Anne Murray, Duchess of Atholl

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Anne, Duchess of Atholl (17 June 1814-22 May 1897) was born Anne Home-Drummond, daughter of Henry Home-Drummond of Blair Drummond. On 29 October 1839 she married the second Lord Glenlyon at Blair Drummond, thereby becoming Lady Glenlyon. In 1846 he succeeded his uncle as seventh Duke of Atholl, and Anne became Duchess of Atholl. She served as Mistress of the Robes to Queen Victoria in Lord Derby's short-lived government of 1852. She subsequently served the queen as a lady of the bedchamber 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 Dowager Duchess of Atholl. In 1892, when Mr Gladstone again came to power, his policy of Home Rule for Ireland had alienated many of the upper classes, and no lady of ducal 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.^[1]

Court offices
Preceded by The Duchess of Sutherland	Mistress of the Robes 1852	Succeeded by The Duchess of Sutherland
Preceded by The Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry	Mistress of the Robes 1892–1895 (pro tempore) jointly with The Duchess of Roxburghe	Succeeded by The Duchess of Buccleuch and Queensberry

1. ^ K D Reynolds, Aristocratic Women and Political Society in Victorian Britain, OUP (1998)