Harriet Elizabeth Georgiana Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland, styled The Honourable Harriet Howard before her marriage, was Mistress of the Robes under several Whig administrations: 1837–1841, 1846–1852, 1853–1858, and 1859–1861; and a great friend of Queen Victoria. She was an important figure in London's high society, and used her social position to undertake various philanthropic undertakings including the protest of the English ladies against American slavery.

The mistress of the robes was the senior lady in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, who would, by appointment, attend on the Queen. Queens dowager retained their own mistresses of the robes. In the 18th century Princesses of Wales had one, too.