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Social Victorians/People/Pless

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Also Known As edit

Daisy, Princess of Pless edit

  • Family name: Cornwallis-West
  • Daisy, Princess of Pless
  • Princess Henry of Please

Prince Henry of Pless edit

  • Family name: Hochberg[1]
  • Prince Henry of Pless
  • Hans Heinrich XV Prinz von Pless
  • Count of Hochberg
  • Baron of Fürstenstein
  • Heinrich, Prince of Pless: VIAF: 301773884

Overview edit

Daisy, Princess of Pless was British and married a Silesian (now in Poland) nobleman, Hans Heinrich XV Prinz von Pless. Her mother was Patsy Cornwallis-West, an intimate of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales.

Daisy, Princess of Pless had an intense relationship with Luís de Soveral, writing both extremely virulent and petulant things to and about him.

Acquaintances, Friends and Enemies edit

Friends edit

Timeline edit

1891 December 8, Daisy Cornwallis-West and Hans Heinrich, XV Prince of Pless, married in St. Margaret's in Westminster, with Edward Albert, Prince of Wales, as witness.[3]

1897 July 2, Friday, Daisy, Princess of Pless and Prince Henry of Pless attended the Duchess of Devonshire's fancy-dress ball at Devonshire House.[4] (Daisy, Princess Henry of Pless is #38 on the list of people who attended; Prince Henry of Pless is #40.)

1903 January 10, Daisy, Princess of Pless is quite nasty about Soveral as early as 1903, possibly because of his political alliances against Germany but also, it sounds like, something personal:

Soveral, the Portuguese Minister, is the oddest character at present in English Society; he imagines himself to be a / great intellectual and political force and the wise adviser of all the heads of the Government and, of course, the greatest danger to women! I amuse myself with him as it makes the other women furious, and he is sometimes very useful. He is so swarthy that he is nicknamed the "blue monkey" and I imagine that even those stupid people who believe that every man who talks to a woman must be her lover, could not take his Don Juanesque pretensions seriously. Yet I am told that all women do not judge him so severely and some even find him très séduisant. How disgusting! Anyway, from now on I will not go alone with him to the theatre or to lunch at a restaurant. He hates the German Emperor and I am sure has a very bad influence on King Edward in this direction. It is simply that his prodigious vanity is wounded because he imagines that the Emperor does not care for him and does not fuss over him when visiting England. Why should the Emperor rush at him? After all, Delagoa Bay[1] is not the one point around which the world revolves.

fn1: Discovered by Portugal in 1502: the subject of repeated disputes between Portugal and Great Britain, the last in 1889.[5]:78–79

Perhaps some gossip about them stung her into this diatribe. She sounds racist and fascist in it. She seems to be denying what everybody else thought was true of Soveral, especially his intelligence and his popularity.

They were thrown together socially, and in another description from 1903, she complains that good male conversationalists are difficult to come by, but "Soveral is the most agreeable conversationalist of them all — and he is a foreigner."[6]:99 In an undated letter she refuses to be rejected by him:

You are simply getting bored with me and that's the truth. ... No my dear, I am not going to be taken up one moment & dropped the next. ...

Now that I have said all that I feel better. Let me know tomorrow if you are coming for lunch or not.

Yours,

Daisy ... [sic ellipsis points][7]:260

1906 July, Daisy, Princess of Pless writes in her first memoir:

When I was in London in July, Soveral motored me to see Hampton Court and the lovely gardens. We then hired a man to punt us down the river and lunched tied to the banks of a side stream. On the way back we ran into a Regatta at Kingston, but could not watch it as I had to be back in time to dine at White Lodge. This excursion was to be kept a secret, goodness knows why; but Soveral never would let one lady know about another. Above all, the King and Queen were not to be told. One day at Cowes, to Soveral’s horror, the two sons of Princess Beatrice began: “Oh, we saw you at the Regatta the other day ——” Soveral hushed them up, changed the conversation quickly and Queen Alexandra, being deaf, did not hear. For such a careful diplomat he was sometimes guilty of bad breaks. Nothing is more stupid than unnecessary secrets. One day he and I went into Cowes and he bought two brooches with the King’s yachting pennant in enamel; one he gave / to me and the other he later on gave to the Queen. We were racing in the Britannia a day or two afterwards when the Queen showed me hers and then exclaimed: “Oh, you have one too.” To tease her a little I could not resist saying: “Yes, ma’am. Soveral and I bought them together in a shop at Cowes.”[8]:122–123

1910 May 23, Daisy, Princess of Pless got the word that King Edward VII had died and "wrote to the present King, and to the darling Queen Alexandra, and Princess Victoria, Soveral and Alice Keppel ... [sic] poor dear, she was his friend and confidant since so many years."[8]:211

1922 December 12, Daisy Cornwallis-West, Princess of Pless and Hans Heinrich, XV Prince of Pless divorced.[3]

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

Daisy, Princess Henry of Pless edit

 
Daisy, Princess of Pless as Cleopatra (or the Queen of Sheba?). ©National Portrait Gallery, London.
 
