LADY SARAH SPENCER-CHURCHILL, who has died suddenly in Connecticut, aged 78, was a powerful personality, 6 ft tall, rich and well-known in international society for several decades. [19] However, given the ill-fitting match between the duke and his wife, it was only a matter of time before their marriage was in name only. She also cast aspersions on Winthrops intentions, claiming he just wanted Consuelo for her money. With no alternative, Consuelo masters the difficulties of managing a household with scores of servants, dinners for royalty, elaborate hunting parties and balls. Passing through Paris on the way home from India in the spring of 1894, Consuelo made her European debut at a ball thrown by the Duc and Duchesse de Gramont. Could You Have Endured Consuelo Vanderbilt's Upbringing? The crowds outside the church were testament to the success of her strategy, although when Consuelo and her father arrived late for the ceremony, it was obvious that the bride had been crying. Your suggestions can be as general or specific as you like, from Life to Compact Cars and Trucks to A Subspecies of Capybara Called Hydrochoerus Isthmius. Well get our writers on it because we want to create articles on the topics youre interested in. During the course of her debutante season, shed met and fallen in love with the handsome Winthrop Rutherfurd, a young man of similaror even greaterNew York social standing as the Vanderbilts. But for once, Alva Vanderbilt got far more than she bargained for. A separation was one thing, but Consuelo and the duke wanted to go whole hog and file for divorce. Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? Lets just, The Truth Always Comes Out: Dark Family Secrets Exposed, Entrancing Facts About Madame de Pompadour, France's Most Powerful Mistress, Tragic Facts About Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIIIs First Wife, Sensational Facts About Louella Parsons, The Queen Of Hollywood Gossip, Swoon-Worthy Facts About Madame Manos, The Unrecognized Royal, Scandalous Facts About Catherine The Great, The Scarlet Empress, Lovestruck Facts About Elisabeth of Romania, The Boy Crazy Princess. Consuelo lived in Greenwich, Connecticut 06836, USA. Discover (and save!) In fact, she continued to feed information to the papers about everything from Consuelos gown to the gold fastenings on her undergarments in order to build public excitement in the lead up to the wedding. Consuelo not only had money and poise, but she also was known as a great beauty in her time. Consuelo therefore became the most prominent of the Dollar Princesses heiresses from the United States who married into aristocratic families from Europe; families whose titles and grand homes belied the fact that their fortunes had diminished over generations. And really, this was just a tiny sign of the deranged acts to come. See more ideas about vanderbilt, charles spencer, marlborough. While Consuelo had been no saint throughout the course of her marriage, the Duke of Marlborough certainly hadnt treated her properly, either. At Factinate, were dedicated to getting things right. 0 0 1 0 0 0 0. Consuelo is just one of nine American girls who make such a marriage in 1895. Cstoria ei cu Charles Spencer-Churchill, al 9-lea Duce de Marlborough a devenit o emblem internaional a cstoriilor . We want our readers to trust us. After learning of the proposal, Alva watches Consuelo like a hawk, intercepts her mail and refuses to allow Rutherfurd into the house.She sweeps Consuelo off to Europe and when Rutherfurd follows, Consuelo is forbidden to see him. Consuelo Vanderbilt was considered a great beauty, with a face compelling enough to cause the playwright Sir James Barrie, author of Peter Pan, to write, "I would stand all day in the street to see Consuelo Marlborough get into her carriage. Her marriage to the ninth Duke of Marlborough was an international emblem for . But it wasnt all good news. Consuelo Balsan (formal, Consuelo, Duces de Marlborough; nscut Consuelo Vanderbilt) ( 2 martie 1877 - 6 decembrie 1964 ), a fost membr proeminent a familiei americane Vanderbilt. The church was covered with flowers, and the bride wore a magical gown of cream satin with a five-foot-long train. Churchill frequently visited Consuelo in her chateau near Paris into the 1930s. In 1956, Consuelo got devastating news. As they traveled out for their vacation to Europe, Consuelo watched her new husband preen at all the congratulatory letters he was getting from other members of the nobility, including from Queen Victoria herself. Little did England know, Consuelo had more scandals up her sleeve. Consuelo Vanderbilt, born in New York in 1877, was the first child of William Kissam Vanderbilt (grandson of the Commodore, Cornelius Vanderbilt) and his first wife, Alva Erskine Smith. When they were married the duke was 23. Born in New York City, Consuelo Vanderbilt was the only daughter and eldest child of William Kissam Vanderbilt, a New York railroad millionaire, and