+Ashlie Neevel Being born into money isn't all that it's cracked up to be, I can tell you that based on personal experience. Money and having a pampered upbringing does not equal happiness, especially when you have extremely abrasive and controlling parents.
Yes, the pampering of being strapped to a steel rod for hours while simultaneously attempting to learn a foreign language. Oh, and wonderful weekend lunches on the yard with your mother reciting everything you learned that week. What a pampered existence! Did you even watch the video?
Do you know what it's like to be the youngest child born into a wealthy family? It's true that you're extremely spoiled, with literally everything being handed to you on silver platter; I certainly was. I always had nice clothing and toys, and for my 16th birthday my parents bought me a new car (they did the same when I turned 21). However, despite all of that, there's a dark side to coming from a wealthy family that this video describes. There's very little freedom to do what you want. It's to the point where you feel as if you're in a prison. My parents never allowed me to go to sleepovers, parties (even simple birthday parties), or hang with my friends whenever they called. They were controlling and overly-protective. As a teenager, if my parents didn't like the person I was dating, it ended very quickly. My siblings and I were forced to keep absolutely everything that happened in our family a secret. We couldn't speak about anything, even family vacations. Because we lived in a very large house (Victorian mansion, more specifically) that was considered the largest house in town, we were always the center of attention. We couldn't do anything without everyone whispering about it, and my family was very much apart of the so-called "rumor mill". If I had my friends over, they were given instructions on how to handle themselves. Friends were expected to have a certain amount of decorum while in the house due to my parents having expensive decor all over. Some of the rooms were even gated off and only adults could be in them. We always sat down and ate dinner together and were not allowed to speak until my parents were finished talking about their day. So yes I came from a family with privilege, but that doesn't mean it's all happy and fantastic. My parents today are just as controlling as they were when I was growing up.
The thing that I noticed most was this: not a single member of that family seemed remotely contented by their fabulous wealth. All that money and the only thing Mrs. Vanderbilt cared about was that her daughter could become a Duchess. They had everything most people then could have ever wished for, but it was never quite enough, it seems.
NONE of them. And I’ve read several books about the Vanderbilts. Even Gloria Vanderbilt was miserable and that was the end of the money. Too much money causes problems.
Today is instagram, tiktoks, all abt social media that can validate you. But in the past, social class /status was. Money can't grant you into certain circle, that's why they obsessed with royalty titles.
danielle diller I was in a home like this but my folks weren’t quite as rich. My mother wanted me to live out her life too. I grew up in a well off neighborhood but was very unhappy
@JustJ WhoIsAsking no I don't actually I myself grew up in a poorer family and was abused and the thought that people using money as just another way to control their kids makes me glad we really didn't have any.
Poverty sucks and abuse sucks. Whether you’re fearing a lack of food or the wrath of a brutally oppressive mother, neither is easy to live with. Kind of hard to say that one is necessarily worse than the other.
Chica 411 Exactly. The pic of her with her brothers and her mother, shows very unhappy expressions on the kids faces. So many people commenting here are so negative because they are jealous of the wealth she grew up in. It is sad and pathetic when they will deliberately overlook the abuse because they are angry that her family. over a hundred years ago or so, had a rich lifestyle and use that as a reason to bash her, a CHILD. These commenters need to do some serious self examination and stop acting like martyrs and feeling sorry for themselves. The green monster is driving them.
rhon715 I couldn't agree with you more!! I admire wealthy people for being who they are and what they've accomplished in their lives, not to mention the fact that a lot of wealthy people donate to charities, a fact which people conveniently forget when they bash wealthy people out of jealousy!!
She would probably rather live somewhere else I agree but it's not always that simple. Sometimes you get so hooked by the security and luxury of wealth that you endure abuse time and time again because you're too afraid of what would happen if you didn't.
I read that she was forced to marry a man she didn't love so her mother could move up in society. On her wedding day they had to use a lot of make up and cover her face with a veil to hide the fact that she had been crying. Consuelo reminds me of Rose, from Titanic.
I felt sorry for Consuelo that she ended up being trapped by her mother, Alva that she only cares for the social climbing of staying in. Alva just reminds me of Ruth (social status climber) from Titanic (movie)
I am astounded that one interviewee disparagingly refers to Consuelo's passing of the entrance papers to both Oxford & Cambridge Universities with "flying colors" as indicating that she was "extremely well-trained". It sounds like Consuelo had a brilliant mind. Pity it was wasted upon becoming a decorative wife for a clueless British aristocrat.
WWZenaDo Women were not expected to be be educated. They advanced by marrying well and she did. Her money bought her a title and her brain allowed her to achieve status and power.
B Davis Nowadays it is the death tax. When a noble person dies, the estate is taxed. That is why many of the great houses end up being given to the nation or have opened to the public. Also why many treasures end up in museums.
can we just talk about the fact that they never called her educated, or said anyone taught her anything. it was always that she was ‘well trained’ like a dog.
Wow, living in the New England area, I have visited the Marble House and several others in the gorgeous Newport, RI coast line many times in the past and have brought my own children here. I remember always being quite impressed and marveling at the classic architecture, design and opulent decor of those days. I often wondered what it was actually like to be in a society such as this. My own suspicions are now reconfirmed. During the tours, that I took, of this particular mansion, never, was a negative word spoken of them, however, the narratives implied heavily that there was a more deeper, darker side to the stories told of the Vanderbilt’s than was actually presented. This is a great video, it really puts things in perspective for when I reflect back on my experiences there. The next time I visit Marble house will be with eyes wide open. Thank you so much for this detailed video. I have always admired the style of the Vanderbilts and that era in general. It is a unique and meaningful experience for me to learn so much of their lifestyles. Well done 😊
She may have been American royalty but was being treated like an animal. She was wealthy but the physical and emotional pain she must have suffered at Mom's hands is disheartening.
