Commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1952, Duchess operated with the British Home Fleet and in the Mediterranean, was involved in the 1956 Suez Crisis, and served as part of the Far East Strategic Reserve. Following the Melbourne-Voyager collision, Duchess was loaned to the RAN in 1964 as a temporary replacement for HMAS Voyager. The destroyer was purchased by Australia in 1972, converted into a training ship over the next two years, and continued to operate with the RAN until her paying off in 1977, and her sale for scrap in 1980.