In the 1870s, wealthy
American families came up with a new scheme to
leapfrog up the social ladder-- trading their daughter's
hand in marriage, along with a lot of money,
to British aristocrats, in exchange for a title. Every rich American wanted
a Duchess in their family, and the lucky young
woman-- who may not have been excited
about the marriage-- became known as a
"Dollar Princess." Today we're going to take
a look at how American social climbers traded their
daughters to British Nobles for rank. But before we get started, be
sure to subscribe to the Weird History channel, and let us
know in the comments below what other strange customs you
would like to hear about. OK, here's some dollar,
dollar princesses, y'all. Jenny Jerome was one of the
first dollar princesses. The Brooklyn-born daughter
of a real estate developer, she married Lord Randolph
Churchill in 1874. Jenny-- who we're assuming
was from the block-- like many women, was
fond of dressing up as the Byzantine
Empress Theodora, and she brought enormous
wealth to her new husband. This was pretty
fortunate for him, as he was barely
scraping by at the time, living only on a small
allowance from his father. Jerome's father,
on the other hand, gave them 50,000 pounds and a
large allowance reserved just for Jenny. Jerome's marriage was
marked by some scandal. When her first child was born
seven months after the wedding, many British
aristocrats didn't quite buy her claim that a fall had
brought on premature labor. In fact, many noted that the
baby appeared to be full-term. Whatever the case,
that child grew up to be Winston Churchill. After he led the British
to victory over the Nazis in World War II, we're
assuming all was forgiven. As for Jenny Jerome,
her experience soon started a trend of
rich American girls marrying impoverished
British aristocrats. British aristocrats
were known to advertise for American brides-- so much so, in fact,
an entire industry sprang up to play matchmaker
across the Atlantic. One quarterly publication,
The Titled American, promoted the happiness
of newly titled brides in order to convince others
to follow their footsteps. The publication also ran ads
from eligible bachelors-- but of course, only those
with a title to sell. One read, "The Marquess of
Winchester is 32 years of age, and a Captain of the
Coldstream Guards." Instead of swiping
right, interested women could reply via a post-- but of course, only those
with a fortune to share. Like many brides, Consuelo
Vanderbilt, daughter and eldest child of the railroad
millionaire William Vanderbilt, cried on her wedding day. But unlike most
brides, Consuelos tears were not tears of joy. Her wedding was
November 6, 1895. Crowds lined the streets
of Manhattan's Fifth Avenue as she traveled to St.
Thomas Episcopal Church to marry Charles
Spencer Churchill, the ninth Duke of Marlborough. The problem was,
she didn't love him. Cue the sad song. In fact, it's said Consuelo
refused to get married until it was claimed
that her refusal was harming her mother's health. Ooh, that's a top
notch guilt trip. I guess if you can't marry
for love, marry for guilt? Consuelo finally
agreed to the marriage, but later admitted, "I spent
the morning of my wedding day in tears and alone. No one came near me." The couple would go on to have
two sons, John Albert William Spencer Churchill, Marquess of
Blanford, who would eventually become the 10th
Duke of Marlborough, and Lord Ivor Spencer Churchill. When the Duke of Marlborough
married Consuelo Vanderbilt, everyone knew why-- he was looking for a fortune
to repair his palace. Blenheim Palace
was falling apart, and Marlborough didn't have
enough money to fix it. As soon as the marriage
was official, however, the Duke began the repairs
using his new wife's money. Vanderbilt, for the record,
didn't really love the place. She complained that while their
bedroom was being redecorated, she had to spend the first
three months of her life there in a cold and cheerless
apartment looking North. Everybody knows when you get a
castle, get a south-facing one. She described the area
as being mostly ugly, depressing rooms,
devoid of the beauty and comforts her own
home had provided. She also watched
as her new husband poured vast amounts of money
into their palace, which probably didn't
thrill her either. She may have misread that one,
because today Blenheim Palace is a World Heritage site-- all thanks to an
American fortune. USA. USA. USA. Many of the dollar princesses
weren't willing participants in their marriages. The aforementioned Consuelo
Vanderbilt, for example, was actually in love with,
and secretly engaged to, another man when she wed
the Duke of Marlborough. The fellow was a socialite named
Winthrop Rutherford, with whom Consuelo planned to elope
until her parents locked her in her room. On the morning of her
wedding, the young woman had a footman posted at
the door of her apartment and gave instructions that not
even her governess be admitted. According to Consuelo,
"like an automaton, I donned the lovely
lingerie with its real lace and the white silk
stockings and shoes." However, rather
than feeling elated, Vanderbilt was in shock. She later recalled
feeling cold and numb as she went down to meet her
father and the bridesmaids who were waiting for her. And the marriage
wasn't pleasant. After 10 years and multiple
affairs on both sides, the Duke and Duchess of
Marlborough separated. They later divorced, and
their marriage was finally annulled in August of 1926. Not too surprising that
one didn't work out-- castle remodeling will
test any marriage. Diana, Princess of
Wales, also known as "The People's Princess,"
was the great granddaughter of an American heiress
who was shipped off to Britain to marry a Baron. Diana's ancestor was one
Frances Ellen Work, born in 1857 to a self-made millionaire
in New York City who left behind $15
million when he died, Frances married James Roche,
Baron Fermoy, in 1880. Princess Diana's
brother, Earl Spencer, has expressed uncertainty over
whether the Baron actually fell in love with
his mother, or merely with his grandfather's fortune. Adjusted for inflation,
