The Duchess

The Duchess of Beaufort

In Britain, the title of Duchess is more commonly bestowed upon the wife of a Duke, although a woman may hold the title in her own right, having the sole power of a Dukedom with the same title of Duchess. An interesting deviation from this rule is the late Queen Elizabeth II, she held the unusual titles of Duke of Normandy and Lancaster during her reign as opposed to Duchess. The title Duchess is below most royal titles such as Empress, Queen, Princess, Archduchess, Grand Duchess and Grand Princess. Duchess is the highest title held by non-royals, above Marchioness, Viscountess, Countess, Margravine, and Baroness.

The very first Dukedoms in England were created by Edward III, some of these titles were held by and created for his many sons. The first was the Dukedom of Cornwall in 1337, for his eldest son and heir, Edward the Black Prince. Edward’s wife, therefore, the 1st Duchess of Cornwall was Joan of Kent. Joan was of royal blood, a granddaughter of Edward I of England through his second marriage; her husband was his great grandson through his first marriage. Her father, Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent was the half-brother of the previously deposed King Edward II. Unfortunately, Edmund had remained loyal to his brother, paying for it with his life and his wife and children lost the titles, land and income they were supported from. When Edward III came into power, their luck changed again, and the family were well provided for. Joan spent the remainder of her childhood around the royal family and in the household of Queen Philippa.

At around age twelve, she was wed for the first time to Thomas Holland, future 1st Earl of Kent, who was twenty-six. The title Earl of Kent would come to him through his marriage to Joan, after her siblings had died, she was Countess of Kent in her own right. The marriage had been a secret for unknown reasons, but shortly after the wedding, Thomas had left for France. While away, Joan was married for the second time, by her family, to William Montagu, 2nd Earl of Salisbury. Possibly due to her age, Joan had gone ahead with the second marriage, not wanting to get into trouble and fearing the consequences of a secret marriage. Royal permission was often deemed necessary to marry any member of the royal family, even for minor members like Joan, the consequences could be deadly. Once her first husband returned there ensued a legal battle and some input from the Pope to have Joan’s marriage to William annulled and have her returned to Thomas. They continued in their marriage and had at least five children, although the youngest died in childhood. She was widowed in her early thirties and found her third and last husband shortly after in Prince Edward. The norm was for the heir to the throne to be matched with a young foreign bride, bringing diplomatic advantages and that all important heir and yet Edward chose Joan. They would have been known to each other from childhood, so it may have been a love match. Joan and Edward would go on to have two sons together, the eldest would not reach adulthood but the younger would become the future Richard II. Edward died young leaving Richard as heir to the crown and Joan a widow for the second time. She lived to see her son crowned but not long enough to see him usurped and murdered by his cousin.

Joan was not only the first Duchess in England and the first Duchess of Cornwall, but she was also the first English royal family member to hold the title, Princess of Wales. There have been many other women of note who have held the title, Duchess of Cornwall, after Joan. Anne Neville, wife of Richard III, Catherine of Aragon, Princess Diana, and Queen Camilla. The current Duchess of Cornwall and Princess of Wales is Catherine, wife of William, Duke of Cornwall and Prince of Wales.

Duchess of Devonshire – Georgina Cavendish

Joan’s sister in laws would all come to hold the title of Duchess. Elizabeth de Burgh married Prince Lionel, and they held the titles of Duke and Duchess of Clarence. Eleanor de Bohun married Prince Thomas, who was created Duke of Gloucester and Isabella of Castile became Duchess of York after marrying Prince Edmund. Isabella was the daughter of the King of Castile; her sister Constance became Duchess of Lancaster after the two sisters married two brothers. John, Duke of Lancaster was the third son of Edward III, unlike his brothers, his title came through his first marriage to Blanche of Lancaster. Blanche was the daughter of the 1st Duke of Lancaster, a descendant of Henry III of England and therefore cousin to the current King. After his death, he left only daughters as heir to his lands and titles. Sons were sought after and preferrable, but it is a myth that daughters and women had no rights to titles and lands. Medieval spare sons often had to marry for wealth and titles, so in a sense John was a medieval gold digger.

The lives of some Duchess’s have been fodder for public consumption for centuries. Georgiana Spencer was famous in her own time and continues to be a fascination nearly three centuries after her birth. It is not hard to see why. Incredibly social, she was intelligent, loved fashion, literature, music, politics, science and the favourite past time of her time, gambling. Born in 1757 to Earl John Spencer and his wife Margaret Georgiana; her childhood home, Althorp, was also the childhood home of Princess Diana and is the current home of Diana’s brother. Having been born into British aristocracy was an advantage, she had the pedigree beloved by others, she was born into that club if you will; becoming a Duchess would be an easy transition.

She was wed to William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire on her seventeenth birthday, her groom was twenty-six. This was not a love match but not necessarily a forced marriage either. The couple struggled with fertility issues; it was vital the duke had a legitimate son to pass on the Dukedom to. The duke did not seem to have his wife’s struggles in mind when he had his illegitimate daughter installed in their home after her mother died. Despite the insensitivity of her husband, treating her like her own daughter came naturally to the caring Georgiana.

Much like Austen depicted in her novels, retreats to the country were indeed the doctor’s orders for Georgian ladies. Bath being a particularly sought after refuge for the healing waters. At one retreat, Georgiana struck up a friendship with Lady Elizabeth Foster. This was to be an intense, lifelong relationship. Elizabeth, or Bess as she was known as, would eventually join the couple in their home and give birth to two children fathered by Charles. Aristocratic men and women having affairs throughout centuries has never been shocking but living openly with your wife and mistress was. Princess Diana famously complained that ‘there were three us in the marriage’; I’m sure she would have been thankful there were not three of them in the home.

