Her Grace

Consuelo Montagu
Duchess of Manchester
TenureMarch 1890 - 18 August 1892
BornMaría Francisca de la Consolación "Consuelo" Yznaga
1853
New York City, New York (state), United States
Died20 November 1909
5 Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, London, England
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1876; died 1892)​
IssueThe 9th Duke of Manchester
Lady Jacqueline Montagu
Lady Alice Montagu
FatherAntonio Modesto Yznaga del Valle
MotherEllen Maria Clement

Consuelo Montagu, Duchess of Manchester (1853 – 20 November 1909), née María Francisca de la Consolación "Consuelo" Yznaga[1][2][3] (also spelled Iznaga by some sources[4]), was a Cuban American heiress who married George, Viscount Mandeville in 1876. She became the Duchess of Manchester when her husband succeeded to the dukedom in March 1890.

Family background

Portrait by John Singer Sargent, 1907

Consuelo Yznaga was born in 1853, in New York City,[5] the second of four children of diplomat Don Antonio Modesto Yznaga del Valle (b. Trinidad, Cuba, 28 December 1823; d. New York City, 28 May 1892) and Ellen Maria Clement of Ravenswood Plantation, Concordia Parish, Louisiana, Louisiana, (b. Upstate New York, 1833; d. Natchez, Mississippi, 24 January 1908), paternal granddaughter of José Antonio de Yznaga y Borrell (b. 1793) wife María Francisca del Valle y Castillo (b. 1796) and maternal granddaughter of the steamboat Captain and plantation owner Samuel Clement from Dutchess County, New York and Maria Augusta Little, daughter of William Little and wife Frances Boyd.[6] Her father was from a Cuban noble family that owned a large plantation, Torre Iznaga,[7] and sugar mills in the vicinity of Trinidad, Cuba; they had connections to several Spanish aristocratic families.

She grew up at Ravenswood Plantation[8] in Concordia Parish, which she later inherited. Her parents also acquired properties in New York and in Newport, Rhode Island.

Her sister, María de la Natividad "Natica" Yznaga, married Sir John Lister-Kaye (1853–1924) on 5 December 1881.[9] Her brother, Fernando Yznaga (1850–1901),[10] was married to Mary Virginia "Jennie" Smith, sister of Alva Belmont, Consuelo's childhood best friend.[11] Vanderbilt's daughter Consuelo Vanderbilt was her god-daughter and named after her.

Life and activities

In her teenage years, she became known on New York's social scene as one of the group known as the Buccaneers.[12][4] She was a renowned beauty, as were her sisters.[13]

The Duchess was a celebrated society figure, belonging to the intimate circle of Edward VII of the United Kingdom, formerly the Prince of Wales.[14] Shortly before her death, she entertained King Edward and Nicholas II, the Tsar of Russia, while the Tsar was on a visit to England.[15]

During her marriage, she engaged in charitable causes. Poverty was a cause that concerned her, and she was also interested in education and health.

Upon her brother's death in 1901, he left her $2 million[16] ($60 million in 2018 rate).[17]

Marriage and issue

In the autumn of 1875, she met George Montagu, Viscount Mandeville (1853–1892),[18] at her father's country home in Morristown, New Jersey.[19] On 22 May 1876, at Grace Church, Manhattan, she married Viscount Mandeville. Her dowry was $6 million (in 2018 rate).[17] After their marriage, they settled on Montagu's Irish estate, centered on Tandragee Castle in County Armagh.

They had one son and twin daughters:[20]

  • William Montagu, 9th Duke of Manchester (1877–1947), who married, firstly, Helena Zimmerman, in 1900, and had issue. They divorced in 1931, and later that same year, he married Kathleen Dawes (d. 1966), on 17 December 1931.
  • Lady Jacqueline Mary Alva Montagu, known as "May" (1879–1895),[21] who, although not diagnosed before she died, is commonly believed to have died of tuberculosis.
  • Lady Alice Eleanor Louise Montagu, known as "Nell" (1879–1900),[21] who died of consumption.[22]

Her fortune was soon lost to her husband's habits in less than ten years. Viscount Mandeville spent such a lot of cash on gambling and mistresses that his father the 7th Duke banished the couple to the family castle in Ireland until 1883.[17]

