. In 1892, when Gladstone again came to power, his policy of

Home Rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...

for Ireland had alienated many of the upper classes, and no lady of

ducal Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

rank could be found who was willing to serve as Mistress of the Robes. The post therefore remained vacant, while the Dowager Duchess of Atholl and the Duchess of Roxburghe performed the duties of the office. The duchess and her husband preferred the spelling ''Athole'' for their title and residence.K D Reynolds, ''Aristocratic Women and Political Society in Victorian Britain'', OUP (1998) The Duke and Duchess had one child,

John Stewart-Murray, 7th Duke of Atholl John James Hugh Henry Stewart-Murray, 7th Duke of Atholl, KT (6 August 1840 – 20 January 1917), styled Marquess of Tullibardine between 1846 and 1864, was a Scottish peer. Background and education Atholl was the only child of George Murr ...

. The Duchess of Atholl died at

Dunkeld Dunkeld (, sco, Dunkell, from gd, Dùn Chailleann, "fort of the Caledonians") is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The location of a historic cathedral, it lies on the north bank of the River Tay, opposite Birnam. Dunkeld lies close to t ...

, Perthshire, in May 1897, aged 82, and was buried at Blair Atholl.

References

British duchesses by marriage 1814 births 1897 deaths Ladies of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert Ladies of the Bedchamber Mistresses of the Robes to Queen Victoria

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

Burials in Scotland People associated with Perth and Kinross Court of Queen Victoria {{Scotland-duke-stub