Anna Maria Russell, Duchess of Bedford (3 September 1783 – 3 July 1857) was a lifelong 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 Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
, whom she served 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. A lady of the bedchamber would gi ...
between 1837 and 1841.
Anna was the daughter of
Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Harrington, and
Jane Fleming. She was the wife of
Francis Russell, 7th Duke of Bedford (married in 1808), and sister-in-law to the
prime minister
A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
John Russell. She was also the mother of
William Russell, 8th Duke of Bedford. She became Duchess of Bedford in 1839, when her husband acceded to the dukedom.
According to the
British Museum
The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
, the Duchess invented the custom of taking afternoon tea, in around 1840. Due to increasing urbanisation and industrialisation, wealthy English people were having their evening meal later and later, but still eating lunch at midday. The Duchess became despondent at the void between the two meals, and its consequent 'sinking feeling'. She therefore asked that some tea, bread and butter and cake be delivered to her room late in the afternoon, and "an afternoon ritual was born".
However, this claim has been contested and cannot be verified.
The Duchess and her husband entertained the Queen at their country house
Woburn Abbey
Woburn Abbey (), occupying the east of the village of Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the family seat of the Duke of Bedford. Although it is still a family home to the current duke, it is open on specified days to visitors, ...
in 1841. The Duchess was also the chief mourner at the funeral of
The Princess Augusta Sophia in 1840.
After inventing the afternoon tea ritual, the Duchess started inviting her friends to join in. As those friends were also royal
courtier
A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the officia ...
s, the Queen became aware of the nascent custom, and immediately approved. By the 1880s, her Majesty had adopted the ritual herself, and was holding official tea receptions at her palaces.
Death
The Duchess died in 1857 and is buried in the Bedford chapel at
Chenies in
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bedford, Anna Russell, Duchess Of
Bedford, Anna Maria Stanhope, Duchess of
Bedford, Anna Maria Stanhope, Duchess of
18th-century English nobility
19th-century English nobility
18th-century English women
19th-century English women
Daughters of British earls
Ladies of the Bedchamber
Anna
Court of Queen Victoria
Duchesses of Bedford