Mary Curzon, Baroness Curzon of Kedleston
Encyclopedia
Order of the Crown of India
The Imperial Order of the Crown of India is an order in the British honours system.The Order was established by Queen Victoria in 1878, when she became Empress of India. The Order is open only to women; no new appointments have been made after the Partition of India in 1947...
(27 May 1870 – 18 July 1906) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
peeress
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
who was Vicereine of India, as the wife of Lord Curzon of Kedleston
George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston
George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, KG, GCSI, GCIE, PC , known as The Lord Curzon of Kedleston between 1898 and 1911 and as The Earl Curzon of Kedleston between 1911 and 1921, was a British Conservative statesman who was Viceroy of India and Foreign Secretary...
, Viceroy of India.
In America
She was born Mary Victoria Leiter in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, the daughter of Levi Leiter
Levi Leiter
Levi Ziegler Leiter was a Chicago businessman. He co-founded what became the Marshall Field & Company retail empire.-Biography:...
, the wealthy co-founder of Field and Leiter dry goods
Dry goods
Dry goods are products such as textiles, ready-to-wear clothing, and sundries. In U.S. retailing, a dry goods store carries consumer goods that are distinct from those carried by hardware stores and grocery stores, though "dry goods" as a term for textiles has been dated back to 1742 in England or...
business and later partner in the Marshall Fields retail empire. Her family moved to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
in 1881 and entered the exclusive circle of official society there. They lived for several years in the former home of James G. Blaine
James G. Blaine
James Gillespie Blaine was a U.S. Representative, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, U.S. Senator from Maine, two-time Secretary of State...
on Dupont Circle
Dupont Circle
Dupont Circle is a traffic circle, park, neighborhood, and historic district in Northwest Washington, D.C. The traffic circle is located at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue NW, Connecticut Avenue NW, New Hampshire Avenue NW, P Street NW, and 19th Street NW...
. She was taught dancing, singing, music, and art at home by tutors and learned the French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
from her French governess. A Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
professor taught her history, arithmetic, and chemistry. Travel and prolonged residence abroad cultivated her powers of observation and breadth of mental vision at an early age. Her poise and finish made her charming to those with mature and brilliant intellect.
Mary was a striking six feet tall presence with a curvy figure. She had large grey eyes set in an oval face, glossy chestnut-brown hair drawn back into a loose knot at the nape of her neck, and delicate hands and feet.
Her debut
Debutante
A débutante is a young lady from an aristocratic or upper class family who has reached the age of maturity, and as a new adult, is introduced to society at a formal "début" presentation. It should not be confused with a Debs...
was in winter of 1888. She was regarded an equal in beauty and breeding, and frequently, the peer in manner and intellect, of daughters of better known and longer established families in eastern U.S. society. Prior to her marriage, her closest friend Frances Folsom Cleveland
Frances Folsom Cleveland
Frances Clara Folsom Cleveland Preston was the wife of the President of the United States Grover Cleveland and the 27th first lady of the United States from 1886 to 1889 and again from 1893 to 1897. Becoming first lady at age 21, she remains the youngest first lady to this day...
was six years her senior and the wife of a much older President Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
.
In England
Court of St. James's
The Court of St James's is the royal court of the United Kingdom. It previously had the same function in the Kingdom of England and in the Kingdom of Great Britain .-Overview:...
, Thomas F. Bayard, introduced Mary to London Society in 1894. She met a young man, George Curzon
George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston
George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, KG, GCSI, GCIE, PC , known as The Lord Curzon of Kedleston between 1898 and 1911 and as The Earl Curzon of Kedleston between 1911 and 1921, was a British Conservative statesman who was Viceroy of India and Foreign Secretary...
, a Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Member of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
who was thirty-five years old and had been representing Southport District for eight years and was heir to the Barony of Scarsdale
Viscount Scarsdale
Viscount Scarsdale, of Scarsdale in the County of Derby, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1911 for the prominent Conservative politician and former Viceroy of India George Curzon, 1st Baron Curzon of Kedleston, who was created Earl Curzon of Kedleston at the same...
. The position he had made for himself through his own talents was of more interest to her however, than his eventual inheritance. The high reputation of his writings on the political questions in the East particularly attracted her admiration.
Mary Leiter and George Curzon were married on 22 April 1895 at St. John's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. by Bishop Talbot who was assisted by the Rev. Dr. Mackay Smith, the pastor of the church.
