Millicent Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland - Duchess of Sutherland

Duchess of Sutherland

Lady Millicent St. Clair-Erskine was married three times. She married Lord Cromartie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Marquess of Stafford, eldest son and heir of the 3rd Duke of Sutherland, on 20 October 1884, her 17th birthday. He inherited the Duchy of Sutherland on his fathers death in 1892.

They had four children:

• Lady Victoria Elizabeth Sutherland-Leveson-Gower (1885–1888)
• George Granville Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 5th Duke of Sutherland (1888–1963)
• Alastair St. Clair Sutherland-Leveson-Gower (1890–1921), married Elizabeth Demarest and had Elizabeth Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 24th Countess of Sutherland.
• Lady Rosemary Millicent Sutherland-Leveson-Gower (1893–1930), married William Ward, 3rd Earl of Dudley and had issue.

She became a great society hostess at their London home, Stafford House, associated with both the Marlborough House set and the Souls. She also developed a reputation as an advocate for social reform, although to a lesser extent than her half-sister Daisy Warwick. She campaigned successfully to remove lead paint glazes from Staffordshire pottery. She also wrote novels, including One Hour and the Next (1899) and a collection of short stories, The Winds of the World (1902), and a play in blank verse. The Conqueror (1905) was performed at the Scala Theatre in London.

Her 1904 portrait by John Singer Sargent, part of the estate of press agent Benjamin Sonnenberg, was sold at auction by Sotheby's in 1979 for $210,000, setting a record for the artist's work.