Elizabeth Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington (''née'' Hay; 27 September 1820 – 13 August 1904), VA, was a daughter of the 8th Marquess of Tweeddale. Her husband, Lord Douro, succeeded his father as Duke of Wellington in 1852. 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 o ...

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 Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

from 1861 to 1868, and again from 1874 to 1880.

Early life and family

Lady Elizabeth Hay was born a daughter of

George Hay, 8th Marquess of Tweeddale Field Marshal George Hay, 8th Marquess of Tweeddale (1 February 1787 – 10 October 1876) was a British soldier and administrator. He served as a staff officer in the Peninsular War under Arthur Wellesley and was with Wellesley at the Second ...

. One of her brothers was the

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

Viscount Walden, and another the Admiral of the Fleet Lord John Hay.

Marriage

On 18 April 1839 she was married to Lord Douro, eldest son of the famous general and former

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

the first Duke of Wellington. Lord Douro succeeded his father as second

Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister of ...

in 1852. In 1863 she also became Countess of Mornington when her husband inherited the earldom of Mornington on the death of his cousin William Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley, 5th Earl of Mornington. The Duchess of Wellington was appointed Mistress of the Robes to

in 1861 by the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Lord Palmerston Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865) was a British statesman who was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. Palmerston dominated British foreign policy during the period ...

, and continued in that role until 1868, serving through the governments of Lord Russell,

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 ...

and

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation o ...

. She was again Mistress of the Robes in Disraeli's second government, 1874 to 1880. Her husband died on 13 August 1884, and the Dowager Duchess survived him for exactly twenty years to the day, dying at Burhill Park,

Walton-on-Thames Walton-on-Thames, locally known as Walton, is a market town on the south bank of the Thames in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Walton forms part of the Greater London built-up area, within the KT postcode and is served by a wide ran ...

on 13 August 1904. They had no children, and the marriage, which had been arranged by their respective families, was not a happy one; the historian

Norman Gash Norman Gash (16 January 1912 in Meerut, British Raj – 1 May 2009 in Somerset) was a British historian, best remembered for a two-volume biography of British prime minister Sir Robert Peel. He was professor of modern history at the University ...

writes, however, that her father-in-law "found much domestic pleasure" in Elizabeth's company. The Duchess of Wellington was a Third Class recipient of the

Royal Order of Victoria and Albert The Royal Order of Victoria and Albert is a British Royal Family Order instituted on 10 February 1862 by Queen Victoria, and enlarged on 10 October 1864, 15 November 1865, and 15 March 1880. No award has been made since the death of Queen V ...

during

's reign.

References

Works cited * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wellington, Elizabeth Wellesley, Duchess Of 1820 births 1904 deaths

Elizabeth Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington Elizabeth Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington (''née'' Hay; 27 September 1820 – 13 August 1904), VA, was a daughter of the 8th Marquess of Tweeddale. Her husband, Lord Douro, succeeded his father as Duke of Wellington in 1852. She served as Mis ...

British duchesses by marriage Ladies of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert Mistresses of the Robes to Queen Victoria Daughters of British marquesses