She played an important role in the reelection of her husband to Parliament that autumn and many thought that his success was due more to the winning smiles and irresistible charm of his wife than to his own speeches. They had three daughters, Mary Irene
Mary Curzon, 2nd Baroness Ravensdale
Mary Irene Curzon, 2nd Baroness Ravensdale, CBE was the eldest child of George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston and Mary Victoria Leiter, a daughter of Levi Ziegler Leiter...
(later Lady Ravensdale), in 1896, Cynthia Blanche
Lady Cynthia Mosley
Lady Cynthia Blanche Mosley was a British politician of Anglo-American parentage and the first wife of the Conservative and Labour MP and British fascist Sir Oswald Mosley...
(first wife of Sir Oswald Mosley
Oswald Mosley
Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet, of Ancoats, was an English politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists...
), on 23 August 1898, lastly, Alexandra Naldera, on 20 April 1904 (wife of Edward "Fruity" Metcalfe
Edward Dudley Metcalfe
Edward Dudley Metcalfe, MVO, MC, , known as Fruity Metcalfe, was an officer in the British Indian Army and a close friend and equerry of Edward VIII.-Career:...
, the best friend, best man, and equerry of Edward VIII
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
); best known as Baba Metcalfe.
In India
Her husband accepted the position of Viceroy of India and was elevated to the Peerage of IrelandPeerage of Ireland
The Peerage of Ireland is the term used for those titles of nobility created by the English and later British monarchs of Ireland in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland. The creation of such titles came to an end in the 19th century. The ranks of the Irish peerage are Duke, Marquess, Earl,...
as Baron Curzon of Kedleston in the summer of 1898 at age thirty-nine. On 30 December they arrived in Bombay to the greetings of royal salutes and great excitement. She instantly made an impression of beauty and respect that soon spread all over India. They were greeted in Calcutta a few days later, with great enthusiasm. It was estimated that over one hundred thousand people witnessed the magnificent spectacle of their reception at Government House
Raj Bhavan (West Bengal)
Raj Bhavan is the Governor's palace in Kolkata, West Bengal. Built in 1803 and once the residence of the Viceroy of India, and called Government House, the palatial building is now the residence of the Governor of West Bengal. The present Governor, H.E...
. The Indian poet, Ram Sharma
Ram Sharma
Ram Sharma was a nineteenth-century Indo-Anglian poet who alternately criticized and praised the government in his poems and newspaper articles. He began his literary career in the 1860s but pursued steady writing only after his retirement from a government post in 1878...
referred to her in his welcome address to Lord Curzon of Kedleston, as:
A vision of embodied light."
Another declared her to be:
the full moon in a clear autumnal sky."
In 1901 Turner first raised the "Lady Curzon", was a hybrid (R. macrantha x R. rugosa Rubra) in her honor. It has a soft iridescent pink/violet shade, 10 cm flowers, and a sweet scent.
In 1902 Lord Curzon organized the Delhi Durbar
Delhi Durbar
The Delhi Durbar , meaning "Court of Delhi", was a mass assembly at Coronation Park, Delhi, India, to mark the coronation of a King and Queen of the United Kingdom. Also known as the Imperial Durbar, it was held three times, in 1877, 1903, and 1911, at the height of the British Empire. The 1911...
to celebrate the coronation of King Edward VII, "the grandest pageant in history", which created a tremendous sensation. At the state ball Mary wore an extravagant coronation gown, by the House of Worth
House of Worth
The House of Worth is a Haute Couture fashion house founded in the 1850s by Charles Frederick Worth. Today the house is owned by Shaneel Enterprises, entrepreneurs of Indian descent, based in the UK...
of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, known as the peacock dress, stitched of gold cloth, embroidered with peacock feathers with a blue/green beetle wing in each eye, which many mistook for emeralds, dipping into their own fantasies about the wealth of millionaire heiresses, Indian potentates and European royalty. The skirt was trimmed with white roses and the bodice with lace. She wore a huge diamond necklace and a large broach of diamonds and pearls. She wore a tiara crown with a pearl tipping each of its high diamond points. It was reported that as she walked through the hall the crowd was breathless. This dress is now on display at the Curzon estate, Kedleston Hall.
Lord and Lady Curzon were loudly criticised for the huge expense of this extravagant event and their own personal lifestyle, but their defenders pointed out that no money went out of the country—that it all came out of the pockets of the rich and was paid into the hands of the poor. What the government and the native princes and nobles expended in their splendid displays was paid to working people who needed it, and by throwing this large amount of money into circulation, the entire country was benefited.
