Determined to secure the highest-ranking mate possible for her only daughter, a union that would emphasize the preeminence of the Vanderbilt family in New York society, Alva Vanderbilt engineered a meeting between Consuelo and the land-rich, money-poor Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough, chatelain of Blenheim Palace. The matchmaker was a minor American heiress turned major English hostess, Lady Paget (née Mary "Minnie" Stevens), the daughter of Mrs. Paran Stevens, the socially ambitious widow of an American hotel entrepreneur who had successfully obtained admittance to the exclusive New York society of the fabled "Four Hundred". Lady Paget, always short of money, soon became a sort of international marital agent, introducing eligible American heiresses to British noblemen.[10]
Unfortunately Consuelo Vanderbilt had no interest in the duke, being secretly engaged to an American, Winthrop Rutherfurd.[11] Her mother cajoled, wheedled, begged, and then, ultimately, ordered her daughter to marry Marlborough. When Consuelo – a docile teenager whose only notable characteristic at the time was abject obedience to her fearsome mother – made plans to elope, she was locked in her room as Alva threatened to murder Rutherfurd.[12] Still, she refused. It was only when Alva Vanderbilt claimed that her health was being seriously and irretrievably undermined by Consuelo`s stubbornness and appeared to be on death`s door did the gullible girl acquiesce.[13] Alva made an astonishing recovery from her entirely phantom illness, and when the wedding took place, Consuelo stood at the altar reportedly weeping behind her veil.[14] The duke, for his part, gave up the woman he reportedly loved back in England and collected $2.5 million (approximately $75 million today) in railroad stock as a marriage settlement.[15]
Consuelo about 1910.
Consuelo about 1910.
Consuelo Vanderbilt was married at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, New York City, New York, on November 6, 1895, to Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough (1871-1934)[16]. They had two sons, John Albert William Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford (who became 10th Duke of Marlborough) and Lord Ivor Spencer-Churchill.[17]
The new duchess was adored by the poor and less fortunate tenants on her husband`s estate, whom she visited and provided assistance to. She later became involved with other philanthropic projects and was particularly interested in those that affected mothers and children.[18] She was also a social success with royalty and the aristocracy of Britain.[19] However, given the ill-fitting match between the duke and his wife, it was only a matter of time before their marriage was in name only. The duchess eventually was smitten by her husband`s handsome cousin, the Hon. Reginald Fellowes[20] (the liaison did not last, to the relief of Fellowes`s parents)[21], while the duke fell under the spell of Gladys Marie Deacon, an eccentric American of little money but, like Consuelo, dazzling to look at and of considerable intellect.[22] The Marlboroughs divorced in 1921, and the marriage was annulled, at the duke`s request and Consuelo`s assent, on August 19, 1926.[23]
Though largely embarked upon as a way to facilitate the Anglican duke`s desire to convert to Roman Catholicism, the annulment, to the surprise of many, also was fully supported by the former duchess`s mother, who testified that the Vanderbilt–Marlborough marriage had been an act of unmistakable coercion. "I forced my daughter to marry the Duke," Alva Belmont told an investigator, adding: "I have always had absolute power over my daughter."[24] In later years, Consuelo and her mother enjoyed a closer, easier relationship.