The English Duchesses

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLV, Issue 26, 28 December 1910, Page 42

The English Duchesses

THE TWENTY-ONE PEERESSES WHO STAND AT THE HEAD OF BRITISH SOCIETY, SECOND ONLY TO THE ROYAL FAMILY.

By

RALPH D. BLUMENFELD.

THERE are in all thirty-one dukes in the British peerage. Most of the British duchesses are what they should l>e, considering their state —leaders of society in every sense of the term. This may be a democratic and iconoclastic age, but the ducal title has not lost its power and its charm. The dukes are still fereat territorial magnates, living in magnificent castles filled with artistic treasures, and each in his district is ,viewe<l in the light of a petty king. It is to the duchesses that the lesser lights tof the community look for social influence ami guidance.

Two of the duchesses are of royal birth—the Duchess of Fife, the late King Edward's eldest daughter, Princess Royal of Great Britain, and the Duchess of '.Argyll, Princess Louise, the king’s sister, i The former lady is chiefly noted for her intense dislike of notoriety. 1 have often seen her at the theatre, modestly retiring behind the curtain of her box* for fear that she might attract attention; ami I understand that when she is in Scotland, where the Fifes are of considerably more importance than in England, she is still more reserved. It is Baid that her sisters call her. "her royal shyness.” Another nickname among her immediate relations is ‘’Mrs. Duff’—Duff being her husband's family name. She cares little for social life in London, or even for the country-house visiting to which English society devotes so much of its time. When in town she resides in prosaic and old fashioned Portman Square, and does very little en-

tertaining, as she prefers the children's part of her mansion to the more or less dubious attractions of the drawing-room. Every winter she goes to Brighton, where she also lives very quietly, chiefly for the benefit of her two little girls. Certain genealogists—either very careless or excessively ingenious ones—have thrust upon the Duke of Fife the distinction of being a direct descendant cf Shakespeare’s Macbeth. As a matter of fact, his is the only British dukedom which is of no lineage paternally. His grandfather was a tradesman in Scotland. but on his maternal side he is descended from William IV., just as the

Dukes of Richmond, Bueeleuch, anil Grafton are descended from Charles 11. Unlike the Princess Royal, her aunt, the Duchess of Argyll, is here, there, ami everywhere. She is a sculptor, a novelist, and a philanthropist, as well ns the late King Edward's favourite sister. Her husband is a poet and litterateur of studious tastes and quiet temperament, amt would probably be very little in evidence were it not for his pushing «1 nd energetic wife, who sees to it that every ounce of kudos due to a royal prinetss comes to her and her spouse in their position in the peerage. Before his father’s death, when he bore the courtesy title of Marquis of Lome, he served as governor general in Canada, and sit in'the House of Commons for live year*. He ow ns great-hereditary estates in th • Highlands, but is not a very rich ma.. He and his wife divide their time between Roseneath, in Scotland, and their 1 ondon quarters in Kensington Fi.laee —tho

palace in which Queen Victoria was born. 'The duchess has a reputation as a delightful hostess, cheerful and genial. She has no children, and the heir to the Argyll title is the duke's brother, Lord Archibald Campbell. The stateliest dame of all the stately women at court is undoubtedly her grace the Duchess of Bueeleuch —pronounced “Buc-clew,” with the accent on the second sellable.

The duties of the mistress of the robes —a position which she holds—are more or less nominal, though she is supposed to have authority over the host of highborn ladies who surround the queen in the capacity of maids of honour, bedchamber women, and ladies-in-waiting.

She has official charge of her majesty’s wardrobe, and at coronation time is called upon to robe and disrobe the queen—which means that she merely! touches the garments with her fingers* while a servant does the rest. It is she, too, who pins the crown upon the head of her royal mistress. Also, being officially a member of the government, she gives. a dinner to her male colleagues, the king's ministers, once a year, on the night preceding the opening of Parliament; and whenever there is a draw-ing-room or a court, you may see her immediatly behind the queen. The Duchess of Bueeleuch is one of the “Hungry Hamiltons,'’ a nickname given to the Duke of Abeyeprn s

family because they fill so many public offices, and still seem ready to sacrifice themselves by accepting others. Her father, the first Duke of Abercorn, had a large family, and she and her sisters all married men of great position. One of them is Lady Lansdowne; another, Lady jilandford, the mother of the Duke of Marlborough: and still another is Lady Winterton. She herself was married as long ago as 1859 to the then Lord Dalkeith, who in due course of time succeeded his father as Duke of Buccleuch and came into possession of something like three hundred thousand pounds a year. With so ample a purse to draw upon, the duchess is a brilliant entertainer. Each season, at her London residence— Montagu House. in Whitehall —she gives many dinners, two or three large balls, and several garden parties. Invitations to her functions are sought with ns much avidity as are those for court ceremonials. Her diamonds are price-

