Grand Ladies

Consuelo Vanderbilt was the ultimate catch for a destitute British aristocrat, in this case Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough. Not only was she from one of the World's richest families, but Oxford undergraduate Guy Fortescue later described how he and his friends were captivated by her "piquante oval face perched upon a long slender neck, her enormous dark eyes fringed with curling lashes, her dimples, and her tiny teeth when she smiled." She had no interest in the Duke, but her ambitious mother Alva forced the marriage. The Duke and Duchess married in 1895, separated in 1906, and the marriage was annulled in 1926. Her Wikipedia article, including Fotescue's quote, is here.

Consuelo Vanderbilt introductory photo

Consuelo Vanderbilt print from 1906

1899 Consuelo Vanderbilt by Lafayette

Consuelo Vanderbilt seated in evening dress

Mrs. L. J. Balsan (Consuelo Vanderbilt)

ca. 1900 Consuelo Vanderbilt by Carolus Duran (printed in The Sketch Christmas Number 1958)

ca. 1900 Consuelo Vanderbilt by Paul César Helleu

1901 The American Duchess

1902 Consuelo Vanderbilt (married to the Duke of Marlborough) at the coronation of Edward VII

1902 Consuelo Vanderbilt piling on pearls; tiara set with 1091 diamonds by Boucheron; diamond breast belt, a wedding gift from the Duke encrusted with nearly 200 carats of diamonds

1902 Consuelo Vanderbilt posing sideways

1902 Consuelo Vanderbilt and her son John Albert

1902 Consuelo Vanderbilt and sons

1902 Consuelo

1902 Consuelo Vanderbilt

1905 Duke Marlborough by John Singer Sargent (Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire UK)

1906 Marlborough with son Ivor Spencer by Giovanni Boldini (location unknown to gogm)

1906 Consuelo photo from 31 October The Bystander

ca. 1907 Callot Soeurs evening dress worn by Consuelo Vanderbilt, Duchess of Marlborough

ca. 1907 Dress of Consuelo Vanderbilt attributed to Callot Soeurs (auctioned by Whitaker Auctions)

ca. 1907 Details of dress of Consuelo Vanderbilt attributed to Callot Soeurs (auctioned by Whitaker Auctions)

ca. 1907 Shoes of Consuelo Vanderbilt (auctioned by Whitaker Auctions)

Consuelo Vanderbilt wearing court dress

Consuelo Vanderbilt

1909 Consuelo Vanderbilt photo in Town & Country

Consuelo Vanderbilt seated

Consuelo and Winston Churchill

Consuelo, Duchess of Marlborough

Consuelo Vanderbilt, Duchess of Marlborough with her sons John Albert William Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blanford (later 10th Duke of Marlborough) and Lord Ivor Charles Spencer-Churchill by Rita Martin

Madame Consuelo Vanderbilt

1911 Consuelo Vanderbilt by ?

Consuelo, Duchess of Marlborough, and her mother, Alva E. Belmont, pictured here at the Conference of Great Women at Marble House in July 1914

Consuelo Vanderbilt photographed later in life from the LIFE archives