A photograph of Daisy, Princess of Pless, perhaps from the same session, holding a different fan

At the Duchess of Devonshire's fancy-dress ball, Daisy, Princess Henry of Pless sat at Table 5 in the first seating for supper.

Lafayette's portrait (right) of "Mary Theresa Olivia ('Daisy') (née Cornwallis-West), Princess of Pless as Cleopatra" in costume is photogravure #85 in the album presented to the Duchess of Devonshire and now in the National Portrait Gallery.[9] The printing on the portrait says, "H. H. Princess Henry of Pless as Cleopatra," with a Long S in Princess and Pless.[10]

According to her portrait in the Album, she was dressed as Cleopatra, but many of the newspaper accounts report that she was dressed as the Queen of Sheba and walked in the "Oriental" procession, at the beginning, right after Lady Cynthia Graham.[11]:p. 7, Col. 5b Her sister Shelagh Cornwallis-West was dressed as a courtier in the train of the Queen of Sheba, as was her brother George Cornwallis-West.

Attendants of Daisy, Princess Henry of Pless edit

According to some newspaper accounts, Daisy, Princess of Pless had attendants, perhaps 5 or 6 white "maidens" and 4 or 5 Black men. They are variously called attendants, pages, maidens (for the white ones), and trainbearers. Perhaps the nonwhite attendants carried her train. Two white women of her class are reported as being among the attendants:

  1. Her sister Miss Cornwallis West, Shelagh Cornwallis-West, who does not appear to be in Blackface, was her "Ethiopian attendant."[12]:p. 5, Col. 7c
  2. Miss Mary Goelet, whose dress was "another marvellous triumph,"[13] is not described as an attendant in any of the other reports about her dress or presence in the "Oriental procession."

George Cornwallis-West says he was "one of the entourage of her Court, whose dresses had been designed by a famous theatrical designer of the day."[14]:97 According to this description, Comelli may have been the designer of the costumes of the Princess of Pless's entourage.

Newspaper Accounts of Her Costume edit

While the commemorative album says she was dressed as Cleopatra and while the album may be more likely to be right than a newspaper, occasional errors did creep in. Also, because of scissors-and-paste editing, the fact that multiple newspapers say the same thing does not guarantee that it is right.

She had attendants, among them her sister, her brother and Miss Mary Goelet as well as people of color.

Some newspapers used extremely offensive language — including the n-word — to describe her attendants; while they were probably Black, those same words were used to describe South Asians in particular but could have been used for any race or ethnicity the newspaper considered non-white.

