Britain’s Top Ten You Didn’t Know About the Aristocracy 10 Things... 1
From novels such as Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited to films such as Gosford Park, we have long been fascinated by how the ‘other half’ live. But how much do you really know about the aristocracy? BRITAIN brings you some fascinating facts...
The term aristocracy is derived from the Greek aristokratia, meaning ‘the rule of the best’. Aristocrats are considered to be
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in the highest social class in a society, and possess hereditary titles (Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount, Baron) granted by a monarch, which once granted them feudal or legal privileges. The aristocracy thrived in Henry VIII’s Tudor court, enjoyed its ‘golden age’ in the 18th century, and continued into ‘languid, be-plumed pomp’ in Queen Victoria’s heyday.
One aristocrat who dazzled the English court with his extravagant clothing was
Edward, Duke of Buckingham (1478-1521). “Edward was only fi ve when his father rebelled against Richard III”, says historian Dr Deborah Young of Swansea University. “The boy was hunted by the king and a price put on his head, but he was kept hidden by loyal friends. In order to provide a disguise, his head was shaved; he was dressed as a girl, and was taught to ride side-saddle”. Which seems highly appropriate for a man who, at the wedding of Prince Arthur and Catherine of Aragon, wore a gown estimated to be worth around £1,500 (more than £700,000 in today’s money).
The aristocracy are not known for being modest and reserved,
especially when it comes to their estates. “The home of the Earls Fitzwilliam,
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Wentworth Woodhouse in Yorkshire, covers two and a half acres, three times the size of Westminster Abbey”, says historian Professor Ellis Wasson.
Scotland that, if combined, would equal the size of the state of Delaware in the USA.
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Today’s fashion for visiting stately homes and grand estates in fact dates back to
the 1840s. “The fi rst ever ‘package holiday’ was organised (by Thomas Cook, naturally) to take workers on a visit to Belvoir Castle, the home of the Duke of Rutland, in 1841”, says Professor Peter Mandler, at the University of Cambridge.
6 ministers) has seen more than 7
Left: The 5th Duke of Rutland, as featured in Vanity Fair in 1871
As Professor Wasson
observes,
“Middle-class fi rst names for
boys once
Speaking of large estates, the Dukes of Sutherland in the late 19th century owned estates in England and
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common in Britain, such as Percy, Stanley, Cecil and Neville, are taken from historical aristocratic dynasties”.
The Cabinet (a group of the most senior government
its fair share of aristocrats. “Every Earl of Derby between 1830 and 1948 sat in the Cabinet”, says Wasson. “And every Marquess of Salisbury in the 20th century, with one exception, was a member of the Cabinet, the last departing in 1997”.
Hunting and shooting have long been favoured pastimes of the aristocracy. “The Marquess of Ripon shot half a
million animals between 1867 and 1923”, says Wasson. However, it would seem that sometimes the animals bit back. “The Foreign Secretary at the beginning of the First World War, Sir Edward Grey (1862- 1933), who was descended from an ancient Northumbrian family, had one brother eaten by a lion and another killed by a wild buffalo while on safari in Africa”.
The British aristocracy has included more than a few colourful characters. “The 7th Baron Newborough
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(1917-98) had his ashes fi red from a cannon on his estate in North Wales in accordance with his will”, says Charles William Kidd, editor of Debrett’s Peerage & Baronetage. “Also, the 9th Baron Forester (1975-) has a licence dated from the reign of King Henry VIII, which gave his ancestor the privilege of wearing his hat in the royal presence”.
Historical connections don’t often come as widespread as those of the 11th Duke of Devonshire
(1920-2004), says Professor Wasson. “He was closely related by either blood or marriage to President John F Kennedy, the fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley, Hollywood star Fred Astaire, Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, the novelist Nancy Mitford, and the communist journalist Jessica Mitford. And in case this wasn’t enough, his great grandfather was three-time Prime Minister the 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, Lord Robert Cecil, later Viscount Cranborne”.
www.britain-magazine.com
PHOTO: PHOTOLIBRARY
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