less, and her horses are among the finest in the park. The social aspirant who incurs the displeasure of this austere and powerful lady may as well consider himself out of the running. Eifiy-four years ago a pretty German noble, the Count von Alten, a member of the Hanoverian legation, clicked his heels together and bowed low as he presented his daughter to the English court. A tall, fair-haired, beautiful girl, Louisa {Frederica Augusta von Alton nt once became the rage in London society; and in the following year she was married to Viscount Mandeville, afterwards seventh Duke of Manchester, and grandfather of the present duke. During all her married life as Duchess of Manchester she wns Admired from afar by the Marquis of Hartington, now Duke of Devonshire, svho, it will be remembered, was persistently called ‘•Partington” by President JLincoln during his memorable visit to the United States. Lord Hartington retnalned a bachelor, and the two great families <rf Montagu and Chvendish, yvhich had many affiliations, maintained *n unbroken friendship until the death of the old Duke of Manchester in 1890.

Then gossip began to spread the report that Ix>rd Hartington would soon wed the friend of his youth, although she was well on the shady side of fifty, and a year older than the marquis himself. But it was not until two years later, when lie had succeeded to the dukedom of Devonshire, that he led the erstwhile Hanoverian countess to the alter, and converted her from a dowager duchess into a duchess again, thus giving ris n to the nickname by whieh she has since been known—the Double Duchess. The distinction of being the greatest lady in London lies between the Duchess of Buccleuch and her grace of Devonshire. To be mistress of Devonshire House, with its traditions, its magnificence,' its wealth, brings with it a commanding position in English society. The duchess, whose looks and energy belie her age. finds her chief interest in the management of her various great establishments —for she is not only mistress of Devonshire House, but of Chatsworth and Hardwieke in Derbyshire, of Bolton Abbey in Yorkshire, of Compton Plane

at Eastbourne, and of Lismore Castle in Ireland. In spite of her long residence in London, she speaks with a perceptible German accent, and when she is agitated it is particularly marked. Wherever she is known, she is beloved as a constant friend, ami she has a host of nieces, mar ried daughters, granddaughters, and various “in-laws” to whom she does so many kindnesses that they go up and down the world singing her praises. Once a year, at Christmas-time, she invites them all to Chatsworth, one of the most beautiful palaces in England, where she gives them a real old fashioned Christmas festival. The Duchess of Westminster, second daughter of Colonel William Cornwallis West—father in-law of the lady who was once Lady Randolph Churehill-r- is quite, or nearly the youngest of the English duchesses. The story goes that this was ft schoolboy and schoolgirl love-match, dating back to the time when the young Lord Belgrave was wont to go down to Wales to be regaled in the musery of the Cornwallis West home. 'The children fell fathoms in love with each other, and

when they were just old enough to feel the first pangs of sorrow in love they went through the graceful, old-world ceremony of nursery betrothal. The boy’s father was dead, and his grandfather, to whose great title and

splendid estates he was heir, frowned upon the childish romance. Young Belgrave was sent off to school and then to war ; but six years ago the old duke dieok and the youth became his own master. Meanwhile Miss Slielagh West bad eiv

tend Loudon society, where she was much admired and petted. Her sister had married Prince Henry of Ptess—a brilliant match. The Boer war was nearing it# rail, though De Wet was still at large, when the young Duke of Westminister, reputed to be the richest nobleman in the world, eame home to take over liis inheritance; and suddenly the fa-hioaaHe world was startled by the information that Shelagh West was to 1w the Duchess of Westminster.

The young duchess at oncetook a leading place in society. Iler first act was to drop the name of Shelagh, by which ehe hail always been known, and to resume the more dignified one of Constance. She dresses extremely weff, and js the possessor of jewels befitting her

rank and station. Her diamonds alone represent a vast fortune. She spends little time in London, Grosvenor House being mostly closed, or given over to meetings of charitable societies. But she has given entertainments there, though ►he prefers the retirement of Eaton Hail, that famous show place near Chester. The mistress of “No. 1, London"'— ■which is the popular name for Apsley House, Piccadilly, the home of the great Duke of Wellington, and also of the present holder of the title—was formerly Miss Kathleen Williams, the daughter of an army captain. She has only been a duchess for six years, since the death of her husband's elder brother; and as tho Wellesleys are not rich she is not tmuch in evidence in London society. The duchess is a tall, dignified, grave Woman, keen of intellect, and noted as a conversationalist.

