Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Harriet

Harriet was born on May 21, 1806 in London , becoming the fifth child and third daughter in the family of George Howard, 6th Earl Carlisle and Lady Georgiana Cavendish , daughter of the famous Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire ^[9] .

On May 28, 1823, she married her cousin, ^[9] He was a member of parliament, and in 1833 inherited from his father the title of Duke of Sutherland. The family was very rich. The age difference between the spouses was twenty years, but despite this their marriage was happy and prolific: all Harriet gave birth to four sons and seven daughters ^{[9] [10]} .

The Duchess of Sutherland led an active public life, was a friend of Queen Victoria ^[11] , and paid great attention to charity. Her house, Stafford House, became the center where representatives of the nobility, artists and artists gathered ^[10] . In 1853, a letter “From the loving and baptized women of Great Britain and Ireland to their sisters, women of the United States” was issued in her house, urging Americans to abandon slavery, which did not recognize marriage between slaves and did not give them permission to receive education ^[10] . She was friendly with the American writer and fighter against slavery Harriet Beecher Stow . Such a fierce stance regarding slavery attracted attention and even once was criticized by Karl Marx because of the actions of her mother-in-law, which was associated with the deportation of Scottish highlanders ^[12] .

Harriet was appointed Queen Victoria four times as the mistress of her dressing room in 1837–1841, 1846–1852, 1853–1858 and 1859–1861 ^{[9] [13]} . In 1839, because of the Queen’s refusal to part with her maids of honor, who were spouses of peers from the Whig party, there was a , as a result of which Robert Peel resigned as prime minister. In 1861, the Queen’s husband, Prince Albert, died of typhus . In the early days of widowhood, Victoria spent a lot of time with the duchess ^[14] .

In 1861, the Duchess was widowed. The last public appearance of Harriet was the wedding of Prince of Wales Edward and Alexandra of Denmark in 1863. After that, she suffered a serious illness, from which she did not fully recover. In 1864, she met with Giuseppe Garibaldi at Chesic House during his visit to London . Harriet was delighted with him. The Duchess of Sutherland died on October 27, 1868 at her London residence, at the age of 62. She was buried in the mausoleum of the Dukes of Sutherland in Trentam. William Gladstone , British Prime Minister, was one of those who carried the coffin at her funeral. From the letters of the duchess to her son it became known that she was interested in architecture and landscaping, had a sense of humor and was affectionate towards her children ^[14] .

In the film " Young Victoria " in 2009, the role of Harriet was played by actress ^[15] . In the fall of 2016, the Victoria series was released, where Margaret Clooney played the Duchess of Sutherland ^[16] .

Married to George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Garritet gave birth to eleven children ^{[17] [14]} :

• Elizabeth Georgiana (1824-1878) - the ruler of the wardrobe of Queen Victoria in 1868-1870. Elizabeth was married to George Campbell, the 8th Duke of Argyll , from whom she gave birth to twelve children. Elizabeth's eldest son, John , was married to Queen Victoria’s daughter Louise .
• Evelyn (1825-1869) was married to Scottish politician and landowner , from whom she gave birth to five daughters and a son.
• Carolina (1827–1887) - was married to the Irish politician Charles Fitzgerald, 4th Duke of Leinster , from whom she gave birth to seven daughters and eight sons.
• 1828-1892] - 3rd Duke of Sutherland. George was married twice: for the first time to , married to two daughters and three sons; after the death of Anna, George married the widow of Mary Caroline Blair , there were no children.
• Blanche Julia (1830-1832) - died in childhood.
• Frederick George (1832-1854) - was not married, had no children;
• Constance Gertrude (1834–1880) - was married to , from whom she gave birth to three daughters and five sons.
• Victoria (1838-1839) - died in childhood.
• Albert (1843-1874) - was married to Grace Abdie , in a marriage with whom several children were born.
• (1845-1916) - politician, writer and sculptor. He was not married, had no children.
• Alexandrina (1848-1849) - died in childhood.

• Lodge, Edmund. The peerage of the British empire as at present existing. To which is added the baronetage . - 1834.
• Reynolds, KD Aristocratic Women and Political Society in Victorian Britain . - London: Oxford University Press, 1998 .-- 272 p. - ISBN 0198207271 .
• Reynolds, KD Harriet Leveson Gower // Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. - Oxford University Press, 2004.
• Sanders, Lloyd C. Leveson-Gower, Harriet Elizabeth Georgiana // Dictionary of National Biography. - London: Smith, Elder & Co, 1893. - Vol. 33. - P. 152-153.

• Lady Harriet Howard, duchess of Sutherland (Spanish) . - Profile on Geneall.net.
• Lady Harriet Elizabeth Georgiana Howard (English) . - Profile on Thepeerage.com.