Duchess of Sutherland

Anne Hay Mackenzie (1829-1888), Countess of Cromartie and Duchess of Sutherland, was born on 21 April 1829 at Newall, Scotland. On 20 June 1849 she married George Granville William Levenson-Gower, Lord Stafford, the eldest son of the second Duke of Sutherland. He succeeded as third Duke of Sutherland 22 February 1861. The Duchess had succeeded to her father’s lands in the year of her marriage, and on 21 October 1861 she was created Countess of Cromartie in her own right, with a special remainder which ensured that the title would never merge with her husband’s.

The Duchess was known for her liberal opinions; she opposed slavery, and in 1864 received Garibaldi, who for most of her class was little more than a revolutionary. She served as Mistress of the Robes to Queen Victoria from 1870 to 1874.

She died on 25 November 1888 at Sutherland Tower, Torquay, Devon. At her death she was succeeded in her Earldom of Cromartie by her younger son, Lord Francis Levinson-Gower.

Photographed in 1860 by Camille Silvy of London.