Anna Russell, Duchess of Bedford
Encyclopedia
Anna Maria Russell, Duchess of Bedford (3 September 1783 – 3 July 1857) was a lifelong friend of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....

, whom she served as a Lady of the Bedchamber
Lady of the Bedchamber
This is an incomplete list of those who have served as Lady of the Bedchamber in the British Royal Household...

 between 1837 and 1841. She was also the originator of the British meal "afternoon tea."

Anna was the daughter of Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Harrington
Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Harrington
General Charles Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Harrington PC, PC , styled Viscount Petersham until 1779, was a British soldier. Stanhope is sometimes confused with an exact contemporary of his, the 3rd Earl Stanhope....

 and Jane Fleming. She was the wife of Francis Russell, 7th Duke of Bedford
Francis Russell, 7th Duke of Bedford
Francis Russell, 7th Duke of Bedford KG, PC , styled Marquess of Tavistock from 1802 to 1839, was a British peer and Whig politician.-Background and education:...

 (married in 1808), and sister-in-law to the Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...

 John Russell
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, KG, GCMG, PC , known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was an English Whig and Liberal politician who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century....

. She was also the mother of William Russell, 8th Duke of Bedford
William Russell, 8th Duke of Bedford
William Russell, 8th Duke of Bedford was a British Whig politician. He was the son of Francis Russell, 7th Duke of Bedford and his wife Anna Maria Stanhope....

. She became Duchess of Bedford in 1839 when her husband acceded to the dukedom.

The Duchess and her husband entertained the Queen at their country house Woburn Abbey
Woburn Abbey
Woburn Abbey , near Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the seat of the Duke of Bedford and the location of the Woburn Safari Park.- Pre-20th century :...

 in 1841. The Duchess was also the chief mourner at the funeral of Princess Augusta
Princess Augusta Sophia of the United Kingdom
The Princess Augusta Sophia was a member of the British Royal Family, second daughter of George III and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. She was a Princess of the United Kingdom and a Princess of Hanover....

 in 1840.

The Duchess became involved in a scandal regarding Lady Flora Hastings
Lady Flora Hastings
Lady Flora Elizabeth Rawdon-Hastings was a British aristocrat and lady-in-waiting to Queen Victoria's mother, the Duchess of Kent, whose death in 1839 caused a court scandal that gave the Queen a negative image....

. When Lady Flora complained of abdominal pain, the court physician initially stated that she was pregnant. As Lady Flora was unmarried this suspicion was covered up, but the Duchess and Baroness Lehzen who disliked her spread the rumor anyway naming Sir John Conroy as the likely father. When she was later diagnosed with cancer of which she died shortly afterwards, the Duchess, Baroness Lehzen and the Queen herself, who had initially believed the rumor, came under severe public criticism for blemishing the reputation of an innocent woman.

The Duchess is best remembered as the creator of the British meal "afternoon tea." whilst visiting the 5th Duke of Rutland at Belvoir Castle
Belvoir Castle
Belvoir Castle is a stately home in the English county of Leicestershire, overlooking the Vale of Belvoir . It is a Grade I listed building....

 in the mid 1840's. During the 18th century, dinner
Dinner
Dinner is usually the name of the main meal of the day. Depending upon culture, dinner may be the second, third or fourth meal of the day. Originally, though, it referred to the first meal of the day, eaten around noon, and is still occasionally used for a noontime meal, if it is a large or main...

 came to be served later and later in the day until by the early 19th century, the normal time was between 7:00 and 8:30 p.m. An extra meal called luncheon
Luncheon
Luncheon, commonly abbreviated to lunch, is a mid-day meal, and is smaller than dinner.In English-speaking countries during the eighteenth century, lunch was originally called "dinner"— a word still used regularly to mean a noontime meal in Scotland, Ireland, Wales and some parts of England,...

 had been created to fill the midday gap between breakfast and dinner, but as this new meal was very light, the long afternoon with no refreshment at all left people feeling hungry. She found a light meal of tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...

 (usually Darjeeling
Darjeeling tea
Darjeeling tea is a black tea from the Darjeeling region in West Bengal, India. When properly brewed, it yields a thin-bodied, light-colored infusion with a floral aroma...

) and cakes or sandwiches was the perfect balance. The Duchess found taking an afternoon snack to be such a perfect refreshment that she soon began inviting her friends to join her. Afternoon tea quickly became an established and convivial repast in many middle and upper class households.

She died in 1857 and is buried in the Bedford chapel at Chenies
Chenies
Chenies is a village in the very eastern part of south Buckinghamshire, England, near the border with Hertfordshire. It is situated to the east of Chesham and the Chalfonts. Chenies is also a civil parish within Chiltern district....

in Buckinghamshire.
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