Me and my enquiring mind was at work again this week. I ran across an article the other day that caught my eye that you might find interesting as well. It happened around the turn of the century and centers around British royalty and American wealth.
The cash-strapped English noblemen found it very difficult to keep living in the luxury they’d been accustomed to. They struggled to maintain huge estates in the face of dwindling wealth that had always sustained them. They owned a lot of land and castles but had little capital. What were they to do? They looked across the pond to bright and shiny America and its new money.
It didn’t hurt that these rich Americans had beautiful unmarried daughters. Not at all.
It didn’t take long for deals to be struck – titles in exchange for money. A publication called Titled Americans listed eligible British bachelors who would be interested in marrying their own dollar princesses. Between 1870 and 1914 a whopping 454 American heiresses had married into the aristocracy.
Among the list was Consuelo Vanderbilt whose father was railroad tycoon William Vanderbilt. He provided a dowry of 1.6 million dollars as well as an income of two million in stocks. (Roughly $96,000,000 today) That was a lot of money. Against her wishes, Consuelo married Charles Spencer-Churchill. It was not a happy union. He was in love with another and promptly told her so. Despite that, she had an unhappy marriage, she gained a place in British society as Duchess of Marlborough and became a voice for women’s rights. After living apart for several years, they divorced and she married the love of her life, a French aviator named Jacques Balsan.
Jennie Jerome was another whose father sought a good marriage for. She married Lord Randolph Churchill and became Lady Churchill. They had a rocky marriage to start with but made a go of it and stayed together until he died. One of their sons was Winston Churchill. I never knew he had an American mother! Jennie threw herself into the marriage and played in influential role in her husband’s political career in addition to diving into women’s social issues.
I’ll mention one other. Nancy Langhorne who married Viscount Waldorf Astor. Nancy became a distinctive presence among British society and after her husband was elevated to the House of Lords, she ran for his seat in the House of Commons and became the first woman to occupy that seat for quite a few years.
This practice was actually reverse marriages of convenience but for the men.
Some marriages worked and some didn’t. Also, some resented the arrangement and never tried to make it work. The Americans and the Brits have always kind of been linked together. History is crammed packed with nuggets like this. I never get bored of diving in and seeing what I can find.
How about you? Do you find history as dull and boring as a piece of limp cheese? Or do the stories come alive in your mind and you want to know more?
Next month, I’ll have the release of my new western romance – Cade’s Quest. I can’t wait. Oh and my sister, Jan Sikes, who is also a writer will share my post on August 19th. We’ll have giveaways! It’ll be fun!
Cade McIntyre sets out to find his lost siblings and bring them home—only to discover danger at every turn…and an unexpected chance at love. But will he find heartache or hope?
This is available for preorder now. CLICK HERE
So, get ready for a party next month. Much love.
Linda Broday