the rakish Baron spent two and half million
of his wife's money on gambling, so you can
draw your own conclusions on that one. In the British television
series Downton Abbey, Cora Crawley, the
wife of Lord Grantham, is the daughter of a
multimillionaire from Ohio. Cora's character, according to
series creator Julian Fellowes, was in fact based on
the dollar princesses. Fellowes estimates that
between 1880 and 1920, as many as 350
wealthy American women married into the cash-poor
British aristocracy. In the show, Cora's money
saves Downton Abbey. Ironically, the stately
English Highclere Castle, where Downton Abbey
was shot, was also preserved by the wealth
of a dollar princess. Almina Wombwell, illegitimate
daughter of millionaire banker Alfred de Rothchild, married
George Herbert, the Fifth Earl of Carnarvon, famous for helping
to discover King Tut's tomb. She used her dowry to
sustain the castle. Mary Leiter, daughter of the
entrepreneur and department store co-founder Marshall
Field, drew praise for her shapely
figure and ability to navigate elite
social circles. She made her way into the
British nobility in 1895, when she married Lord George
Curzon, with whom she later moved to India after he
was appointed Viceroy. The truth, however, was
that it was Leiter's money that helped Curzon attain the
position in the first place. Leiter started her life
as a young Chicago girl, but through marriage
she was elevated to the position of
Vicereine of India, long recognized as
the highest position an American woman has ever
held in the British empire. In 1902, Mary Leiter celebrated
the coronation of the new King Edward VII, by donning a
stunning dress designed by the House of Worth, the
first couture designers. By then, Leiter was
the Vicereine of India, and her gown measured
up to her title. Known as "the peacock dress,"
Leiter's gown wove gold cloth with peacock feathers. She further accessorized
with a pearl-topped tiara and an enormous
diamond necklace. Leiter's extravagance
underscored the true purpose of the dollar princesses-- they brought serious wealth
to British aristocrats, many of whom were
financially strapped. And once they settled
in the British empire, dollar princesses often
flexed their affluence. Check out my affluence,
I'm flexing it. It's huge! Despite being heiress to the
Singer Sewing Machine fortune, Winnaretta Singer was
once snubbed in New York by fellow dollar
princess Nancy Astor-- that is, until Singer went to
Europe looking for a husband, and found herself
a French Prince. In 1893, Singer married
Prince Edmond de Polignac, and that wasn't even
her first royal wedding. In 1887, Singer wed Prince
Louis de Scey-Montbeliard, a union that rocketed her
to Paris's elite circles. That marriage, like many unions
between American heiresses and European Nobles, fell
apart, and was annulled in 1892. In this case, however,
everyone in Paris believed they knew why the two split-- Singer liked the ladies. Rumor has it that on
their wedding night, Singer jumped atop
an armoire and yelled "I'm going to kill you
if you come near me." Needless to say, the
marriage went unconsummated. Luckily, her second marriage,
to Prince de Polignac, was much happier-- most likely because he
was also a homosexual. Together, they supported
the arts in many forms, hosting a well-respected
salon for musicians, painters, and other creative luminaries. Nancy Langhorne Shaw
was born in Virginia, but she said goodbye
to her past when she married William
Waldorf Astor and the pair moved into Cliveden House. Although William Astor
was born in the US, he moved to London as
a child and grew up surrounded by the
English aristocracy. After adopting the
title "Lady Astor," this dollar princess
became a fixture of the British social scene. She eventually translated
her status into a seat in parliament. In 1919, Lady Astor ran for
her husband's former seat in the House of
Commons, becoming only the second woman in
history at the time elected to parliament. While some dollar
princesses found fulfillment as duchesses and
Vicereines, many began to argue publicly
against the practice. Frank Work, for example,
whose daughter Frances became a baroness through
marriage, eventually came to oppose the
idea of trading American daughters for titles. His 1911 obituary
quoted an interview where Work argued, "It's time
this international marrying came to a stop." Frank's objection was mainly
based on economic concerns, as he complained, "as fast as
our honorable, hardworking men can earn this money, their
daughters take it and toss it across the ocean." Work railed against a system
that he perceived as ultimately just a way for foreign
nobles to pay off their debts at the
expense of Americans, saying, "if I had
anything to say about it, I'd make an international
marriage a hanging offense." So what do you think? How do you view marriage-- for
love or for financial benefits? Let us know in the
comments below. And while you're at it, check
out some of these other videos from our Weird History.
Distorted anti-american view.
the social doors were firmly closed to the newly rich americans. Until the British aristocracy started going broke and needed money. They came up with the idea to sell the inheritance/title/future to anyone who could pay enough to marry their heir. Only Americans had that kind of cash.
but go ahead and blame it on "social climbing" americans. If someone was offering a life of privilege and position you'd probably take it too.
I can not begin to express how deeply I feel the pain of the British upper-upper classes and the American super-super rich. Arranged marriages, forsooth! Good thing that didn't happen anywhere else in the world!
Downton Abbey was a work of fiction. In reality, almost all of them — gold-digging lords, pearl-clutching American Virgins, Wicked Stepmothers, et al — deserved each other, if anyone ever deserved anything.
But good on them for taking up the white man's burden.
Pretty much the premise for Downton Abbey, except it shows what happens 20 years down the road... didn't work out too badly, really.