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. I therefore did not beg, but ordered her to marry the Duke.. Mrs. Earl was a long-time resident of Ridgefield, CT. Commodore Vanderbilt was an American financier who. Family (1) Trivia (6) Great-granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt. CONSUELO VANDERBILT BALSAN (1877-1964) - THE PAWN. eugeniagaravani. Vanderbilt inherited a boatload of family money and took control of the Vanderbilt railroad empire. [3] When, as a teenager, Consuelo objected to the clothing her mother had selected for her, Alva told her that [24] Jacques Balsan died in 1956 at the age of 88. A separation was one thing, but Consuelo and the duke wanted to go whole hog and file for divorce. Catching Up With Morgan Englund. When Consuelo got to Rutherfurds that day, he spoke some of the harshest words in the history of love. She married Charles Richard John Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough (1871-1934) 6 November 1896 in St . 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. says: Hugo Vickers. Very difficult. The party is said to have cost her indulgent husband $3 million. It only took the honeymoon for it all to fall apart. [12] Still she refused. In 1894, Alva and William Vanderbilt separate, with unpleasant consequences for Consuelo. 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. Pronunciation of consuelo with 2 audio pronunciations. On the stand, Alva confessed that I have always had absolute power over my daughter and she admitted she forced Consuelo into the union, begging the judge to grant the divorce for a marriage that had so obviously happened under duress. [4] Her mother was abusive and whipped her with a riding crop for minor infractions. They were blissfully happy together, with Balsan doting on his wife. One of the naughty Spencer-Churchill cousins was Charles, Viscount Castlereagh, and he was more of a piece of work than the Duke of Marlborough himself. It was ghostwritten by Stuart Preston, an American writer who was an art critic for The New York Times. Consuelo Vanderbilt around 1910. 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. But, her parents had divorced in 1895 when Consuelo was only 18 and this drastically changed her fate. Consuelo Vanderbilt had no interest in the duke, being secretly engaged to an American, Winthrop Rutherfurd. 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. 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. But the Duke had a dark side he was hiding from Consuelo. The argument carried on for hours, and Consuelo left, depleted and exhausted, with no clear path forward. 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. Located not far from London, Crowhurst becomes the scene of many happy gatherings with friends who arrive from the city for the weekend houseparties. (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. 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. Consuelo found the Duke cold, snobbish and image-obsessed. He reportedly accumulated a $100 million fortune by the. Gladys not only bred Blenheim Spanielsa hobby her husband detestedjust to spite the duke, she also reportedly kept a gun in her bedroom to prevent him from ever entering (this kind of thing seemed to happen to Marlborough a lot). 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. November 28, 2009 at 2:48 AM . To say that Consuelo does not share her mothers enthusiasm is an understatement. May 8, 2019 - Explore Marie's board "Consuelo Vanderbilt", followed by 236 people on Pinterest. Morgan Englund . Family Her mother is Alva Belmont and her father is William Kissam Vanderbilt I . 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. "[9] She came to embody the "slim, tight look" that was in vogue during the Edwardian era. The very next day, Consuelo rushed to the arms of her lover, hopeful that her whole future was before her. This work is offered in the 19th-Century European Art sale on 26 October at Christies in New York. 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. 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. Nevertheless, by all accounts, Consuelo acquits herself well as the Duchess of Marlborough. The Duke of Marlborough hadnt been kidding when he said Blenheim needed saving. At the time Consuelo Vanderbilt married the 9th Duke of Marlborough in 1895, she was worth an estimated $4 billion in today's money. After their agonizing will-they, wont-they back and forth, she eventually did hook up with Winthrop Rutherfurd shortly after her marriage. Indeed, Consuelo was set to leave the very next day. And then one day, they took it as far as they could. Nonetheless, she was the Duchess of Marlborough now, and she laid back and thought of America. It was only a matter of time before it spiraled. Travel is her escape, Paris her favorite destination, and there she is often able to enjoy the company of her exuberant father. When Consuelo married into the Spencer-Churchill family, she inadvertently changed the course of history. Consuelo Vanderbilt was born on March 2, 1877 in New York City, New York, USA. 1. Consuelo found him to be cold, snobbish, and image-obsessed. It is managed by the Fondation mdicale Franco-amricaine du Mont-Valrien, commonly called Foundation Foch. He has scandalized his family by abandoning his first wife on their honeymoon to travel with a French dancer. 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 1954, they begin summering in Southampton in the shingled cottage on Ox Pasture Road variously known as Gardenside and Cara Mia. He too married his mistress, Gladys Deacon, just weeks after the divorce. Alva invites Marlborough to visit Marble House, expecting him to propose to Consuelo. Portrait of Consuelo Vanderbilt Earl, 1931. Consuelo was described as having a " piquante oval face perched upon a long slender neckenormous dark eyes fringed with curling lashes". During the inter-war period, she and Winaretta Singer-Polignac (the Princess de Polignac and Singer Sewing Machine heiress) worked together in the construction of a 360-bed hospital destined to provide medical care to middle class workers. 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. And as Consuelo grew up, an enormous problem began developing. How do you think its going to go? He was inoffensively and blandly handsome, and she thought he was somewhat smart and somewhat nice, but not much more. 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. "[29], Consuelo Balsan died at Southampton, Long Island, New York, on December 6, 1964. They simply didnt believe Alva would have given up her hard-won position for Oliver Belmont or anyone else. The Duke needs all the money he can get. 3 /5. 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. [15] Consuelo's father built a mansion for her in London, Sunderland House in Curzon Street. Without Consuelos money his income would have been insufficient to maintain Blenheim Palace, let alone undertake the renovations he had in mind. July 27, 2021. Many believed Ivor was actually Winthrop Rutherfurds son, given that the boy had very little resemblance to either the duke or his older brother. Consuelo Vanderbilt, Mar 1877 - 6 Dec 1964 Credit Line National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; partial gift of Kathryn S. and John J.A. Mere weeks after her divorce came through, Consuelo had a huge deja-vu. 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