Her historic house in Piccadilly overlooking the park, stamls gloomy and uninviting, but those who have been priv iIcged to attend the small dinner parties which the duchess gives say that the interior Is homelike, rather than stately, and cheerful, with an air of content-

nrent. The duchess is very proud of the treasures stored in the house by its first owner, the famous Iron Duke, and has spent much time in cataloguing them. The present Dowager Countess of Rosslyn is the mother of a remarkable family of children. Among them are the Countess of Warwick, who is perhaps the most interesting personage in the British peerage; the Earl of Rosslyn, who has figured mo eror less picturesquely as a soldier, a legislator, a war correspondent, and an actor; the Countess of Westmorland, and the Duehess of Sutherland. The last-named is one of the philanthropic and intellectual duchesses. Her London residence, Stafford House, one of the finest palaces in the British me-

tropolis, is ever open to tlie cause of charity. Bazaars, meetings, lectures, aro held here day after day, and in all of them the duehess is a. prominent figure. She was married out of the schoolroom at seventeen years of age, and although she is an extremely busy woman, and works for her charities as hard as any man at his business, she still retains the schoolgirl manner. She is a veritable Lady Bountiful, and does so much good and so unostentatiously, that she is more imposed upon, perhaps, than any woman in London. She is also a versatile and indefatigable writer. Ever since she was a girl of fourteen slie has been producing books, pamphlets, lectures, and poetry; and a play of hers was recently produced at a London theatre. Lake ner distinguished half-sister, the Countess of Warwick, she is deeply interested in Socialism. It is said that her first knowledge of the subject was acquired at a workmen’s meeting in (Staffordshire, where she sat among the audience and listened to an eloquent address by a potter. She is an expert on the question of lead poisoning in the potteries. When

she is not seeking to secure reform legislation of some sort she reads romantie poetry, or writes it —which is not at all like the accepted idea of what a duehesa should be. The Duehess of Northumberland is known as the .Early Victorian Duehess, by reason of the fact that her favourite costume is of grey satin, so heavy and stiff that it would stand up by itself, with a white lace bonnet and gray parasol, winter and summer. She was Lady Edith Campbell, and is a sister of the present Duke of Argyll. In her early married life, when she was still Lady Percy, she was considered an extremely beautiful woman, and eveu now, though somewhat portly, she still retains her well-chiseled features, and her clear, fine complexion. She is a haughty, exclusive grande dame of the olden times, who has no sympathy with present-day frivolity and bridge-playing, and will have nothing to do with people of advanced -ideas. When she goes to court she drives in state in a huge white and silver coach, with ducal coronets of silver at each corner of the roof, connected up by a silver band. She piles five bullioned and powdered flunkies on the immense vehicle, and the horses that draw it are the largest obtainable in the three countries. Another duchess who may be classed with the older social school is her grace of Abereorn, wife of the head of the Irish house of Hamilton—already mentioned as the "hungry Hamiltons. - ’ She was Lady Mary Anna Curzon—daughter of the first Earl Howe, ami very distantly related to the late Viceroy of India—when she was married, in 1869, to the Marquis of Hamilton, heir to the

Abercorn duchy, which had been created only the year before, She was one of the close friends of the late King Edward •nd Queen Alexandra, who stood sponsors to more than one of her children, t-he has a London house in Green street, but spends most of her time at Baronseourt, her place iu the north of Ireland, ■where she has several times entertained visiting royalties. The best horsewoman in England, and • better judge of dog# than any one else

iu the peerage—these are two of th< distinctions to which the Duchess of Newcastle may lay claim. Her Kuisrdaß borzoi# are considered unapproachable, and the prizes that her dogs have, wall fill a great room at Clumber Castle, het ducal estate. The duchess is thd daughter of an Irish major of cavalry* who taught her the art of riding to hounds. She sits a horse like an Amazon and prefers the hunting-field to the ballroom. She is very little in London, except when the dog-shows are on, when you may see her acting as judge, followed- ba an admiring crowd of dog-fanciers, I:ie present Duehess of Beaufort waM the Baroness de Tuyll, the English, widow; of a foreign, nobleman; and when shot married the then Lord Worcester, ill 1895, the fond mothers who had had an eye on so eligible a parti broke out Intel loud lamentations. The duchess, whd is a slight, bright, graceful woman, is aS( fond of music as she is of hunting. When in town she is often to be seen in a bos at the opera, while at Badminton, heC country seat in Gloucestershire, slid passes much of her time on horseback. She still wears the high silk top-hat foil hunting, and has made it one of hea ducal hobbies to crusade against’ thd billyeoc-k. Before she and her husband succeeded to their present title, the Duehess ol Somerset used to delight in wearing £ short skirt, a loose jacket belted at thfl waist, a sailor hat, heavy hobnailed boots, and gaiters, and to spend mosfi of her time in travelling round th® world. In 1894, when the late Duke of Somerset died, she became the premie! duchess of the realm —a distinction which she lost in 1904, when the Duke of Norfolk married again. As premier duehesM

