In another blow to the British monarch following the April death of her husband, Queen Elizabeth’s long-serving mistress of the robes has died. Ann Fortune FitzRoy was 101. The dowager duchess of Grafton, FitzRoy first joined the royal household in 1953, the year Elizabeth II ascended to the throne. First a lady of the bedchamber, FitzRoy became a senior lady-in-waiting after being named mistress of the robes in 1967. She never formally retired from her royal duties.
The role became largely honorary prior to Elizabeth II’s reign, but as mistress of the robes, FitzRoy nevertheless frequently attended Elizabeth II on state occasions. She was also a source of companionship to the queen. FitzRoy made the sovereign godmother to her second daughter, Lady Virginia FitzRoy, in 1954. She was appointed Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Order in 1980, an honor bestowed by the monarch personally.
FitzRoy was rhapsodized as “well-spoken” and “quite elegant” by Royal Central earlier this year. She was also fastidiously discreet, avoiding contact even with authorized biographers. She worried about the dissolution of boundaries between the royals and their subjects, reportedly asking while watching the Netflix series The Crown, “Can the general public see this?”
Read it at The Daily Telegraph