his first wife, a Southern belle and budding suffragist Alva Erskine Smith (18531933, who later married Oliver Belmont) from Mobile, Alabama (a daughter of Murray Forbes Smith). Morgan Englund, singer/songwriter, born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. The best revenge might be living well, but that doesn't mean we can always turn the other cheek. By this point, Consuelo had given up on ever fully escaping her marriage, so she had to fall back on merely hurting her husband any way she knew how. It only took the honeymoon for it all to fall apart. But this American princess and million dollar duchess didnt get a happy endingshe got an utter nightmare. Consuelo Vanderbilt (1877-1964) was married to one of the Dukes of Marlborough (that made her the Duchess of Marlborough) and was Winston Churchill's cousin by marriage. She sailed to England as the Duchess of Marlborough in 1895 and took up residence in her new homeBlenheim Palace. On 6 November 1895 huge crowds gathered outside St. Thomass Episcopal Church at 5th Avenue and 53rd Street in Manhattan. Consuelos relationship with the Duke of Marlborough didnt last, but her friendship with his cousin Winston Churchill surprisingly managed to pass the test of time. The original 100-room Queen Anne-style wooden structure, completed in 1882, will burn to the ground in 1899 to be replaced by a more formal brick mansion. Estimate: $300,000-500,000. Just after her birthday, Consuelo committed her biggest act of rebellion yet. . In her autobiography, Consuelo Vanderbilt described how she was required to wear a steel rod, which ran down her spine and fastened around her waist and over her shoulders, to improve her posture. Thanks for your time! However, despite our best efforts, we sometimes miss the mark. [13] Alva made an astonishing recovery from her entirely phantom illness, and when the wedding took place, Consuelo stood at the altar reportedly weeping behind her veil. Mrs. Balsan, widow of Lieut. Her mother, Alva, was ambitious for her daughter's marriage prospects and named her after Consuelo Yznaga, a childhood friend. Still, she manages to escape the splendor occasionally to have some fun at a nearby farm. It would be nearly another 26 years before the two would finally marry in 1921 and Consuelo would find happiness with Jacques in France, and later in Southampton. W.K. At the time of his death in 1877, his fortune was valued at $100 million (equal to nearly $2.5 billion today, via the Official Data Foundation ), which was more money than was held in the U.S. Treasury at the time, according to Forbes. Join thousands of others and start your morning with our Fact Of The Day newsletter. John Singer Sargents portrait of the 9th Duke and Duchess of Marlborough and their two sons, painted in 1905. Picking her own wardrobe was also seen as the height of rebellion; when Consuelo once complained about the clothes her mother had chosen for her, Alva snapped back, Ido the thinking, you do as you are told. In her autobiography, The Glitter and the Gold, Consuelo Vanderbilt recalled her first sight of Crowhurst Place in Surrey.Separated from her husband,the 9 th Duke of Marlborough, exiled from Blenheim and living for most of the year in London, she was looking for a small house - small by Vanderbilt standards, anyway - not too far from town, and one summer day in 1910 she found it. She is a member of famous Actor with the age 87 years old group. From the beginning, Alva expected her daughter to be nothing short of perfect, and from a young age forced Consuelo to wear a steel rod along the length of her spine to improve her posture. From the day of Consuelos birth, Alva harbors the highest social goals for her only daughter, but as long as Consuelo remains a young girl, she is allowed some freedom to enjoy her very privileged surroundings. Please let us know if a fact weve published is inaccurate (or even if you just suspect its inaccurate) by reaching out to us at contribute@factinate.com. The day that Winthrop Rutherfurd made Consuelo Vanderbilt his fiance, the young girl was on the edge of heading out on a long European sojourn with her mother, ostensibly to broaden her horizons but really to catch her a husband with a title. Over the years, the bankrupted dynasty had had to sell off masses of furnishings and possessions, so that now the stately home was only a husk. Lady Paget, always short of money, soon became a sort of international marital agent, introducing eligible American heiresses to British noblemen.[10]. Her Spanish name was in honor of her godmother, Consuelo Yznaga (18531909), a half-Cuban, half-American socialite who created a social stir a year earlier when she married the fortune-hunting George, Viscount Mandeville, a union of Old World aristocracy and New World money that caused the groom's father, the 7th Duke of Manchester, to openly wonder if his son and heir had married a "Red Indian". [22] The Marlboroughs separated in 1906, divorced in 1921, and the marriage was annulled, at the duke's request and with Consuelo's assent, on 19 August 1926.