her grace of Somerset ranked above everw feminine subject of the late king; bun she did not take advantage of this rlghfi at the coronation, and took her placet in the middle of the group of duchesses, giving an illustration of her good star* of common sense. The St. ADurs —or Seymours, as th* Dukes of Somerset used to spell their family name —are not among tlie richest

of the dues I houses, but the present duke and daehees are noted for their charities. They are another of the many titled couples who prefer country to city life. The Duchess of Bedford, who devotes herself to philanthropic work, and who spent much time in trying to secure tho release of Mrs; Maybriek, is a. manysided woman. The daughter of a missionary archdeacon, she is a patroness of cat shows, a connoisseur of the arts, and a lover of the country. She is so fond o£ skating that some years ago she purchased Prince’s Skating Rink, in London, and made it a resort for the fashionable. She entertains on a great scale at Woburn Abbey, her country castle, where she is also known as a crack shot. The Duchess of Portland is perhaps the most romantic of the dnehesses. She was Alias Dallas-Yorke, the daughter of an English gentleman of good family but little money. Travelling in Scot-

land, she happened to miss her train, and had to wait at a small roadside station. It happened, too, that the Duke of Portland, who was then about thirty years old, and unmarried, was delayed at the same station. He saw the handsome girl, and resolved then and. there to make her his wife. Shortly afterward the two met at a country house, and Miss Dallas-Yorke’s fate was sealed. She was condemned then and there to be the wife of a man with an income said to amount to a million pounds a year. The Duchess of Leeds is one of the “happy Lambtons” —a family whos* head is the Earl of Durham, and that, has a number of generals, admirals, and other dignitaries on the public stage. She is a literary peeress, who is not conspicuous in society, and who finds her pleasures outside the wearisome routine of dinner-giving. She has a town bouse in Grosvenor Crescent, and a fine country place, Hornby Castle, in Yorkshire; but much of her time is spent abroad, or on her husband’s yacht, the Corisande. The premier peer of Scotland is the Duke of Hamilton and Brandon, a great territorial magnate who is ably assisted in keeping up the traditions of his house by his duchess. Her grace of Hamilton is a tall, statuesque woman, very fair, with golden hair—just the lady who would be described by the society reporters as “ every inch a duchess.’’ She seldom visits London, except when she comes to attend some royal function. Before her marriage, five years ago, she was a. Miss Nina. Poore, tile daughter of a country gentleman In Wiltshire. The two families are connected by a double tie, her bother's wife being her husband’s sister Aside from her children., the chid interest of tho Duchess of Hamilton is the condition of her husband’s •tenantry’, which includes whole communities of the crofters and weavers of the Scottish Highlands. Another duchess whose hinband is an owner of large estates in Scotland is her grace of Montrose, mistress of Buchanan

Castle, near Glasgow, and of a London house in Pont Street. She is a keen sportswoman, who follows the guns with the strength and energy of a man. Radiant'with health, always on her feet, she is equally fond of motoring, cycling, riding and driving. She is a noted entertainer at her Scottish place, but is not often to be seen in town. I have left the three duchesses of American birth to the last, not because they are by any means the least of the ducal sisterhood, in interest or importance. Of their graces of Boxburghe and Manchester, indeed, London as yet knows but little. The Duchess of Marlborough, however, has established herself in English society as a brilliant and accomplished hostess, a persona grata at court, and a popular favourite everywhere. Under her gracious rule at Blenheim, the grand old palaee has seen not a little of its ancient glory restored to the halls in which its builder, the famous first duchess, Queen Anne’s intimate friend, onee reigned supreme. ■lt may be that the Marlboroughs will yet accomplish what is said to be their ambition —the recovery of Marl borough House, which Sir Christopher Wren, the architect of St. Paul’s, built to be’ the London residence of Jack Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough. Later the square old mansion which looks across to Buckingham Palace passed out of the family ownership and became royal property. It was long the home of the present King, as Prince of Wales, and is now occupied by hrs son and successor in that title. An arrangement for its restoration to the Marlboroughs would be a graceful courtesy from British royalty to an American born duchess.