Still, Rutherfurd was no prince and no duke, and Consuelo was terrified of her mother finding out about their love. Pastel on canvas. In 1954, they begin summering in Southampton in the shingled cottage on Ox Pasture Road variously known as Gardenside and Cara Mia. But this American princess and million dollar duchess didnt get a happy endingshe got an utter nightmare. 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. She had not settled on a particular aristocrat until the Vanderbilts visited Lord and Lady Lansdowne, who was the Duke of Marlboroughs aunt, in Calcutta in late 1893. Consuelo lived in Greenwich, Connecticut 06836, USA. The separation is made easier, no doubt, thanks to the Dukes romance with Gladys Deacon, a celebrated beauty with a sordid background: her father murdered her mother. He has scandalized his family by abandoning his first wife on their honeymoon to travel with a French dancer. Cornelius Vanderbilt, byname Commodore Vanderbilt, (born May 27, 1794, Port Richmond, Staten Island, New York, U.S.died January 4, 1877, New York, New York), American shipping and railroad magnate who acquired a personal fortune of more than $100 million. In 1886 William Vanderbilt inherited $65 million on the death of his father. Her youngest son, Lord Ivor Spencer-Churchill, developed a brain tumor, and his health quickly went downhill. 56 x 38 in (144 x 97.5 cm). When Consuelo got to Rutherfurds that day, he spoke some of the harshest words in the history of love. Slowed down footage to a natural rate and added. Blenheim Palace, his monumental 300-year-old residence in Oxfordshire, is in terrible shape, ready to devour Consuelos dowry in restoration expenses. Later in her life, Consuelo wrote (with the help of a ghostwriter) her autobiography The Glitter and the Gold, where her life with the Duke of Marlborough was the glitter, with all its hollow opulence, and her time with Balsan was the true gold. In a twist on a historical theme, the duke was fortune-hunting herand her mother Alva couldnt be happier. Two governesses, one German, one French, have her reading both languages by the age of eight. Consuelo Vanderbilt was born on March 2, 1877 in New York City, New York, USA. The Vanderbilt family fortune was once equal to $185 billion. For her part, Consuelo was given little opportunity to express her own opinion on the matter. Charles Richard John Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough, KG, TD, PC (13 November 1871 - 30 June 1934), styled Earl of Sunderland until 1883 and Marquess of Blandford between 1883 and 1892, was a British soldier and Conservative politician, and a close friend of his first cousin Winston Churchill.He was often known as "Sunny" Marlborough after his courtesy title of Earl of Sunderland. November 28, 2009 at 2:48 AM . In marrying the Duke, Consuelo became the cousin of Winston Churchill, who would remain a dear friend and confidant to her throughout her life. Except her mother was just getting started. 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. C.Z. Thats because she was far from faithful herselfand one of her first lovers was scandalous. by Balsan, Consuelo Vanderbilt, 1877-1964. xiv, 338 p., 16 leaves of plates; 22 cm. The dream home of 26,000 square feet is called Casa Alva, in honor of her mother. 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. But for once, Alva Vanderbilt got far more than she bargained for. 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. Thanks for your time! Consuelo Vanderbilt was young, beautiful, and heir to a vast fortune. He and Consuelo manage to find time with each other, despite Alvas fixation on a European crown for her daughter, and during a bicycle excursion on Riverside Drive, Winthrop proposes and Consuelo accepts. Is Consuelo Vanderbilt still alive? Many recognize the wedding for what it is: an especially prominent example of dollars for dukes, a craze among rich Americans for forging marital ties with titled but impecunious peers of the realm. 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. But this American princess and "million dollar duchess" didn't get a happy endingshe got an utter nightmare. Consuelos mother Alva was one of the great battle-axes in history, and she was determined to force old money New York families like the Astors to accept the Vanderbilt name into their ranks, despite its brutish nouveau riche associations. Unfortunately for the poor girl, Consuelo was utterly beautiful as a young woman. Consuelo V Earl in U.S. Social Security Death Index (SSDI) Consuelo V Earl was born on November 23 1903. 56x 38in (144 x 97.5 cm). except that we dont have the nasal bridge so tall. While Consuelos tycoon father William was no saint in the boardroom or the bedroom, there was a much naughtier secret at play. The family lived in an elaborate, castle-like home on . While Consuelo had been no saint throughout the course of her marriage, the Duke of Marlborough certainly hadnt treated her properly, either. 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. At Factinate, were dedicated to getting things right. 161 likes. Dancy Mason is the Editor-in-Chief at Factinate. Historys most fascinating stories and darkest secrets, delivered to your inbox daily. While she was with the Duke for just over a decade, she is best known for their loveless but socially advantageous marriage. While Alva planned out her daughters titles and nuptials, Consuelo had a much different idea for a groom. As a well-known journalist and author, Cooper has a net worth of about $50 million, according to CelebrityNetWorth.com. The dream home of 26,000 square feet is called Casa Alva, in honour of her mother. Consuelo spent months soaking up European hospitality, going to tea party after tea party and meeting prince after duke. But, her parents had divorced in 1895 when Consuelo was only 18 and this drastically changed her fate. Belmont. 