Death and legacy

The Duchess died of neuritis in Westminster on 20 November 1909. At her bedside upon her death were her sisters, Lady Lister-Kaye and Emily Yznaga.[19] Her estate, valued at $2,493,131 (an approximate value of $69 million in 2017 rates), was left to her various family members.[14]

On her death in 1909,[23] the Duchess bequeathed a ruby and diamond bracelet to her friend Queen Alexandra of Denmark.[24] The Manchester Tiara, created for the Duchess by Cartier in 1903, is now in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.[25] In 2007 the Manchester Tiara was accepted by the British government in lieu of inheritance tax following the death of the 12th Duke.[26] Her diamond and emerald necklace, originally bequeathed to her grandson Viscount Mandeville, was auctioned by Sotheby's in 2015.[27]

References

  1. ↑ "Consuelo (née Yznaga), Duchess of Manchester". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  2. ↑ Jardine, Cassandra (3 April 2007). "The Dollar Princess who changed history". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  3. ↑ "LORD MANDEVILLE'S WEDDING.;" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 12 July 2015., Retrieved 5 December 2012.
  4. 1 2 Ryan, Pat (19 January 2012). "For Edith Wharton's Birthday, Hail Ultimate Social Climbers". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  5. ↑ Some stated she was born at Ravenswood Plantation, Concordia Parish, Louisiana, Louisiana.
  6. ↑ Browning, C.H. (1883). "Americans of Royal Descent". Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  7. ↑ "Manacas Iznaga Tower-La Torre Manacas Iznaga". Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  8. ↑ Weiner, Robert. "Ravenswood Plantation". Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  9. ↑ "Marriage of Sir John Lister Kaye" (PDF). The New York Times. 6 December 1881. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  10. ↑ "Fernando Yznaga Dead" (PDF). The New York Times. 7 March 1901. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  11. ↑ "Alva Erskine Belmont (Smith)"., Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  12. ↑ Tintner, Adeline R. (1 January 1993). "Consuelo Vanderbilt and "The Buccaneers"". Edith Wharton Review. 10 (2): 15–19. JSTOR 43512827.
  13. ↑ Americans (1883). "Americans of Royal Descent". Retrieved 15 July 2015.
  14. 1 2 "Yznaga Fortune Passing to Heirs; Dowager Duchess of Manchester's Estate, Valued at $2,493,131, Before Surrogate Here". The New York Times. 2 July 1912. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  15. ↑ "Doweager Duchess Very Ill.; Consuelo of Manchester, Formerly Miss Yznaga, in a Critical State" (PDF). The New York Times. 18 November 1909. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  16. ↑ "Yznage Fortune Taxed.; Estate of Late Duchess of Manchester Must Pay $300,000 Legacy Duty". The New York Times. 13 February 1912. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  17. 1 2 3 Linge, Mary Kay (25 August 2018). "Rich American brides 'sold off' to foreign lords were miserable". New York Post. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  18. ↑ "Duke of Manchester Dead; Scion of a Family Noted Since the Norman Conquest. The Young Duke's Career in Eng- Land, Africa, and the United States -- His Marriage With Maria Consuelo Yznaga and His Subsequent Life -- the Succession". The New York Times. 19 August 1892. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  19. 1 2 "Duchess Consuelo Dead.; Widow of Duke of Manchester Had Neuritis--Former Miss Yznaga". The New York Times. 20 November 1909. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  20. ↑ "The Peerage". Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  21. 1 2 "Museum of the City of New York".
  22. ↑ "Lady Alice Motagu Dead.; Consumption Carries Off Noted English Beauty -- Her Mother Is the Duchess of Manchester". The New York Times. 11 January 1900. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  23. ↑ "Duchess Consuelo Dead". The New York Times. 20 November 1909. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
  24. ↑ "Bracelet Left to Queen". The New York Times. 21 December 1909. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  25. ↑ "Manchester Tiara". Victoria & Albert Museum.
  26. ↑ "Tiara of the Month: How the Manchester Tiara went from 'Dollar Princess' to the V&A's archives". Tatler. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  27. ↑ "necklace | sotheby's n09440lot8pvrmen". www.sothebys.com. Archived from the original on 9 May 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
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