[2] On 18 May 1823, she married her cousin George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Earl Gower (1786–1861),[2] who had been elected MP for St Mawes, Cornwall (a rotten borough) in 1808, and succeeded his father as second Duke of Sutherland in 1833.

[2][3] The Duchess of Sutherland held a social position of high influence, aided by her friendship to Queen Victoria as well as her family's great wealth.

[10] On the accession of Queen Victoria the Duchess was appointed Mistress of the Robes,[note 2] and held that post whenever the Whigs were in office until her husband's death (August 1837 to September 1841, July 1846 to March 1852, January 1853 to February 1858, June 1859 to April 1861).

With its ornate decoration and the dramatic sweep of the great staircase, the Grand Hall is a magnificent introduction to one of the finest town houses in London.

[14] On 18 May 1823 Harriet married George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Earl Gower, eldest son of the 2nd Marquess of Stafford, and a man twenty years her senior.

[citation needed] They had eleven children: In 1871, while her son-in-law, the Duke of Argyll, was serving in the Cabinet, his son (Harriet's grandson), Lord Lorne, married one of Victoria's daughters, Princess Louise.