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". 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. William Morris Hunt pulled out all the stops on this extravagant showplace designed to allow Alva to display her wealth and high-end francophilia to the world. Laced into a wedding gown her mother had chosen before her engagement and walking beside bridesmaids her mother had hand-picked, Consuelo entered the church to marry the man her mother had insisted on. A decade older than Consuelo, Balsam had been nearing his 30s at the time he first ogled the teenager. Consuelo Vanderbilt Earl, the last surviving child of William K. Vanderbilt II, builder of the Eagle's Nest estate in Centerport where she spent summers growing up, has died. Consuelo found him to be cold, snobbish, and image-obsessed. While Consuelo danced with Winthrop, her eagle-eyed mother watched from the sidelines. His depiction of the 23-year-old Duchess, a ribbon emphasising the long neck for which she was so famous, staring off into the distance with a brightness and intelligence to her eyes, must be as close as we can get to knowing how Consuelo would have wanted to portray herself. At the time, Winston, as she later described him, was the life and soul of the young and brilliant circle that gathered round him at BlenheimWhether it was his American blood or his boyish enthusiasm and spontaneity, qualities sadly lacking in my husband, I delighted in his companionship.. W.K. Mrs. Earl was a long-time resident of Ridgefield, CT. Commodore Vanderbilt was an American financier who. And Winthrop Rutherfurd, a young man with an impeccable pedigree and considered the handsomest bachelor in New York society, is in love with her. Consuelo and the Duke separated in 1906. Thanks for your help! Behind the scenes, everything was falling apart. (9 votes) Very easy. Paul Csar Helleusportrait of Consuelo, offered in the 19th Century European Art sale in New York on 26 October, was executed during the artists visit to Blenheim Palace in the spring of 1900. She stopped at nothing to keep pushing them together. This leads to the uncomfortable truth: The true urgency for the divorce was a betrayal of the first order. It was ghostwritten by Stuart Preston, an American writer who was an art critic for The New York Times. The church was covered with flowers, and the bride wore a magical gown of cream satin with a five-foot-long train. 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. Consuelos course of instruction, supervised by her mother, has always bordered on cruelty. It was only when Alva Vanderbilt claimed that her health was being seriously and irretrievably undermined by Consuelo's stubbornness and appeared to be at death's door that the malleable girl acquiesced. She allows Consuelo and her siblings to take over an old bowling alley on the property as a playhouse, but insists the children do all the housework themselves, even the cooking. Charles was such a rake that he would often send Consuelo love letters with missives to his other girlfriends attached, along with a request that she kindly forward them along. CONSUELO VANDERBILT BALSAN (1877-1964) - THE PAWN 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. Karen Harper tells the tale of Consuelo Vanderbilt, her "The Wedding of the Century" to the Duke of Marlborough, and her quest to find meaning behind "the glitter and the gold." She died in Southampton and buried in St Martin's Church . Instead, Rutherfurd dealt her a heartless betrayal. "I forced my daughter to marry the duke", Alva Belmont told an investigator, adding: "I have always had absolute power over my daughter. 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. Although Consuelo sold the house in 1957, it still exists. If it sounds like the lovers were in a hurry, its because they were. No clan is left untouched, and even families that seem happy and normal on. This work is offered in the 19th-Century European Art sale on 26 October at Christies in New York. 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 Browse 868 consuelo vanderbilt stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. A reviewer in the same paper called it "an ideal epitaph of the age of elegance. No, she died on 12/06/1964, 58 years ago. Even worse, she had to stifle mournful sobs throughout the ceremony. Still, when it comes to Consuelos bedroom life, thats just the beginning. She had transformed into, of all things, a vehement suffragette. Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? With no alternative, Consuelo masters the difficulties of managing a household with scores of servants, dinners for royalty, elaborate hunting parties and balls. Smithsonian Channel 4.02M subscribers Subscribe 17K 2M views 8 years ago Tutored in several European languages for hours on end and. She Was A Golden Child Advertisement They simply didnt believe Alva would have given up her hard-won position for Oliver Belmont or anyone else. 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. Col. Jacques. Consuelo Vanderbilt Height, Weight & Measurements At 87 years old, Consuelo Vanderbilt height not available right now. Thats because before she had an heir with the Duke of Marlborough, none other than his cousin Winston Churchill was next in line to inherit Blenheim. Her first marriage to the 9th Duke of Marlborough has become a well-known example of one of the advantageous, but loveless, marriages common during the Gilded Age; as such, she was known as one of the earliest dollar princesses. NEW YORK Sir Winston Churchill's mother was one of the liveliest and most controversial women of her time. Though largely embarked upon as a way to facilitate the Anglican duke's desire to convert to Roman Catholicism, the annulment, to the surprise of many, also was fully supported by the former duchess's mother, who testified that the VanderbiltMarlborough marriage had been an act of unmistakable coercion. Consuelo fit the bill: her father had come into a $50 million legacy, the equivalent of $1.3 billion today. 