Social Victorians/People/Cassel

Also Known As

• Family name: Cassel
• Ernest Joseph Cassel

Overview

In his account of Edward VII's "Social and Diplomatic Life," Gordon Brook-Shepherd says,

Sir Ernest Cassel, that extraordinary German-Jewish wizard who rose from being an obscure immigrant bank clerk to becoming a financial giant of the British Empire in less than twenty years, was second only to Soveral in the King's affections and trust. (13)

In her biography of Edward VII, Jane Ridley says,

Bertie the debt-ridden prince turned into an unexpectedly wealthy King. This was largely due to Ernest Cassel. By paying off Bertie's debts as Prince of Wales, Cassel ensured that he seemed solvent on his accession. Like the court Jews who had propelled the absolutism of small German states in the eighteenth century, Cassel made the King stronger in his relations with Parliament. Edward VII's finances were not an issue during his reign. He had no need to ask the government for extra funds, and this ensured that he avoided the humiliation and annoyance of parliamentary inquiry and debate. The sum of money that Bertie owed Ernest Cassel has never been fully calibrated, but Cassel's role in underpinning the Edwardian monarchy was incalculable.

Acquaintances, Friends and Enemies

Friends

• Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, and later King Edward VII of England
• H. H. Asquith
• Winston Churchill
• Joseph Harry Lukach

Organizations

• Family was Ashkenazi Jews; he converted to Roman Catholicism.

Timeline

1861, circa, Ernest Cassel arrived in England.

1866, Wilhelmina Cassel and M. S. Cassel (AKA Louis Schoenbrunn) married.

1897 July 2, Friday, Ernest Cassel attended the Duchess of Devonshire's fancy-dress ball at Devonshire House. (Cassel is #462 on the list of people who were present.)

"Egyptian Finance" (Ernest Cassel), Vanity Fair, 7 December 1899

Costume at the Duchess of Devonshire's 2 July 1897 Fancy-dress Ball

Sir Ernest Joseph Cassel as Velázquez. ©National Portrait Gallery, London.

Ernest Cassel attended the Duchess of Devonshire's fancy-dress ball as Diego Velázquez.

The Gentlewoman says his costume was based on a "Copy of an old picture" and that he was wearing "black velvet, embroidered in fine silver."

Lafayette's portrait (left) of "Sir Ernest Joseph Cassel as Velasquez" in costume is photogravure #189 in the album presented to the Duchess of Devonshire and now in the National Portrait Gallery. The printing on the portrait says, "Mr E. Cassel as Velasquez," with a Long S in Cassel.

A caricature portrait (right) captioned "Egyptian Finance" by Leslie Ward ("Spy") appeared in the 7 December 1899 Vanity Fair, as Number 767 in its "Men of the Day" series.

No self-portraits of Velasquez immediately available look close enough to be the original for his costume. Neither the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square nor the National Portrait Gallery seems to have owned a self-portrait of Velázquez, although a number of Velázquez portraits could have been found on the continent, of course.

Demographics

• Nationality: originally Prussian, and then British

Family

• Jacob Cassel (1802 – 1875)
• Amalia Rosenheim ( – 1874)

1. Wilhelmina Cassel (28 March 1847 – 16 September 1925)
2. Max Cassel (1848–1875)
3. Rt. Hon. Sir Ernest Joseph Cassel (3 March 1852 – 21 September 1921)

• Wilhelmina Cassel Schoenbrunn (28 March 1847 – 16 September 1925)
• M. S. Cassel AKA Louis Schoenbrunn () [divorced]

1. Anna Isabella Schoenbrunn (1868 – 5 March 1959)
2. Sir Felix Cassel, 1st Bt. (16 September 1869 – 22 February 1953)

• Sir Ernest Joseph Cassel (3 March 1852 – 21 September 1921)
• Annette Mary Maud Maxwell (1855 – 1881)

1. Amalia Mary Maud Cassel (1881 – 5 February 1911)

Notes and Questions

1. Wilhelmina Cassel, once widowed, and her brother Ernest Cassel, when he became a widower, together raised their three children.