Social Victorians/People/Gordon-Lennox

Also Known As edit

  • Family name: Gordon-Lennox (also see Duke of Richmond and Gordon)
  • Lady Augusta Katherine Gordon-Lennox (14 January 1827 – 26 November 1851)
  • Augusta Katherine, Countess of Dornburg (Gräfin von Dornburg) (26 November 1851 – 1885)
  • Princess Edward of Saxe-Weimar (1885 – 3 April 1904)

Acquaintances, Friends and Enemies edit

Organizations edit

Lord Algernon Charles Gordon-Lennox edit

  • Colonel, Grenadier Guards[1]
  • Egyptian Campaign (1882)[1]
  • Aide-to-Camp, the Duke of Cambridge (1885 – 1895)[1]
  • Boer War (1900 – 1901)[1]
  • Secretary, Princess Victoria's Rest Clubs for Nurses (1918)[1]

Prince William Augustus Edward of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach edit

  • Colonel, 1st Life Guards[2]

Timeline edit

1851 November 27, Lady Augusta Catherine Gordon-Lennox and Wilhelm August Eduard (later Prinz von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach) married.[3]

1885, Queen Victoria allowed Augusta, Princess Edward of Saxe-Weimar to use the title princess; Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar's marriage with her was morganatic.[4]

1886 August 31, Lord Algernon Charles Gordon-Lennox and Blanche Maynard married.[5]

1897 July 2, Augusta, Princess Edward of Saxe-Weimar attended the Duchess of Devonshire's fancy-dress ball at Devonshire House, as did Lord Algernon and Lady Blanche Gordon-Lennox.

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

Augusta, Princess Edward of Saxe-Weimar edit

At the Duchess of Devonshire's fancy-dress ball, Augusta (née Gordon-Lennox), Princess Edward of Saxe-Weimar (at 156) sat at Table 4. The Westminster Gazette says, "Princess Edward of Saxe-Weimar being another [Princess Lamballe] in crimson velvet and white satin,"[6] but it seems more likely that the Princess de Lamballe was Lady Blanche Gordon-Lennox, who was about 35-40 years younger since the Princess de Lamballe died before she was 45 years old, executed in the French Revolution in September 1792.[7]

At least one other Princess de Lamballe was at the ball: Emily, Lady Ampthill (at 420).

Lady Blanche Gordon-Lennox edit

 
Blanche, Lady Gordon-Lennox in costume as Princess de Lamballe. ©National Portrait Gallery, London.
 
The Princess of Lamballe

Lady Blanche (Algernon) Gordon-Lennox (at 333) was dressed as Princess de Lamballe.

  • She was dressed as Princesse de Lamballe in the Quadrille of the Louis XV. and Louis XVI. Period.[8]
  • "Lady Algy Gordon Lennox made a success as Princess de Lamballe, in a much puffed-out Louis XV. dress, garlanded with pink roses."[9]
  • "Lady Algernon Gordon Lennox was a Princesse de Lamballe, in hoops, in a silvery dress, garlanded with pink roses."[10]:Col. 1

Otto (Otto Wegener)'s portrait of "Blanche (née Maynard), Lady Gordon-Lennox as Princess de Lamballe" in costume is #265 in the album presented to the Duchess of Devonshire and now in the National Portrait Gallery.[11] The printing on the portrait says, "Lady Algernon Gordon-Lennox as Princess de Lamballe," with a Long S in Princess."[12]

The portrait (left) of Maria Thérèsa Louise de Savoy, Princess de Lamballe is not the original, if one exists, of Lady Gordon-Lennox's dress. Painted in 1843 by Louis-Édouard Rioult after a lost 18th-century François-Hubert Drouais portrait,[13] the portrait has apparently been in the collections at Versailles since then.[14]

Lord Algernon Gordon Lennox edit

Lord Algernon Gordon Lennox (at 623) was also present.[15] According to the Gentlewoman, "Lord Algernon Gordon-Lennox, Lord Stanley, Hon. F. C. Stanley (as Grenadier Guard officers, 1660), scarlet tunics, trimmed gold; cuirasses inlaid with gilt, baldricks, swords; full blue breeches, scarlet hose and shoes, lappet wigs."[16]:34, Col. 2a That is, he was dressed like Lord Edward Stanley, whose portrait says "XVII Century" instead of 1660, and Lord Stanley's brother Hon. Ferdinand Charles Stanley.

