Elizabeth Campbell, Duchess of Argyll


The Duchess of Argyll

Born(1824-05-30)30 May 1824
Died25 May 1878(1878-05-25) (aged 53)
London, England
Spouse(s)
IssueJohn Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll
Lord Archibald Campbell
Lord Walter Campbell
Edith Percy, Duchess of Northumberland
Lord George Campbell
Lady Elizabeth Clough-Taylor
Lord Colin Campbell
Lady Victoria Campbell
Lady Evelyn Baillie-Hamilton
Lady Frances Balfour
Lady Mary Glyn
Lady Constance Emmott
FatherGeorge Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Duke of Sutherland
MotherLady Harriet Howard
OccupationMistress of the Robes to Queen Victoria

Elizabeth Georgiana Campbell, Duchess of Argyll CI VA (née Leveson-Gower; 30 May 1824 – 25 May 1878), was a British noblewoman and abolitionist. Born into the wealthy Sutherland-Leveson-Gower family, she was the eldest daughter of the 2nd Duke of Sutherland by his wife, the political hostess Lady Harriet Howard. In 1844 Elizabeth married George Campbell, Marquess of Lorne, eldest son and heir to the 7th Duke of Argyll. She became the Duchess of Argyll in 1847 when her husband succeeded his father.

Like her mother, the Duchess of Argyll was a prominent opponent of slavery. The pair helped write a letter titled An Affectionate and Christian Address of Many Thousands of Women of Great Britain and Ireland to Their Sisters, the Women of the United States of America, calling for an end of slavery; it attracted signatures from 562,848 British women. The two often hosted the American abolitionist and author Harriet Beecher Stowe when she visited England. The Duchess and Beecher Stowe were friends and maintained a correspondence.

In 1868, the Duchess of Argyll succeeded the Duchess of Wellington as Mistress of the Robes to Queen Victoria, holding the position until 1870, when she resigned due to ill health. Soon after being appointed a member of the newly created Order of the Crown of India, she died in 1878 whilst eating with William Ewart Gladstone in London.


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