Elizabeth Wellesley, Duchess Of Wellington

Elizabeth Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington (née Hay; 27 September 1820 – 13 August 1904), was a British noblewoman. She was the daughter of George Hay, 8th Marquess of Tweeddale. Her siblings included Viscount Walden, an ornithologist, and Lord John Hay, who became an Admiral of the Fleet.

On 18 April 1839, she married Lord Douro, the eldest son of the 1st Duke of Wellington, a prominent military and political figure. Upon the death of his father in 1852, Lord Douro succeeded as the second Duke of Wellington. In 1863, she acquired the title of Countess of Mornington following her husband's inheritance of the earldom of Mornington from his cousin William Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley, 5th Earl of Mornington.

Elizabeth Wellesley held the position of Mistress of the Robes to Queen Victoria during two periods: from 1861 to 1868 and again from 1874 to 1880. Her initial appointment was made by Prime Minister Lord Palmerston, a Liberal, and she served through the administrations of Lord Russell, Lord Derby, and Benjamin Disraeli. She resumed her role during Disraeli's second government. Her tenure as Mistress of the Robes was characterized by her service across multiple government terms spanning the 1860s and late 1870s.

Her marriage did not produce children, and it was arranged by their families. Contemporary accounts suggest that the marriage was not considered a happy one. Despite this, historian Norman Gash noted that her father-in-law found considerable domestic pleasure in her company.

Her husband died on 13 August 1884. Elizabeth Wellesley, the Dowager Duchess, lived for exactly twenty years after his death, passing away at Burhill Park in Walton-on-Thames on that same date in 1904.

Throughout her life, she received various honors, including being a Third Class recipient of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert during the reign of Queen Victoria.

References include works cited in historical records, although specific titles are not provided within the scope of this biography.