  • She was dressed "as Queen of Sheba, [and] wore diaphonous draperies of purple and gold gauze, with barbaric splendour of heavy jewellery."[12]:p. 5, Col. 7c
  • She was dressed in "gold and purple gauze, the short-waisted bodice encrusted with immense turquoises set round with diamonds and other precious stones; the skirt and draperies of gold gauze embroidered to correspond, and the long gold girdle encrusted and fringed with jewels. Bird of paradise and crown. Four niggers [sic] held her train."[11]
  • She was dressed "as Queen of Sheba with her train."[15]:p. 7, Col. 4c
  • She was dressed in "gold and purple gauze, the short-waisted bodice encrusted with immense turquoises set round with diamonds and other precious stones; the skirt and draperies of gold gauze embroidered to correspond, and the long gold girdle was encrusted and fringed with jewels; bird of paradise and crown. Four negroes held her train."[15]:p. 7, Col. 7b
  • "Princess Henry of Pless — Queen of Sheba. A costume of gold and purple gauze, the short-waisted bodice encrusted with immense turquoises set round with diamonds and other precious stones; the skirt and draperies were of gold gauze embroidered to correspond, and the long gold girdle was encrusted and fringed with jewels; bird of paradise and crown. Four niggers [sic] held her train."[16]:p. 3, Col. 2a
  • "the Queen of Sheba was delightfully impersonated by Princess Henry of Pless, in robes of gold tissue shot with purple, and bordered with a wonderful jewelled embroidery, in which turquoises, amethysts, rubies, and diamonds were effectively intermingled."[17]
  • "Princess Henry of Pless as the Queen of Sheba was also [like Louisa Duchess of Devonshire?] attended by black pages, trainbearers, &c., and her procession was the most dazzling of all."[18]
  • "The Princess Henry of Pless was a dream in purple and gold and diamonds."[18]:p. 5, Col. 2
  • "Princess Henry of Pless was splendidly dressed as the Queen of Sheba in gold gauze shot with maize [sic, s/b mauve?], and with a soft white sash tied across the waist. The whole robe was encrusted with lovely jewels, and the head-dress was composed of a diamond peahen, white paradise plumes, and chains of diamonds falling at each side."[19]:p. 5, Col. 9c (This description of Daisy, Princess Henry of Pless's costume in the Belfast News-Letter is almost identical to the one in the Carlisle Patriot through the description of the robe but not the headdress.[20])
  • "There were two queens of Sheba, one of whom, the Princess of Pless, was most lovely. Her dress was one of the most superb things ever seen. It must have cost several hundred pounds. She was followed by five black attendants and six maidens, one of whom was Miss Goelet, whose dress was another marvellous triumph."[13]
  • "As the Queen of Sheba, Princess Henry of Pless was attended by five black pages and five white, in gorgeous dresses, who carried her train. Her dress was of purple and gold shot gauze."[21]
  • "Princess Henry of Pless was another [Queen of Sheba], and her dress was absolutely magnificent. The conception of it was both poetic and artistic, and is due, I believe, to the genius of Mrs. Harrison. I wish I could describe at all adequately the barbaric splendour of it, with turquoise, emerald, amethyst, and ruby caught in a web of finest gold and spread thickly upon the dress and train of diaphanous gauze in purple and gold, its shifting light seeming to mingle with that of the jewels. Black attendants bore her train along, and among her girl attendants was her pretty sister, Miss Cornwallis West, in an Ethiopian dress of snowy crêpe, gilded with jewels under a flowing robe of gold tissue. ..."[22]:42, Col. 1b
  • "Among the most magnificent of the Oriental personages was Princess Henry Pless, who, as the Queen of Sheba, was gorgeous to behold. Her dress was of purple and gold-shot gauze, bodice and skirt embroidered nearly to the knees, the train being one mass of jewels encrusted in gold. An Assyrian headdress, with clusters of diamonds over each ear, jewelled feathers, and chains of diamonds and turquoises, which were attached to armlets from shoulder to wrist, completed a costume of dazzling splendour."[23]:p. 32, Col. 2c [for the chains attached to her armbands, see the Queen]
  • "Made by Mrs Mason, 4, New Burlington Street, 2. … Princess Pless, Queen of Sheba. — Gown and train of gold and purple shot cloth of gold, most elaborately embroidered with precious stones and turquoise. Assyrian headdress worked with jewels, a diamond bird, and bird of Paradise aigrette."[24]:Col. 1c
  • "gold and purple gauze, the short-waisted bodice encrusted with immense turquoises set round with diamonds and other precious stones; the skirt and draperies of gold gauze embroidered to correspond, and the long gold girdle encrusted and fringed with jewels. Bird of paradise and crown."[25]

Commentary on Daisy's Costume edit

 
Page from Webster's home, school and office dictionary (1916) showing "Rare Birds of Brilliant Plumage" (14797525993)

The Princess of Pless's costume was made up of a dress, a train and accessories. The photographer's scenery includes a drop showing a blooming tree, a wall, perhaps a bay and, on the bench a lion and a tiger pelt.

  • The dress
    • gauze
    • shot fabric
    • low-cut bodice
    • long Victorian corset
    • gather and drape of the skirt
  • train
    • long
    • People carried her train.
    • In front of her on her right side but not apparently on her left, probably attached to the dress in back
  • Trim and Decoration
    • embroidery
    • jewels sewn onto the dress and train
  • Accessories
    • Jewelry
    • Belt
    • headdress
  • lion and tiger
  • The newspapers say the Princess of Pless is wearing for her headdress a bird of paradise (or, in one case, a pea hen). The image (right) shows a bird of paradise on the left toward the bottom.