This arrangement did not stop Georgiana having her own children, two daughters and the sought after heir came along to give her much joy. She in turn found love in the arms of Charles Grey, later Earl Grey (yes, the tea is named after him) and Prime Minister of Great Britain. They shared a love for Politics, and she soon found herself expecting his child. Unfortunately, this illegitimate child would not be welcome at home. As progressive as their home life might seem, the 18th century double standards persisted, and women were beholding to their husband’s whims. Georgiana was sent to France to have her daughter before the child was taken from her and raised in the Grey’s family home. She did regularly correspond with her daughter throughout her life which may have given her a little comfort.

Georgiana was a fashion icon, a champion of the Whig party and had a friendship with many notable men and women of her era. Famously she was part of another threesome, she had met Marie Antoinette and Duchesse de Polignac, the three women enjoyed each other company and friendship up until the French Revolution. About her friend’s execution she wrote ‘The impression of the Queen’s death is constant before my eyes’.

If you are thinking her story is familiar, then you may have seen films in the last century that depict her. Keira Knightley portrayed Georgiana in the 2008 film, ‘The Duchess’. The film is entirely centred around Georgiana, showing her marriage, fertility issues and affair with Charles Grey. Evelyn Hall played the part of the Duchess in the 1929 film, ‘The Divine Lady’, although the film is about Emma Hamilton, she has a part and it’s another reminder of all the influential and icon women the Georgian period was graced with. ‘I’ll never forget you’ is a 1951 sci fi film, an American scientist is transported back to the 18th century. Kathleen Bryon plays the small part of Georgiana, who would perhaps have liked having herself included as she was interested in science and the arts during her lifetime.

Across the Atlantic, after the War of Independence, the titles held by royals and the aristocracy held less power and importance. There was no place for medieval ideas of hereditary power in the utopian democracy and republic they were crafting and creating. The American dream was of course that anyone could make it, regardless of birth rights. This was all good and well for the country as a whole but some held tight to the power of a title, enter the elite class of fortune hunting mothers. To be clear this was not a stereotypical gold-digging situation, it was often a mutually benefitting transaction. The British aristocracy had their titles, but many had dwindling fortunes due to bad investments, bad habits and sheer incompetence. Marriage to a rich American could solve their financial problems or at least band aid the sinking ship for the next generation to deal with.

Consuelo Vanderbilt had a mother who had aspirations for her daughter to be married to a British man with a title. Born in Manhattan, New York, in 1877, Consuelo was the only daughter of Alva (Smith) and William Vanderbilt. If readers have seen HBO’s show, The Gilded Age, the character of Bertha Russell is loosely based on Alva Vanderbilt’s, particularly her ambitious nature. As the only daughter with an older and younger brother, Consuelo found herself the focus of her mother’s ambition for a title. A month before her 18th birthday she was wed to Charles Spencer - Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough, he was fifteen years her senior. Consuelo was now the Duchess of Marlborough, but the title did not bring happiness. She had very little input in choosing her husband; both Charles and Consuelo were rumoured to have been in relationships prior to the marriage. Charles made his love for another woman clear to his new bride on their honeymoon, she knew this marriage was to save his bankrupted Dukedom and home, Blenheim Palace. Although not unusual, it’s not inconceivable to assume this was not what the young new bride would wish to hear. Consuelo however did her duty alongside her money, she gave the duke two sons, the heir and the spare as she named them. The marriage was doomed from the beginning, but it served its purpose to restore Blenheim, many features and contents today are due to Vanderbilt wealth, including the jewels worn by the Duchesses of Marlborough who came after her.

As was inevitable, the marriage was over before it started really, but in 1906 the couple separated, in 1921 they were divorced and in 1926 the duke requested an annulment after converting to Catholicism. Alva Vanderbilt testified that her daughter was not a willing participant in her marriage stating, ‘I forced my daughter to marry the duke.’ Consuelo had remarried after her divorce in 1921 to Lieutenant Colonel Jacques Balsan. Her second marriage brought her the love and happiness she had wished for. Her ghosted autobiography was titled ‘The Glitter and the Gold’; Balsan was her gold.

Consuelo was not the first American Duchess of Marlborough. After the death of her husband’s mother, his father, the 8th Duke was married to New York born Lily Warren Price. Her money also helped with Blenheim’s restoration but after her stepson inherited the estate, she sued him for her fortune back. The current Duchess of Marlborough is the second wife of the current Duke; they are recently separated after more than two decades of marriage. Blenheim Palace was put into the hands of trustees due to the duke’s notorious criminal past and addiction issues. The duke can boast to have Consuelo as his direct ancestor along with Winston Churchill and Princess Diana as indirect family members.

Unlike Consuelo, there was no pressure to marry a titled husband when it came to Meghan Markle’s wedding to Prince Henry (Harry) of Wales. Meghan was tv actress and a lifestyle blogger with her own income. She was independent, educated and had enough life experience to be able to choose her husband. On the 19th of May 2018, she chose to marry Prince Harry of England, together they hold the titles of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. This continued a long tradition of American women marrying British Dukes, but in a modern way.

Gemma

Gemma, who runs the Instagram account historic_rabbithole and TikTok account historic.rabbithole started her career as a CBT therapist and has a fascination for how people are shaped by their experiences and surroundings.

She studied history at the University of Glasgow and is a lifelong history  and literature enthusiast,  currently working on her first book.