Katherine Hamilton, Duchess of Abercorn, (born Hon. Mary Katherine Crichton; 8 July 1905 – 2 February 1990) was

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 ...

to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother from 1964 until the Duchess's death in 1990. She was invested as a Dame Commander of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

in 1969.Profile of Kathleen Hamilton, Duchess of Abercorn
royalfanzine.blogspot.co.uk; Retrieved 24 February 2016. She received the Queen Elizabeth II Version of the

Royal Household Long and Faithful Service Medal The Royal Household Long and Faithful Service Medal is a civil decoration awarded by the British monarch to servants of the royal household for long and faithful service. History The Royal Household Long and Faithful Service Medal was establis ...

in 1984 for 20 years service to the Royal Family. The Duchess was the elder of the two surviving children born to Henry Crichton, Viscount Crichton, son of

John Crichton, 4th Earl Erne John Henry Crichton, 4th Earl Erne, (16 October 1839 – 2 December 1914), styled Viscount Crichton from 1842 to 1885, was an Anglo-Irish peer and Conservative politician. Early life Erne was the eldest son of Selina Griselda, Countess Erne ('' ...

, and Lady Mary Cavendish Grosvenor, daughter of

Hugh Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster Hugh Lupus Grosvenor, 1st Duke of Westminster, (13 October 1825 – 22 December 1899), styled Viscount Belgrave between 1831 and 1845, Earl Grosvenor between 1845 and 1869, and known as The Marquess of Westminster between 1869 and 1874, was an ...

. She was married in

St Martin-in-the-Fields St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. It is dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. There has been a church on the site since at least the mediev ...

, on 9 February 1928, to James Hamilton (at that time Marquess of Hamilton), who succeeded his father as 4th

Duke of Abercorn The title Duke of Abercorn () is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1868 and bestowed upon James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Abercorn. Although the Dukedom is in the Peerage of Ireland, it refers to Abercorn, West Lothian, and th ...

in 1953.

References

1905 births 1990 deaths British duchesses by marriage Dames Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Mistresses of the Robes to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother {{Ireland-duke-stub