Prince Henry of Pless edit

 
The ribbon, badge, and star of the Order of St. Catherine

Prince Henry of Pless (at 40) was dressed as Count Orloff. Some accounts describe him as wearing the insignia of the Russian Order of St. Catherine, which included a scarlet moiré sash, a Badge of the Order, and a Star of the Order.[26] His portrait was not included in the album, so it is not clear at this time exactly what insignia he wore, or how he wore it. Only one male was ever awarded the order, in the early 18th century, the closest friend (at the time 13 years old) of Peter I.[26]

  • "Prince Henry of Pless — Prince Orloff at the Court of Catherine of Russia — was dressed in a scarlet cloth coat embroidered in gold, with vest worked to correspond, white breeches, and jewelled decorations."[16]:p. 3, Col. 2a
  • "Beside [Lady Raincliffe, as the Empress Catherine] was Prince Orloff, represented by Prince Henry Pless, in a costume of red cloth with heavy gold embroideries; he also wore the Order of St. Catherine."[23]:p. 32, Col. 3b
  • "Prince Orloff (Court of Catherine of Russia). Scarlet cloth coat embroidered in gold, with vest worked to correspond; white breeches and jewelled decorations."[15]:p. 7, Col. 7b
  • H.S.H. Prince Henry of Pless "personated Prince Orloff, of the Court of Catherine of Russia. His scarlet coat and white vest were embroidered in gold, and he wore diamond jewels and orders."[12]:p. 5, Col. 7c
  • "Prince Henry of Pless, as Count Orloff, the favourite of Catherine of Russia, was imposing in scarlet and gold."[19]:p. 5, Col. 9c

He is not listed among those in the first seating for supper, although the Princess of Pless was, so he probably was? He walked in the Court in the procession of Empress Catherine II of Russia as Count Orloff.[15]:p. 7, Col. 5b.[11] Prince Henry of Pless's original costume appeared in the Drury Lane production of The White Heather.[27]

Demographics edit

  • Nationality: Daisy, British, born in Wales; Henreich, Silesian, from what is now Poland

Family edit

  • Daisy (Mary Theresa) Cornwallis-West, then Daisy, Princess of Pless or Princess Henry of Pless (28 June 1873 — 29 June 1943)[3]
  • Hans Heinrich XV Prinz von Pless (23 April 1861 — 3 February 1938)
  1. Daughter (25 February 1893 – 11 March 1893)
  2. Hans Heinrich XVII Wilhelm Albert Eduard 4th Fürst von Pless (2 February 1900 – 26 January 1984)
  3. Alexander Friedrich Wilhelm Georg Konrad Ernst Maximilian 5th Fürst von Pless (1 February 1905 – 22 November 1984)
  4. Bolko Conrad Friedrich von Pless Graf von Hochberg (23 September 1910 – 22 June 1936)

Relations edit

Memoirs, Autobiography and Biographies edit

Not alphabetical but by date of publication:

  1. Pless, Daisy, Princess of (Mary Theresa Olivia née Cornwallis-West). Princess Daisy of Pless by Herself. Ed. and Intro., Major Desmond Chapman-Huston. New York, Dutton, 1929. Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.87394/.
  2. Pless, Daisy, Princess of (Mary Theresa Olivia née Cornwallis-West). Better Left Unsaid. Ed. and Intro., Desmond Chapman-Huston. E. P. Dutton, 1931. Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/betterleftunsaid0000ples/.
  3. Pless, Daisy, Princess. The Private Diaries of Daisy, Princess of Pless, 1873–1914. London: John Murray, 1950. [A "selection" from two of her earlier books.] Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/privatediariesof0000ples/.

Questions and Notes edit

  1. Notice her attendants and the variation in how they are described; the Times uses the n-word.
  2. Daisy Cornwallis-West, Princess Henry of Pless, is described as being dressed as Cleopatra in the Album of portraits and as the Queen of Sheba in other reports.
  3. Daisy Cornwallis-West's mother, Patsy Cornwallis-West, was one of Bertie's mistresses ( Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, King Edward VII).