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. In the span of two months, Consuelo had lost two of the people she loved the most, and she was well and truly alone for the first time in her life. 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. When Consuelo a docile teenager whose only notable characteristic at the time was abject obedience to her fearsome mother made plans to elope, she was locked in her room as Alva threatened to murder Rutherfurd. Via/ Wiki Commons. Her mothers reaction was chilling. It was designed as a love nest by Maurice Fatio. Moving in the same circles as the dashing Jacques Balsan, over the years, Consuelo has often been in the presence of the man who first fell in love with her when she was the unattainable pawn in her mothers marital maneuvers. [1] The Duke obtained a large dowry by the marriage, and reportedly told her just after the marriage that he married her in order to "save Blenheim Palace", his ancestral home.[2]. July 5, 2017 11:41AM. The Duke of Marlborough, Savior of Blenheim Palace, Has Died at Age 88 By James Reginato October 18, 2014 Standing six feet and five inches tall, John George Vanderbilt Henry. Consuelo had, in fact, been secretly engaged to someone else before accepting the Dukes proposal she was persuaded to break the engagement by her mother, who claimed it had caused her to suffer a near-fatal heart attack. In Balsan the flame has reignited and Consuelo is smitten. Why was this beauty unfortunate? 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. Consuelo Vanderbilt was one of the most famous heiresses in U.S. history. Get the best stories from Christies.com in a weekly email, *We will never sell or rent your information. Vanderbilt inherited a boatload of family money and took control of the Vanderbilt railroad empire. . Although the teenage Consuelo was opposed to the marriage arranged by her mother, she became a popular and influential Duchess. Almost as soon as she heard about her daughters broken engagement, Alva miraculously recovered from her deathbed, though not enough to treat Consuelo with any warmth in the coming weeks. consuelo vanderbilt and winston churchill. She overcomes much initial suspicion and becomes a popular figure in England. She refers to it as her fathers house, the place where she spends the early summers and autumn months of her childhood crabbing, fishing in the Connetquot River, and learning to sail. This work is offered in the 19th-Century European Art sale on 26 October at Christie's in New York Alva Vanderbilt got her wish, and Consuelo and the Duke became engaged in September of 1895. Doctors werent able to operate on it, so Consuelo had to watch as her baby deteriorated and then passed that September at just 57 years old. [2] Catching Up With Morgan Englund. While Balsan was being lionized as a hero, Consuelo was enduring a loveless marriage and lonely exile as the wife of a foppish English peer of the realm. When the infamous Vanderbilt divorce officially went through, high society couldnt help gossiping about what was going on. She did, however, get one last tragic chance with him. She quickly swooped in to separate the pair as soon as possible, foiling any plans they might have made. Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, Extravagant Facts About Barbara Hutton, The Poor Little Rich Girl, These Stories Of Unforgettable Close Calls Made Our Jaws Drop, Grandiose Facts About Marie Antoinette, The Doomed Queen, Bloody Facts About Ivan the Terrible, The Mad Tsar Of Russia, These Eerie Supernatural Experiences Sent A Chill Down Our Spines, Catherine The Great Was a Mighty EmpressUntil Her Brutal Downfall. In truth, Alva had known about his mistress Nellie Neustretter for years. There's something about the family structure that encourages secrets. Her father soon started to spend the family fortune, enthusiastically supported by Consuelo's mother, Alva, who was determined to take the family to the top of New York societyforcing a heartbroken Consuelo into a marriage she did not want with the underfunded . Alva invites Marlborough to visit Marble House, expecting him to propose to Consuelo. When the day arrives, 300 policemen line the street in front of St. Thomas Church where thousands of spectators have gathered. In fact, she and Balsan went way back. In 1898, Consuelo gave birth to another son, Lord Ivor Spencer-Churchill, fully completing her duty by providing her husband withas she often wryly quippedan heir and a spare. Alva, having satisfied her own social ambitions as a Vanderbilt, is able now to turn her laser focus on marrying Consuelo into the highest European society. Daughter of Alva Vanderbilt. Paid Notice: Deaths EARL, CONSUELO VANDERBILT Published: February 27, 2011 EARL--Consuelo Vanderbilt, a great-great-granddaughter of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, died on February 21, 2011, at the age of 107. It all started, perhaps, with a high society invitation. Aliases: Consuelo, Duchess of Marlborough; Winston Churchill's BFF. She married Charles Richard John Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough (1871-1934) 6 November 1896 in St . She was the only daughter of railroad millionaire William Kissam Vanderbilt and his wife, southern belle and suffragist Alva Erskine Smith.
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