of his newly formed ministry. The post would later also be filled by her daughter-in-law Louisa. Her husband was a staunch Conservative and became Lord Privy Seal in Peel's ministry from 1842 to 1846; the Duchess used the connection to help her brothers gain patronage. The Duchess of Buccleuch and Queen Victoria were lifelong friends, with the monarch describing the Duchess as "an agreeable, sensible, clever little person." In 1842 at Buckingham Palace, during Queen Victoria's preparations to visit Scotland, the Duchess helped advise her on the country. The Duke and Duchess helped entertain the Queen and Prince Albert when they arrived at Dalkeith. The historian Alex Tyrrell writes that the Duchess helped "consolidate Conservative influence in the royal household and counteract memories of the Bedchamber Crisis." The Queen stood as godmother for the Duchess's eldest daughter Victoria Alexandrine, who was christened at Buckingham Palace in April 1845. The Montagu-Douglas-Scotts were patrons of the artist Robert Thorburn, and commissioned him to paint several portraits of the Duchess, including a double portrait of her and Lady Victoria; this was given to Queen Victoria in 1847. The Duchess of Buccleuch resigned the post of Mistress of the Robes in 1846, and was succeeded by the Duchess of Sutherland. She was a member of the Royal Order of Victoria and Albert, Third Class. The Duchess's high church faith was an influence of her brother Revd Lord John Thynne, who was high church canon of Westminster Abbey. She and her husband built St Mary the Virgin, an Episcopal church in Dalkeith. To the Duke's distress, she converted to Roman Catholicism in 1860, "after struggling with her conscience for many years over the distress it would cause her Presbyterian husband." Soon after being married, she befriended Cecil, Marchioness of Lothian, another prominent Roman Catholic in Scotland. The two engaged in philanthropic work in Edinburgh together, and Lady Lothian helped persuade the Duchess to come to the decision to convert. Her brother Lord Charles also converted to Catholicism. The Duchess enjoyed gardening and landscaping, and spent much time overseeing the gardens of Drumlanrig Castle. Her husband died in April 1884, and she moved to Ditton Park in Slough, Buckinghamshire. She was much affected by the death of her son Lord Walter; The Lady's Realm wrote that the Dowager Duchess "never recovered" from this. She died at Ditton Park on 28 March 1895, and was buried at