Lady Curzon contributed to the design of the exquisitely rich and beautiful coronation robe of Queen Alexandra of England, made from gold fabric woven and embroidered in the same factory in Chandni Chauk Delhi where she ordered all the materials for her own state gowns. The factory owner said that she had the rarest taste of any woman he knew, and that she was the best dressed woman in the world—an opinion shared by other good judges.
Lady Curzon was an invaluable commercial agent for the manufacturers of the higher class of fabrics and art objects in India. She wore Indian fabrics. She made many of them fashionable in Calcutta and other Indian cities as well as in London, Paris, and the capitals of Europe. She placed orders for her friends and strangers. She assisted the silk weavers, embroiderers, and other artists to adapt their designs, patterns, and fabrics to the requirements of modern fashions.
She kept several of the best artists in India busy with orders and soon saw the results of her efforts, reviving skilled arts that almost had been forgotten. Lady Curzon was tutored in Urdu by the Mohyal
Mohyal
Mohyal is the name of an endogamous ethnic group that originates from the Gandhara region and consists of seven Brahmin lineages of that area that left the usual priestly occupation of Brahmins long ago to serve as soldiers and in government services.The...
patriarch Bakhshi Ram Dass Chhibber.
Hariot Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava
Hariot Georgina Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava VA CI DBE was a British peeress, known for her success in the role of "diplomatic wife", and for leading an initiative to improve medical care for women in British India.-Biography:Born Hariot Georgina Rowan-Hamilton, she...
and Lady Curzon by supplying women doctors and hospitals for women. There is a Lady Curzon Hospital in Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, shown to the right.
William Eleroy Curtis's dedication of his book "Modern India" is: "To Lady Curzon, An ideal American woman"
On 4 November 1902 Lady Curzon wrote from Viceroy's Camp, Simla, to Lady Randolph Churchill advising her on the appropriate headgear to wear in Delhi, saying that she is looking forward to seeing her and that she will not need an ayah in addition to her maid.
In 1903 she sailed on a yacht from Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
for a tour of the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
with Lord Curzon, Ignatius Valentine Chirol
Ignatius Valentine Chirol
Sir Ignatius Valentine Chirol was a journalist, prolific author, historian and British diplomat. He was a passionate imperialist and believed that Imperial Germany and Muslim unrest were the biggest threats to the British Empire.He was the son of the Rev. Alexander Chirol and Harriet Chirol...
, young Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
and other notable guests.
In 1904, Lady Curzon traveled by train with Lord Curzon to Dhaka
Dhaka
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh and the principal city of Dhaka Division. Dhaka is a megacity and one of the major cities of South Asia. Located on the banks of the Buriganga River, Dhaka, along with its metropolitan area, had a population of over 15 million in 2010, making it the largest city...
and toured the Shahbagh area in a fleet of Dechamp Tonneau-model 1902 automobiles. (photo: Fritz Kapp)
Lady Curzon learned about the Great One-horned Rhinoceros of Kaziranga from her tea-plantation friends and wanted to see them. In the winter of 1904 she visited the Kaziranga area, and saw some of their hoof
Hoof
A hoof , plural hooves or hoofs , is the tip of a toe of an ungulate mammal, strengthened by a thick horny covering. The hoof consists of a hard or rubbery sole, and a hard wall formed by a thick nail rolled around the tip of the toe. The weight of the animal is normally borne by both the sole...
marks, but was disappointed by not having seen a single rhinoceros. It was reported that the noted Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
ese animal tracker, Balaram Hazarika
Balaram Hazarika
Balaram Hazarika is a noted Assamese animal tracker who showed Lady Curzon around Kaziranga and impressed upon her the urgency of wildlife conservation...
, showed Lady Curzon around Kaziranga and impressed upon her the urgent need for its conservation
Conservation ethic
Conservation is an ethic of resource use, allocation, and protection. Its primary focus is upon maintaining the health of the natural world: its, fisheries, habitats, and biological diversity. Secondary focus is on materials conservation and energy conservation, which are seen as important to...
. Concerned about the dwindling numbers of rhinoceros, she asked her husband to take the necessary action to save the rhinoceros, which he did. The Kaziranga Proposed Reserve Forest thus was created. Later it was developed into the Kaziranga National Park
Kaziranga National Park
Kaziranga National Park is a national park in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of the state of Assam, India. A World Heritage Site, the park hosts two-thirds of the world's Great One-horned Rhinoceroses. Kaziranga boasts the highest density of tigers among protected areas in the world and was...
.
