Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough
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Gladys Marie Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough (née Deacon; 7 February 1881 – 13 October 1977) was a French American aristocrat and socialite. She was the mistress and later the second wife of Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough.
Aug 11, 2019 · Gladys Deacon was once heralded as one of the world’s most beautiful women. She overcame a traumatic childhood to become the “belle of the ball” in Parisian society, she became a Duchess and ...
Feb 17, 2011 · It dawned on him that he was looking at Gladys Deacon, Duchess of Marlborough, who he described as once being the world's most beautiful woman. But as he went to say hello she dropped everything...
- She Was Admir-Able
- Her Mother Preferred The French
- Her Father Interrupted The Honeymoon
- Her Father, with The Revolver, in The Hotel
- She Joined The Nunnery
- She Was Abducted
- She Crossed The Atlantic
- She Had Big Dreams
- She Practiced Witchcraft
- Her Father Wasn’T Thinking Clearly
Gladys Deacon was born in Paris in 1881. Her parents were the wealthy American aristocrats, Edward and Florence Deacon. By way of her mother, Gladys was the granddaughter of the famed American admiral, Charles H. Baldwin. It would be tragedy, however, that would mar the early years of Gladys’ life. Wikipedia
Edward and Florence Deacon were fixtures of Europe’s high society. But behind closed doors, they were hiding a dark secret. The Deacons were not happily married which meant that Florence was happy to seek “comfort” elsewhere. Gladys’ mother began carrying on an affair with a Frenchman named Emile Abeille. Her father, however, wouldn’t stand for it....
Gladys’ father found out that his wife was carrying on an affair and took some drastic measures to end her infidelity. Leaving little Gladys behind, Edward followed his wife and her lover to a hotel in Cannes where the two paramours were planning on having a romantic getaway. To say that Edward overreacted would be an understatement. Picryl
Gladys’ father confronted his wife and her lover…with a revolver. Edward let loose three bullets and put an end to Abeille, who staggered out of the room to the horror of the hotel guests. Mr. Deacon then handed himself into the local authorities. In an ironic twist of fate, revolvers would play a large role in Gladys’ later life as well. Wikipedia
While her father had to spend some time behind bars for his, ahem, transgressions, Gladys couldn’t stay at home. Her mother sent her to the Convent de l’Assomption in Auteuil, France—an ominous presage to her later years. Fortunately for the young Gladys, her unpleasant stay at the convent wouldn’t be a long one. Wikipedia
Luckily for Gladys’ father, “crimes of passion” carried lighter sentences in the 19th century. After just 12 months, he was a free man and won custody of his kids, including Gladys, in divorce proceedings. However, Florence wasn’t giving up that easily, and she came up with a disturbing plan. She abducted Gladys from the convent before her father c...
The on-going custody battle between Edward and Florence Deacon was about to go transcontinental. Edward was finally able to get Gladys and her sisters back from their mother—and take them far, far away. Edward took Gladys and her sisters to his home in the United States. But the happily ever after that Gladys would eventually have was still years a...
While stuck in the United States with her father, Gladys had dreams of her return to Europe. Like so many American socialites at the time, Gladys became obsessed with official titles of nobility—one in particular. Gladys set her sights on Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough. But her dreams of becoming the Duchess of Marlborough would...
Eventually, Gladys learned of the Duke of Marlborough’s marriage to Consuelo Vanderbilt. She made her disappointment and frustration at the news clear in a letter to her mother: “If only I were a little older, I might catch him yet. I am too young though mature in the arts of woman’s witchcraft and what is the use of one without the other?” But she...
Gladys wouldn’t stay in the United States for much longer than she stayed in the convent. As it turned out, there might have been a chilling reasonfor her father’s earlier—shall we call it—rash behavior. Edward Deacon was suffering “paralysis of the brain,” which was 19th-century code for late-stage syphilis. He passed away in 1901 and Gladys was o...
Feb 7, 2021 · Today marks the 140th Anniversary of the Birth of Gladys Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, who was born on this day in 1881.
Feb 14, 2020 · A fortune teller informed young Gladys that she would become the Duchess of Marlborough, and mistress of the palace of Blenheim, the trophy house presented to John Churchill, the first...
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Gladys Marie Spencer-Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough (née Deacon; 7 February 1881 – 13 October 1977) was a French American aristocrat and socialite. She was the mistress and later the second wife of Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough.
