The Duchess of Manchester | |
|---|---|
%2c_Duchess_of_Manchester.jpg) | |
| Born | María Francisca de la Consolación Yznaga 1853 New York City, United States |
| Died | 20 November 1909 5Grosvenor Square, Mayfair, London, England |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Issue |
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| Father | Antonio Modesto Yznaga del Valle |
| Mother | Ellen Maria Clement |
Consuelo Montagu, Duchess of Manchester (néeMaría Francisca de la Consolación "Consuelo"Yznaga;[1][2][3][4] 1853 – 20 November 1909) was aCuban American heiress who marriedGeorge Montagu, Viscount Mandeville in 1876. She became theDuchess of Manchester when her husband succeeded to the dukedom in March 1890.
Consuelo Yznaga was born in 1853, inNew York City,[5] the second of four children of diplomatDon Antonio Modesto Yznaga y del Valle and Ellen Maria Clement of Ravenswood Plantation,Concordia Parish, Louisiana, Louisiana, paternal granddaughter of José Antonio de Yznaga y Borrell wife María Francisca del Valle y Castillo and maternal granddaughter of thesteamboatCaptain andplantation owner Samuel Clement fromDutchess County, New York and Maria Augusta Little, daughter of William Little and wife Frances Boyd.[6] Her father was from aCuban noble family that owned a large plantation, Torre Iznaga,[7] andsugar 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 inNewport, Rhode Island.
Her sister, María de la Natividad "Natica" Yznaga, marriedSir John Lister-Kaye on 5 December 1881.[9] Her brother,Fernando Yznaga,[10] was married to Mary Virginia "Jennie" Smith, sister ofAlva Belmont, Consuelo's childhood best friend. Vanderbilt's daughterConsuelo Vanderbilt was her god-daughter and named after her.
In her teenage years, she became known on New York's social scene as one of the group known as theBuccaneers.[11][4] She was a renowned beauty, as were her sisters.[12]
The Duchess was a celebrated society figure, belonging to the intimate circle ofEdward VII of the United Kingdom, formerly thePrince of Wales.[13] Shortly before her death, she entertained King Edward andNicholas II, theTsar of Russia, while the Tsar was on a visit to England.[14]
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[15] ($60 million in 2018 rate).[16]
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In theautumn of 1875, she metGeorge Montagu, Viscount Mandeville,[17] at her father's country home inMorristown, New Jersey.[18] On 22 May 1876, atGrace Church, Manhattan, she marriedViscount Mandeville. Her dowry was $6 million (in 2018 rate).[16] After their marriage, they settled on Montagu's Irish estate, centered onTandragee Castle inCounty Armagh.
They had one son and twin daughters:
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.[16]
In 1904, the Duchess took on the lease of 5Grosvenor Square, Mayfair.[21] She died there ofneuritis on 20 November 1909. At her bedside upon her death were her sisters,Lady Lister-Kaye and Emily Yznaga.[18] Her estate, valued at $2,493,131 (an approximate value of $69 million in 2017 rates[citation needed]), was left to her various family members.[13] Her son, the 9th Duke, inherited the Grosvenor Square house, retaining it until 1914 when it became a wartime hospital.[21]
On her death in 1909,[22] the Duchess bequeathed a ruby and diamond bracelet to her friend QueenAlexandra of Denmark.[23] The Manchester Tiara, created for the Duchess byCartier in 1903, is now in the collection of theVictoria and Albert Museum, London.[24] In 2007 the Manchester Tiara was accepted by the British government in lieu ofinheritance tax following the death of the12th Duke.[25] Her diamond and emerald necklace, originally bequeathed to her grandsonViscount Mandeville, was auctioned bySotheby's in 2015.[26]