Footnotes edit

  1. ↑ "Hans Heinrich XV Prinz von Pless." "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  2. ↑ "Hans Heinrich XV von Hochberg". Wikipedia. 2020-09-30. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hans_Heinrich_XV_von_Hochberg&oldid=981092541. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Mary Theresa Cornwallis-West." "Person Page". www.thepeerage.com. Retrieved 2020-10-05.
  4. ↑ "Daisy, Princess of Pless". Wikipedia. 2020-08-10. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Daisy,_Princess_of_Pless&oldid=972068300. 
  5. ↑ Pless, Daisy, Princess. The Private Diaries of Daisy, Princess of Pless, 1873–1914. London: John Murray, 1950. Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/privatediariesof0000ples/.
  6. ↑ Pless, Daisy, Princess of (Mary Theresa Olivia née Cornwallis-West). Better Left Unsaid. Ed. and Intro., Desmond Chapman-Huston. E. P. Dutton, 1931. Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/betterleftunsaid0000ples/.
  7. ↑ Martin, Ralph G. Lady Randolph Churchill : A Biography. Cardinal, 1974. Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/ladyrandolphchur0002mart_w8p2/.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Pless, Daisy, Princess of (Mary Theresa Olivia née Cornwallis-West). Princess Daisy of Pless by Herself. Ed. and Intro., Major Desmond Chapman-Huston. New York, Dutton, 1929.
  9. ↑ "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 (accessed June 2019).
  10. ↑ "Mary Theresa Olivia ('Daisy') (née Cornwallis-West), Princess of Pless as Cleopatra." Diamond Jubilee Fancy Dress Ball. National Portrait Gallery https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw158443/Mary-Theresa-Olivia-Daisy-ne-Cornwallis-West-Princess-of-Pless-as-Cleopatra (accessed June 2019).
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Ball at Devonshire House." The Times Saturday 3 July 1897: 12, Cols. 1a–4c The Times Digital Archive. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 "Duchess of Devonshire's Fancy Ball. A Brilliant Spectacle. Some of the Dresses." London Daily News Saturday 3 July 1897: 5 [of 10], Col. 6a–6, Col. 1b. British Newspaper Archive http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000051/18970703/024/0005 and http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0000051/18970703/024/0006.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Gorgeous Affair. Costume Ball Given by the Duchess of Devonshire in London Last Evening. Many Americans Present. Duchess of Marlborough Appeared as ‘Columbia’ and Depew as Washington." Providence [Rhode Island] Evening Telegram Saturday 3 July 1897: 9, Col. 3b [of 8]. Google Books. Retrieved September 2023. https://books.google.com/books?id=gvJeAAAAIBAJ.
  14. ↑ Qtd. in Martin Spies, ""Late Victorian Aristocrats and the Racial Other: The Devonshire House Ball of 1897." Race & Class April–June 2016 (57.4): 95–103.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 "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.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 “The Ball at Devonshire House. Magnificent Spectacle. Description of the Dresses.” London Evening Standard 3 July 1897 Saturday: 3 [of 12], Cols. 1a–5b [of 7]. British Newspaper Archive https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000183/18970703/015/0004.
  17. ↑ “The Devonshire House Ball. A Brilliant Gathering.” The Pall Mall Gazette 3 July 1897, Saturday: 7 [of 10], Col. 2a–3a. British Newspaper Archive http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000098/18970703/019/0007.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 “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.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "The Duchess of Devonshire's Fancy Dress Ball. Special Telegram." Belfast News-Letter Saturday 03 July 1897: 5 [of 8], Col. 9 [of 9]. British Newspaper Archive https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0000038/18970703/015/0005.
  20. ↑ "Fancy Dress Ball: Unparalleled Splendour." Carlisle Patriot Friday 9 July 1897: 7 [of 8], Col. 4a–b. British Newspaper Archive https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000365/18970709/084/0007.
  21. ↑ "Duchess of Devonshire's Fancy-Dress Ball. Brilliant Spectacle." The [Guernsey] Star 6 July 1897, Tuesday: 1 [of 4], Col. 1–2. British Newspaper Archive http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000184/18970706/003/0001.
  22. ↑ “Girls’ Gossip.” Truth 8 July 1897, Thursday: 41 [of 70], Col. 1b – 42, Col. 2c. British Newspaper Archive https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0002961/18970708/089/0041.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 “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.
  24. ↑ “Dresses Worn at the Duchess of Devonshire’s Fancy Ball on July 2.” The Queen, The Lady’s Newspaper 10 July 1897, Saturday: 48 [of 98 BNA; p. 74 print page], full page [3 of 3 cols.]. British Newspaper Archive  https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0002627/18970710/168/0048.
  25. ↑ Greville, Violet, Lady. "Devonshire House Ball." The Graphic Saturday 10 July 1897: 15 [of 24]: Col. 1a–16, Col. 1c. British Newspaper Archive http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000057/18970710/019/0015.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 "Order of Saint Catherine". Wikipedia. 2021-10-18. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Order_of_Saint_Catherine&oldid=1050500455.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Saint_Catherine.
  27. ↑ "The Morning’s News." London Daily News 18 September 1897, Saturday: 5 [of 8], Col. 2b. British Newspaper Archive http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000051/18970918/027/0005.
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