Private life
The Curzons' youngest daughter, Alexandra Naldera, was conceived in July 1903 at Naldehra, 25 km from ShimlaShimla
Shimla , formerly known as Simla, is the capital city of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of the British Raj in India. A popular tourist destination, Shimla is often referred to as the "Queen of Hills," a term coined by the British...
, perhaps after a high altitude game of golf. She was born on 20 March 1904. and became best known as "Baba", an Indian name for baby or little one. In 1925 she married Major Edward Dudley Metcalfe
Edward Dudley Metcalfe
Edward Dudley Metcalfe, MVO, MC, , known as Fruity Metcalfe, was an officer in the British Indian Army and a close friend and equerry of Edward VIII.-Career:...
, the best friend and equerry
Equerry
An equerry , and related to the French word "écuyer" ) is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually upon a Sovereign, a member of a Royal Family, or a national...
of Edward VIII
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...
. She later became a mistress of Oswald Mosley, her sister Cynthia's husband, as did their stepmother, Grace Curzon
Grace Curzon, Marchioness Curzon of Kedleston
Grace Elvina, Marchioness Curzon of Kedleston was born as Grace Elvina Hinds in Alabama, a daughter of J. Monroe Hinds, former United States Minister to Brazil...
Her oldest sister Irene had a short affair with Mosley before Cynthia married him.
Miscarriage
Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the spontaneous end of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or fetus is incapable of surviving independently, generally defined in humans at prior to 20 weeks of gestation...
, and fertility
Gynaecology
Gynaecology or gynecology is the medical practice dealing with the health of the female reproductive system . Literally, outside medicine, it means "the science of women"...
-related surgery
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
eroded her health. Convalescent trips to England failed to heal her. When they returned to England after Curzon's resignation in August 1905, her health was failing. She died on 18 July 1906 at home at 1 Carlton House Terrace
Carlton House Terrace
Carlton House Terrace refers to a street in the St. James's district of the City of Westminster in London, England, and in particular to two terraces of white stucco-faced houses on the south side of the street overlooking St. James's Park. These terraces were built in 1827–32 to overall designs by...
, Westminster, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, at age thirty-six.
It is said that Lady Curzon, after having seen the Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal is a white Marble mausoleum located in Agra, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal...
on a moonlit night, exclaimed in her bewilderment that she was ready to embrace an immediate death if someone promised to erect such a memorial on her grave.
Following Lady Curzon's death, in 1906, Lord Curzon had a memorial chapel built in his late wife's honour, attached to the parish church at Kedleston Hall. Lady Curzon is buried, with her husband, in the family vault beneath it. The design of the chapel, by G. F. Bodley
George Frederick Bodley
George Frederick Bodley was an English architect working in the Gothic revival style.-Personal life:Bodley was the youngest son of William Hulme Bodley, M.D. of Edinburgh, physician at Hull Royal Infirmary, Kingston upon Hull, who in 1838 retired to his wife's home town, Brighton, Sussex, England....
, does not resemble the Taj Mahal, but is in the decorated Gothic style. It was completed in 1913.
In the chapel Curzon expressed his grief at his wife's premature death by charging the sculptor, Sir Bertram Mackennal, to create a marble effigy for her tomb which: "expressed as might be possible in marble, the pathos of his wife's premature death and to make the sculpture emblematic of the deepest emotion." Later, Curzon's own effigy was added to lie beside that of his wife's, as his remains do in the vault beneath. Curzon's second wife chose to be buried in the churchyard outside.
Biographies
- Anne de Courcy The Viceroy's Daughters, The Lives of the Curzon Sisters, Harper Collins Publishers, 2003, Price: $14.95 ISBN 0-06-093557-X(biography) not cited. retrieved from publisher 3/14/2007
- Nicolson Nigel, "Lady Curzon", Harper & Row, New York, 1977. ISBN 0-29-777390-9 (biography) not cited.
- John Bradley, ed, (1986) Lady Curzon's India: Letters of a Vicereine, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, ISBN 0-29-778701-2
Further reading
- Nicola J. Thomas, "Broadening the Boundaries of Biography and Geography: Lady Curzon, Vicereine of India 1898–1905", Journal of Historical Geography, 2004
- Nicola J. Thomas, "American Vicereine of India", in: David Lambert and Alan Lester, eds., "Imperial Lives across the Empire" Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, forthcoming
- Nicola J. Thomas, "Embodying Empire: Dressing the Vicereine, Lady Curzon 1898–1905", Under review in Cultural Geographies