Shortly after becoming the official lady of the house at Consuelos old home of Blenheim, Gladys painted a huge mural of her own sparkling green eyes on the front hall ceiling. Mrs. Balsan, widow of Lieut. On March 26, 1883, Alva hosts a masked ball for 1,000 guests to officially open her Fifth Avenue castle and confirm her triumph in entering the highest ranks of New York society. Consuelo and the Duke separated in 1906. His nickname, Sunny, was not given because it reflected his personality. Consuelo spent her remaining years living like a ghost of a bygone agewhich, in all honesty, she was. The entire time that they were in Europe, Alva had one man on her mind: Charles Richard John Spencer-Churchill, the ninth Duke of Marlborough. Consuelo couldnt bear the thought of causing fatal stress to her mother, not even if it allowed her to keep Winthrop Rutherfurd. Isolated and utterly beaten down, Consuelo couldnt even get in touch with Winthrop to tell him what was going on. Her Spanish name was in honor of her godmother, half-Cuban socialite Maria Consuelo Yznaga del Valle. [2] Smithsonian Channel 4.02M subscribers Subscribe 17K 2M views 8 years ago Tutored in several European languages for hours on end and. When they got home from the ball that night, Alva demanded Consuelo see her in her private chambers, ready to give her daughter a piece of her mind. From petty paybacks to insane acts of karma, these bitter people somehow found the most ingenious ways. Her mother, however, had her sights fixed firmly on the Duke. If it sounds like the lovers were in a hurry, its because they were. In fact, Churchill had been heir to the Duke of Marlborough until Consuelo and the Duke had their first son in 1897, and freed him to pursue a career in politics. Very difficult. It has remained true to its origins and stayed a private not-for-profit institution that still serves the Paris community. 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. With no alternative, Consuelo masters the difficulties of managing a household with scores of servants, dinners for royalty, elaborate hunting parties and balls. 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. Now that Consuelo has been molded into the perfect wife for a noble husband, Alva takes her to Europe and introduces her to many titled young men. At Factinate, were dedicated to getting things right. 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 was tall elegant with a long . 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 . Gladys Deacon, the newest young American heiress on the market, secured herself an invite to Blenheim one day and became fast friends with both the Duke of Marlborough and Consuelo. She was buried alongside her younger son, Lord Ivor Spencer-Churchill, in the churchyard at St Martin's Church, Bladon, Oxfordshire, England, near her former home, Blenheim Palace. Consuelo Vanderbilt, Mar 1877 - 6 Dec 1964 Credit Line National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; partial gift of Kathryn S. and John J.A. Consuelo Vanderbilt March 2, 1877 - December 6, 1964. High Style in the Gilded Age: Consuelo Vanderbilt, Consuelo, her brother Harold and Alva in Paris, c. 1895. 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. Easy. Oh, and there was one more truly damning detail. Still, Rutherfurd was no prince and no duke, and Consuelo was terrified of her mother finding out about their love. 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. Her youngest son, Lord Ivor Spencer-Churchill, developed a brain tumor, and his health quickly went downhill. In her teens, Consuelo is recognized as a great beauty. While she was with the Duke for just over a decade, she is best known for their loveless but socially advantageous marriage. Thats because she was far from faithful herselfand one of her first lovers was scandalous. Her second husband was the dashing French pilot and man about town Jacques Balsan, who was her lover in the days leading up to her official divorce. How do you think its going to go? Consuelos mother, Alva, had married William Kissam Vanderbilt, the richest of the very rich Vanderbilts, in 1875. 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. And then one day, they took it as far as they could. 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. Sure that her daughter would try to make a break for it with Winthrop the minute the opportunity arose, Alva controlled Consuelo in a chilling way. But, her parents had divorced in 1895 when Consuelo was only 18 and this drastically changed her fate. For a brief time, it looked like Consuelo was going to get her happy ever after at last with Rutherfurd; around the time of Ivors conception, Rutherfurd experienced a fit of passion and proposed that they elope together. Copyright 2023 by Factinate.com. Alva had gradually stripped Consuelo of all her independence. Historys most fascinating stories and darkest secrets, delivered to your inbox daily. A product of the 1960's and 70's, he is influenced by the music of the times. She was named for Consuelo Vanderbilt - this part is important later, Consuelo has carved out a life for herself separate from her family's heavy legacy as a singer and entrepreneur. As a well-known journalist and author, Cooper has a net worth of about $50 million, according to CelebrityNetWorth.com. . But the Duke had a dark side he was hiding from Consuelo. After their agonizing will-they, wont-they back and forth, she eventually did hook up with Winthrop Rutherfurd shortly after her marriage. When Consuelo got to Rutherfurds that day, he spoke some of the harshest words in the history of love. Well, they werent what you think. In 1894, Alva and William Vanderbilt separate, with unpleasant consequences for Consuelo. 