[23]. As she walked down the aisle with her fatherwho Alva only allowed to come for the sake of appearances before he left immediately afterthe crowd turned to face her. [4] Her mother was abusive and whipped her with a riding crop for minor infractions. Smithsonian Channel 4.02M subscribers Subscribe 17K 2M views 8 years ago Tutored in several European languages for hours on end and. It would be nearly another 26 years before the two would finally marry in 1921 and Consuelo would find happiness with Jacques in France, and later in Southampton. Yet like so many of Consuelos romances, her dalliance with her old lover was going to go up in flames. Consuelo couldnt bear the thought of causing fatal stress to her mother, not even if it allowed her to keep Winthrop Rutherfurd. Guest and Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan, Facemasks required while inside any Museum building, 17 Meeting House Lane / PO Box 303, Southampton, NY 11968. Please submit feedback to contribute@factinate.com. Oh, and there was one more truly damning detail. So yes, our poor, naive Consuelo was being forced into marriage by a family who didnt know matrimonial happiness in the slightest. To make the break with her first marriage absolute, in 1927 Consuelo goes before an English tribunal of Catholic priests to ask for an annulment. Starting in late August of 1895, Alva Vanderbilt accepted the Duke of Marlborough as her guest as she had always planned and began drumming up publicity for the marriage between her daughter and a British peer. Isolated and utterly beaten down, Consuelo couldnt even get in touch with Winthrop to tell him what was going on. Instead, the exact opposite happened. Consuelo grew up a beauty, tall, slim, with a famously long neck captured in paintings, among them by Paul Csar Helleu, rumoured to be a lover of Consuelo during her unhappy marriage with the Duke. May 8, 2019 - Explore Marie's board "Consuelo Vanderbilt", followed by 236 people on Pinterest. As the most commanding mistress in the French court, she bettered the lives of many and became a beloved figure. In 1921, when the Duke marries Gladys there is finally a divorce and that same year, 27 years after that first encounter, Consuelo and Balsan are married--finally a marriage of love. small-scale classes for girls. Consuelo Vanderbilt was a willowy beauty of 17 when the 26-year-old Frenchman and future aviation pioneer, Jacques Balsan, first saw her and fell in love. The beautiful heiress to the massive Vanderbilt wealth, her future had shone like a diamond from the moment she was born. When we do, we depend on our loyal, helpful readers to point out how we can do better. Consuelo Vanderbilt Costin is a seventh generation descendent of shipping and railroad tycoon, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and great-great-great niece of Consuelo Vanderbilt, the Duchess of Marlborough. For one, William had long kept a mistress, Nellie Neustretter, and Alva was fed up. Consuelo Vanderbilt Print Family Tree Born 2 March 1877 - New York, NY Deceased 6 December 1964 - Southampton, Suffolk Co., NY,aged 87 years old Buried - St. Martin's Churchyard, Bladon, Oxfordshire, England 1 file available Parents William Kissam Vanderbilt 1849-1920 Alva Erskine Smith 1853-1933 Spouses, children and grandchildren Something terrifying was looming. Living out the next decade in Long Island, New York, she followed her husband and son into the grave on December 6, 1964, passing at the age of 87. Consuelo fit the bill: her father had come into a $50 million legacy, the equivalent of $1.3 billion today. The Balsans build a villa on the French Riviera but when the Nazis invade France, they are forced to make a daring escape through Spain to Portugal and eventually to the United States where they live the rest of their lives. Consuelo Vanderbilt Earl, a great-great-granddaughter of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, died on Monday, February 21, 2011 at her home at the age of 107. The eldest child and only daughter of the main Vanderbilt heir William and his wife Alva, Consuelo was all the hopes of the Gilded Age of America rolled into one. Privacy Policy, The former director of the Fricks personal collection is to be offered as a highlight of the Old Masters sale in New York, The legends of the sky god who lost an eye, the unborn child who was sewn into his fathers thigh, and more, The story of American heiress Consuelo Vanderbilts celebrity wedding in 1895 and a very personal portrait that she kept until her death, Paul Csar Helleu (French, 1859-1927), Consuelo Vanderbilt, Duchess of Marlborough, circa 1900. The thought of causing fatal stress to her mother, not even if it allowed her to keep Winthrop.... Matrimonial happiness in the slightest s Upbringing go up in flames, and! 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