Demographics edit

  • Nationality: British; Prince William Augustus Edward of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach naturalized British of German parents[17]

Family edit

  • Lady Augusta Katherine Gordon-Lennox (14 January 1827 – 3 April 1904)[3]
  • Prince William Augustus Edward of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (11 October 1823 – 16 November 1902)[2]


  • Colonel Lord Algernon Charles Gordon-Lennox (19 September 1847 – 3 October 1921)[1]
  • Blanche Maynard (14 February 1864 – 17 August 1945)[5]
  1. Hon. Ivy Gordon-Lennox (16 June 1887 – 3 March 1982)

Relations edit

  • Lady Augusta Catherine (or Katherine) Gordon-Lennox was the daughter of Charles Gordon-Lennox, 5th Duke of Richmond.[3]

Notes and Questions edit

  1. Lady Augusta, Princess of Saxe-Weimar was present and in the first supper seating; where was Prince William Augustus Edward of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach?
  2. There were a number of Princesses de Lamballe.

Footnotes edit

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Colonel Lord Algernon Charles Gordon-Lennox." "Person Page". thepeerage.com. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Wilhelm August Eduard Prinz von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach." "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Lady Augusta Catherine Gordon-Lennox." "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
  4. "Princess Edward of Saxe-Weimar". Wikipedia. 2020-09-29. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Princess_Edward_of_Saxe-Weimar&oldid=981019391. 
  5. 5.0 5.1 "Blanche Maynard." "Person Page". thepeerage.com. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
  6. “The Duchess’s Costume Ball.” Westminster Gazette 03 July 1897 Saturday: 5 [of 8], Cols. 1a–3b [of 3]. British Newspaper Archive https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002947/18970703/035/0005.
  7. "Marie Thérèse Louise of Savoy, Princesse de Lamballe". Wikipedia. 2022-01-07. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Marie_Th%C3%A9r%C3%A8se_Louise_of_Savoy,_Princesse_de_Lamballe&oldid=1064322288.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Thérèse_Louise_of_Savoy,_Princesse_de_Lamballe.
  8. "Fancy Dress Ball at Devonshire House." Morning Post Saturday 3 July 1897: 7 [of 12], Col. 4a–8 Col. 2b. British Newspaper Archive https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000174/18970703/054/0007.
  9. “The Devonshire House Ball. A Brilliant Gathering.” The Pall Mall Gazette 3 July 1897, Saturday: 7 [of 10], Col. 2a–3a. British Newspaper Archive https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000098/18970703/019/0007.
  10. “The Duchess’s Costume Ball.” Westminster Gazette 03 July 1897 Saturday: 5 [of 8], Cols. 1a–3b [of 3]. British Newspaper Archive https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002947/18970703/035/0005.
  11. "Devonshire House Fancy Dress Ball (1897): photogravures by Walker & Boutall after various photographers." 1899. National Portrait Gallery https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait-list.php?set=515.
  12. "Lady Algernon Gordon-Lennox as Princess de Lamballe." Diamond Jubilee Fancy Dress Ball. National Portrait Gallery https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw158628/Blanche-ne-Maynard-Lady-Gordon-Lennox-as-Princess-de-Lamballe.
  13. Rioult, Louis-Édouard; Drouais, probably after a lost work byFrançois-Hubert (1843), Portrait of Madame de Lamballe (1749-1792), retrieved 2022-01-10. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rioult_-_The_Princess_of_Lamballe.jpg.
  14. "Les collections – Château de Versailles". collections.chateauversailles.fr. Retrieved 2022-01-10. http://collections.chateauversailles.fr/#088439b8-9f03-4939-a744-baafed3966a4.
  15. “The Duchess of Devonshire’s Ball.” Chelmsford Chronicle 9 July 1897, Friday: 2 of 8. British Newspaper Archive https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000322/18970709/008/0002.
  16. “The Duchess of Devonshire’s Ball.” The Gentlewoman 10 July 1897 Saturday: 32–42 [of 76], Cols. 1a–3c [of 3]. British Newspaper Archive https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003340/18970710/155/0032.
  17. "Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar". Wikipedia. 2020-07-30. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Prince_Edward_of_Saxe-Weimar&oldid=970258628.