(Socialite) Consuelo Vanderbilt was an American socialite from the Vanderbilt family who became the Duchess of Marlborough following her marriage to Charles Richard John Spencer-Churchill, the 9th Duke of Marlborough. The wedding, set for November 6, 1895, precipitates weeks of excited anticipation for nearly everyone but the heartbroken bride-to-be. says: Hugo Vickers. Consuelos course of instruction, supervised by her mother, has always bordered on cruelty. The argument carried on for hours, and Consuelo left, depleted and exhausted, with no clear path forward. If only this is what happened. except that we dont have the nasal bridge so tall. In the end, not even the day of Consuelos engagement to a duke was worthy of a fairy tale. Without Consuelos money his income would have been insufficient to maintain Blenheim Palace, let alone undertake the renovations he had in mind. During her perfect wedding, in front of some of the most influential people in the world, it was patently obvious that Consuelo had been crying. Its tracks stretched Vanderbilt's empire across the United States and gave him a monopoly for all rail service in and out of New York city. C.Z. In 1810 he purchased his first . No clan is left untouched, and even families that seem happy and normal on. The year of Consuelos engagement was also the year the Vanderbilt family publicly imploded. On the glittering surface, Consuelo Vanderbilt looked like she had it all. In her desperation, Alva tells Consuelo there is madness in the Rutherfud family and that he cant have children. 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. Consuelo Vanderbilt had no interest in the duke, being secretly engaged to an American, Winthrop Rutherfurd. But the Duke of Marlborough was really a snake in the grass. This wedding attracted widespread attention not simply because through it "American royalty" and old stock European royalty combined, but also because so much money was involved on the part of the bride. It was designed as a love nest by Maurice Fatio. Instead, the exact opposite happened. According to canon law, being married against ones will is the only valid claim for annulment and it falls on Alva to offer testimony in her daughters support. Later, Consuelos summers are spent at Newport in the colossal Marble House, a grandiose mansion, also designed by William Morris Hunt, and completed in 1892. "[8] Oxford undergraduate Guy Fortescue later described how he and his friends were captivated by her "piquante oval face perched upon a long slender neck, her enormous dark eyes fringed with curling lashes, her dimples, and her tiny teeth when she smiled. Alva invites Marlborough to visit Marble House, expecting him to propose to Consuelo. 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. There's something about the family structure that encourages secrets. "I forced my daughter to marry the duke", Alva Belmont told an investigator, adding: "I have always had absolute power over my daughter. High Style in the Gilded Age: Consuelo Vanderbilt, Consuelo, her brother Harold and Alva in Paris, c. 1895. It has remained true to its origins and stayed a private not-for-profit institution that still serves the Paris community. Consuelo Vanderbilt married the 9th Duke of Marlborough at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, New York City, on November 6, 1895. [9], Determined to secure the highest-ranking mate possible for her only daughter, a union that would emphasize the preeminence of the Vanderbilt family in New York society, Alva Vanderbilt engineered a meeting between Consuelo and the indebted, titled Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough, chatelain of Blenheim Palace. Thanks for your help! How do you think its going to go? Soap Opera Digest: After you left GL in 1995, aside from Dylan's occasional visits, you kind of dropped off the acting map. 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. And while Consuelo managed to escape Prince Franciss proposal, she wouldnt be so lucky with the next one. For much of their 25-year marriage, the Marlboroughs lived separately and the marriage was finally annulled. 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. But this American princess and "million dollar duchess" didn't get a happy endingshe got an utter nightmare. In her teens, Consuelo is recognized as a great beauty. The story explored an arranged marriage, Costin said, and looked at the societal pressures and family positioning that had plagued Vanderbilt women of the past, dating back to Consuelo Vanderbilt's marriage to the Duke of Marlborough at the end of the nineteenth century. 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? It was a total nightmare. For another, she was one of the wealthiest young women in the United. Consuelo Vanderbilt Earl was born on month day 1903, at birth place, to William and Graham. But unlike Consuelo, his second marriage was far from blissful. 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. It is often said that the Dukes nickname, Sunny, was not given because it reflected his personality, but was simply taken from his first courtesy title, the Earl of Sunderland. Pronunciation of consuelo with 2 audio pronunciations. She wasnt. But before she could do anything about it, her mother went to horrific new lows. The fallout was unimaginable. Before joining the team, she worked as a course lecturer while completing her Ph.D. in English Literature. Her first marriage produced two sons, John Spencer-Churchill, the 10th duke, and Lord Ivor Spencer-Churchill. When the infamous Vanderbilt divorce officially went through, high society couldnt help gossiping about what was going on. 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. July 5, 2017 11:41AM. Except there was just one incredibly shocking thing. Mere weeks after her divorce came through, Consuelo had a huge deja-vu. Soon enough, she gave birth to a son, John Spencer-Churchill. It wasnt long before Gladys had completely supplanted Consuelo at Blenheim, and she and the duke struck up a torrid affair that lasted over a decade. Paul Csar Helleu (French, 1859-1927), Consuelo Vanderbilt, Duchess of Marlborough, circa 1900. The Duke needs all the money he can get. It was about to get so much worse. But the Duke had a dark side he was hiding from Consuelo. By the way I loved the Article. Slowed down footage to a natural rate and added. Consuelo Vanderbilt, Mar 1877 - 6 Dec 1964 Credit Line National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; partial gift of Kathryn S. and John J.A. 1956 was a horrific year for Consuelo. My mom never told me how her best friend died. 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. In a story with a happy ending, this would be where the heiress got her hearts desire and married the man of her dreams despite her mothers objections. She actually locked her up in her room, like a princess in a tower, and told any friends who visited that Consuelo wasnt at home. 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. Once, while Marlborough was away fighting in the Boer War, Consuelo took up with his cousin Freddie Guestwho was, in fact, staying at Blenheim as a guest. 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. As the most commanding mistress in the French court, she bettered the lives of many and became a beloved figure. Why was this beauty unfortunate? 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. Consuelo found him to be cold, snobbish, and image-obsessed. Music lessons and an hour of exercise in Central Park fill out the day. And really, this was just a tiny sign of the deranged acts to come. Morgan Englund, singer/songwriter, born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. She loves the time spent there with her warm-hearted but seldom available father, but even the normally unbending Alva loosens up a bit at Idle Hour. From petty paybacks to insane acts of karma, these bitter people somehow found the most ingenious ways. Consuelo couldnt bear the thought of causing fatal stress to her mother, not even if it allowed her to keep Winthrop Rutherfurd. Consuelo Vanderbilt around 1910. 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". 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. Except her mother was just getting started. The only daughter of railroad millionaire William Vanderbilt and his formidable wife Alva, Consuelo was pre-destined to marry into the British aristocracy like her godmother Consuleo Yznaga who had married the heir to the 7 th Duke of Manchester. In 1886 William Vanderbilt inherited $65 million on the death of his father. 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. His lyrics speak to the heart through . 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. This was the very definition of a mercenary marriage both Consuelo and the Duke were in love with other people. Her defiance of her mother had caused Alva to have a heart attack, and the matriarch was currently clinging to life in her bedroom. Via/ Wiki Commons. The Dukes of Marlborough had a storied history, and Alvawho had secured Consuelo an introduction to the noble at a dinner party on their tripwas foaming at the bit for Consuelo to be a part of that history. Her Spanish name was in honor of her godmother, half-Cuban socialite Maria Consuelo Yznaga del Valle. 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