Consuelo Montagu, Duchess of Manchester

Portrait by John Singer Sargent, 1907

Consuelo Yznaga was born in 1853, in New York City, the second of four children of diplomat Antonio Modesto Yznaga del Valle (1823–1892) and Ellen Maria Clement (1833–1908).[6] Her father was from an old Cuban family that owned a large plantation (Torre Iznaga)[7] and sugar mills in the vicinity of Trinidad, Cuba; they had connections to several Spanish aristocratic families. Her mother, Ellen Maria Clement, was the daughter of Samuel Clement, a steamboat captain, and Maria Augusta Little.

She grew up at Ravenswood Plantation[8] in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, which she inherited when her parents died. Her parents acquired properties in New York and in Newport, Rhode Island, while retaining the plantations in Cuba and Louisiana.

Her sister, Naticia Yznaga, married Sir John Lister-Kaye, 3rd Baronet (1853–1924) in 1881.[9] Her brother, Fernando Yznaga (1850–1901),[10] was married to Mary Virginia "Jennie" Smith, sister of Alva Smith Vanderbilt Belmont, Consuelo's childhood best friend.[11]

In her teenage years, she became known on New York's social scene as one of the group called the Buccaneers.[12][5] During her marriage, she engaged herself in charitable organizations. Poverty was a cause that concerned her, and she was also interested in education and health.

The Duchess of Manchester was a renowned beauty, as were her sisters – Emilie Yznaga and Natividad (Natica) Yznaga.[13] The latter was the wife of Sir John Pepys Lister-Kaye, 3rd Baronet.

The Duchess was a celebrated society figure, belonging to the intimate circle of Edward VII of the United Kingdom, formerly the Prince of Wales.[14] Shortly before her death, she entertained King Edward and Nicholas II, the Czar of Russia, while the Czar was on a visit in England.[15]

Upon her brother's death in 1901, he left her $2,000,000.[16]

In the autumn of 1875, she met George Montagu, Viscount Mandeville (1853–1892),[17] at her father's country home in Morristown, New Jersey.[18] On 22 May 1876, at Grace Church in Manhattan, New York City, she married Viscount Mandeville. After their marriage, they settled on the Duke of Manchester's estate centered on Tandragee Castle in County Armagh in Ulster, Ireland.

They had a son and twin daughters:[19]

• William Montagu, 9th Duke of Manchester (1877–1947), who married, firstly, Helena Zimmerman, in 1900, and had issue. They divorced in 1931, and later that same year, he married Kathleen Dawes (d. 1966), on 17 December 1931.
• Lady Jacqueline Mary Alva Montagu, known as "May" (1879–1895),[20] who, although not diagnosed before she died, is commonly believed to have died of consumption.
• Lady Alice Eleanor Louise Montagu, known as "Nell" (1879–1900),[20] who died of consumption.[21]

The Duchess died of neuritis on 20 November 1909. At her bedside upon her death were her sisters, Lady Lister-Kaye and Emily Yznaga.[18] Her estate, valued at $2,493,131 (an approximate value of $69 million in 2017 rates), was left to her various family members.[14]

On her death in 1909,[22] the Duchess bequeathed a bracelet to her friend Queen Alexandra.[23] The Manchester Tiara, created for the Duchess by Cartier in 1903, is now in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.[24] Her diamond and emerald necklace was auctioned by Sotheby's in 2015.[25]