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. Consuelo Vanderbilt was born on March 2, 1877 in New York City, New York, USA. It was about to get so much worse. Consuelo Vanderbilt was the richest American heiress to marry into British aristocracy. their appropriation quickly dissipated when it turned out that by the time william k. vanderbilt inherited the family fortune (his share enlarged considerably thanks to alva's clever manipulation of her father-in-law), willie ended up with 50 per cent of his father's residuary estate ($65 million) instead of the meagre $10 million earmarked for Churchill commiserates with Consuelos marital unhappiness and as Consuelo and the Duke grow further and further apart, Churchill is her ally in negotiating an official separation in 1906. By the time John Singer Sargent painted his famous portrait of their family in 1905 (below), the cracks had already long begun to show. William Vanderbilt finds another beneficiary for his indulgences early in the 1890s, when the newspapers reportthat he is in a scandalous liaisonwith another woman.At about the same time, Alva is observed flirting with Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont, usually called O.H.P. [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. For one, William had long kept a mistress, Nellie Neustretter, and Alva was fed up. In her desperation, Alva tells Consuelo there is madness in the Rutherfud family and that he cant have children. She was a woman of rare beauty and elegance, and all of six feet against Sunny's five feet seven inches. She stopped at nothing to keep pushing them together. Perfect for readers of Jennifer Robson and lovers of Downton Abbey. It is a scandal but the indomitable Alva survives socially while Consuelo makes the difficult adjustment to life at Blenheim, far from home in a house full of haughtyservants with a husband she does not love and who does not love her. Portrait of Consuelo Vanderbilt Earl, 1931. 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. 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." Col. Jacques. by Balsan, Consuelo Vanderbilt, 1877-1964. xiv, 338 p., 16 leaves of plates; 22 cm. SOUTHAMPTON, L. I., Dec, 6Mrs. Three Vanderbilt health care leadersAndr L. Churchwell, C. Buddy Creech and Consuelo H. Wilkinshave been recognized by the "Nashville Business Journal" with 2021 Health Care Innovation Awards. Estimate: $300,000-500,000. In 1906, Consuelo Vanderbilt stunned the world. He claimed that not only had he married her for her money, but he was also fully in love with another woman and had no intention of developing any kind of romance between the two of themexcept, that is, to produce an heir. The Duke is said to have collected $2.5 million (more than $25 million today), delivered in valuable railroad stock. Heartwarmingly enough, Balsam had been in love with Consuelo since her debutante days; hed fallen in love with her when he first saw her just before her 18th birthday. It was a grueling battle that required years in and out of courtrooms, even with both parties very sure they were doing what was best for them. Consuelo Vanderbilt Earl was born on month day 1903, at birth place, to William and Graham. May 8, 2019 - Explore Marie's board "Consuelo Vanderbilt", followed by 236 people on Pinterest. Inside, the cream of New York society (minus most of the Vanderbilts) watches the weeping bride approach the altar like a lamb to the slaughter. [28], Consuelo Balsan published her insightful but not entirely candid autobiography, The Glitter and the Gold, in 1953. For much of their 25-year marriage, the Marlboroughs lived separately and the marriage was finally annulled. [25], After the annulment of her marriage to the Duke of Marlborough, she still maintained ties with favorite Churchill relatives, particularly Winston Churchill. But this is no fairy tale. To say that Consuelo does not share her mothers enthusiasm is an understatement. 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. I knew that she was going to take it badly, but I had no idea about the insane lengths she would go to just to get revenge and mess with my life. When Consuelo was terrified of her mother, not even if it allowed her to keep Winthrop Rutherfurd after... 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how tall was consuelo vanderbilt