MailOnline 1 October 2012
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2211179/Downton-Abbey-prequel-How-Americas-Dollar-Princesses-married-crumbling-British-aristocracy.html
How America's Dollar Princesses married crumbling British aristocracy
Beautiful, vivacious and fabulously wealthy, they were known as the Dollar Princesses. At the end of the 19th century, hundreds of eligible young women turned their backs on America and crossed the Atlantic, with a steely glint in their eyes. The only intention was to snare a member of the British aristocracy. It might all seem terribly crass but, in fact, these were matches made in heaven. In return for receiving titles, the daughters of US millionaires offered fistfuls of much-needed cash.
The women’s huge impact on British life is expected to feature in a
Downton Abbey prequel. It will concentrate on the courtship of the character Cora Crawley, the rich American who goes on to marry the Earl of Grantham.
With their vast armies of servants estates like Downton were expensive to run, so the US dollars provided a lifeline. Some of the nation’s most historic country estates were threatened with ruin at the time, because of a depression in agriculture which had halved the value of some fortunes. The American predators also helped shape the future of the aristocracy by providing heirs, including a future Prime Minister, in addition to their money.
During this period, lasting from the 1870s to the outbreak of World War 1, some 350 US heiresses married into the British aristocracy. At today’s values, it’s estimated that they brought with them the equivalent of £1 billion of new world wealth.
Melanie Stafford, of the American Museum in Britain, in Bath, says: 'They came from a different culture and had a very different outlook on life. They were more forward than English women, who were expected to know their place and be seen and not heard. 'The American women were socially confident and competitive. If they had a view they’d make it known, so they could be very good company. There’s no doubt that noses were put out of joint among the English women who might otherwise have got these titles.'
When the women disembarked, often with their mothers in tow to arrange introductions, they’d ingratiate their way into London society by letting it be known they had money. Stafford adds: 'Soirees and musical evenings were held, where the women would be introduced to members of the aristocracy. It was all very hasty and this was like the speed-dating of its time, involving impoverished members of the English aristocracy and wealthy American heiresses. 'They were marriages of convenience, but you have to remember that there was much less emphasis on marrying for love in those days.'
A quarterly publication called
The Titled American listed the successfully married ladies, as well as the names of eligible titled bachelors. In 1890, it carried this blatant appeal for a wealthy bride: 'The Marquess of Winchester is the fifteenth Marquess and Premier Marquess in the Peerage of Great Britain. 'He is also the Hereditary Bearer of the Cap of Maintenance. The entailed estates amount to 4,700 acres, yielding an income of $22,000. He is 32 years of age, and a captain of the Coldstream Guards. Family seat: Amport House, Hampshire.'
Inevitably, the American social climbers also faced snobbery here. The sneers, however, were nothing new. Back home there were also divisions in society, which created the entire Dollar Princess phenomenon. In the 1860s a new breed of people began making money in armaments, steel, railroads, the food industry and agricultural machinery. These enterprises made a lot of men very rich, very fast, and they descended on New York. Girls from these backgrounds were considered nouveaux riches by Mrs William Backhouse Astor, who ruled over the list of 400 families admitted into polite New York society.
Another reason why the Americans were able to gain access to the upper classes was the patronage of the playboy Prince of Wales, later to become King Edward V11. He adored the Dollar Princesses and became an unofficial matchmaker. Defending his involvement, he once said: 'American girls are livelier, better educated, and less hampered by etiquette. They are not so squeamish as their English sisters and they are better able to take care of themselves.' The trade of wealth for titles began to dry up when Edward, their champion, died in 1910 and society adopted a less frivolous approach.
v Jennie Jerome
Daughter of a wealthy New York stockbroker, married in 1874 Randolph Churchill, 2nd son of the Duke of Marlborough. The newly-married couple's first son was future Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
> Mary Leiter
The daughter of a Chicago millionaire, married George Curzon in 1895. Three years later she became Lady Curzon and Vicerine of India when her husband was elevated to a Barony and appointed Viceroy of India.