Poor Consuelo! She ended up being married off at 19 to the 9th Duke of Marlborough, who didn’t care about anything but her money and most of their marriage was spent living apart. The marriage was finally annulled in 1926 and Consuelo went on to marry a French author and found happiness. I wouldn’t trade my life for hers for any amount of money. Unless Alva got killed off as part of the deal! That woman was an absolute horror!
A DUKE...Many royals are penniless but they have a title. . They think a title is enough..All they have to do is marry a sucker... But these marriages can be unsafe. Look at what happened to Sunny Von Bulow..
I have read several books pertaining to the lives & characters of Alva & Consuelo. Though not my field, I find this mini-docu accurate, which is the best thing history can attain, Bravo, Smithsonian again!!!
Everyone in the comments is saying they could’ve endured her upbringing because she was a rich kid. This wasn’t a spoiled kid who got a smart phone by 10 and had access to her parents money to come and go as she pleased like a Gossip Girl episode. It seems she had no freedom to do anything and would never escape that life. I’d rather be poor with some freedom to be whoever I want to be.
with all do respect, I agree with you. on the other hand, the times were different, after all. just look at the richest kids in wealthy families today.
3:19 the phrase “exceptionally well bred young woman” is unsettling and it’s even more unsettling that there are a lot of people who still think this way
money doesn't solve all problems.. mentally unhealthy parents that are rich can still mentally abuse their children. It's just not as obvious because of how glamorous and perfect everything looks on the outside.
I have been to The Breakers, another mansion owned by the Vanderbilts, on a tour in 1990. It has the most amazing view from the balcony of the Atlantic.
I had a very strict, rigid upbringing. I had to refer to my parents as “sir” and “ma’am”. I had to get up at 5:30 seven days a week to take care of farm animals and clean horse stalls. After school, I had to do it again, then again before bed. I had to babysit my younger brother for 8 hours a day during the summers and I had to clean the house every single day. I wanted a phone in my room at age 11 so I had to low crawl under the length of the house (80 ft) to run the phone wires and feed them up through my floor. I was never given an allowance and I was expected to maintain my A average in school. For even minor infractions, I was whipped with a belt until I was 17. I joined the military at age 18 to get a break!
Sorry. According to what u have said. Dont see abuse but extreme discipline that u hated. U even had ur own phone. U lived a rural life in which u had to help out in the family business. U got up early. U were disciplined for offenses. Ur parents loved u. They taught u discipline, hard work, and responsibility. Im sure u are the better for it.
I grew up just a few towns away from Newport, practically next to the Colt Mansion in downtown Bristol. Toured the mansions in Newport frequently, even played trumpet in the rotunda of one mansion owned by Salve Regina University. Loving history, degreed in it, this part of my childhood got my love of architecture.
Gosh! I came from a middle class upbringing. My parents were financially very comfortable. I wouldn't change my childhood for nothing. I thought the bain of my existence was washing dishes because my parents built a home with no dishwasher and having to read five books a week or writing book reports in the summer and literally reading the 2 sets of encyclopedias and reading the dictionary. At least my sister and I had a fun and loving childhood. Po consuela.
What is really astonishing is that if someone like the Vanderbilts saw the ease even a very low middle class American family lived in they would be astonished. They wouldn’t need servants as they could see we have these fancy machines to instantly cook for us, machines that clean our clothes, clothes that were easy to wear, places to buy everything you could possibly want in ONE building, a magic machine to get you there, entertainment in your home etc. They would think this modest family was rich beyond measure. It is merely a persons point of view.
A perfect depiction of familial narcissism. You're not allowed to be yourself at all, we fully mould you and control your upbringing, because it has to be a certain way we need it to be in order to achieve our goals. Consuelo was trained in everything except in how to be her own self. If we're going to talk in social classes, the healthiest place to be is middle class. Poverty can be good. I started there and I'm comfortably in the lower middle class zone. Poverty can be toxic too for some people. It can be exceptionally traumatizing and it can create narcissists/sociopaths who look up to the rich. In order to get from poor to rich in a single lifetime, you cannot be an averagely good person. You have to be bad (narcissist) or evil (malignant narcissist and sociopath). In rare cases you could be some kind of a wonder child/person of modest origins who may invent something, but a lot of times you wouldn't care much about becoming filthy rich. Rich circles have always had more toxic (bad and evil) individuals who may have the power, but their hunger for more power is insatiable. They got their money through power fights, intrigue and generally some bad deeds that may have hurt other people (at least financially, mentally) and they continue to do so in their pursuit of even more power. In more sinister cases, the toxic individuals may have hurt people physically as they ascended to power. Consuelo was one of the victims of emotional, mental and physical abuse (yes, strapping your child to a steel cross is physical abuse) of her overambitious (toxically ambitious) parents who wanted more power on top of what they already got with the money they earned. Living in a mansion without much meaningful human contact and warmth compares to solitary confinement in prison. Marble just looks better than the prison walls.
Poor Consuelo. Her upbringing was TORTURE. I doubt y'all could have survived it or survived a mother like Alva. I thought MY father was stern and he was---the sternest man alive. Yet this was nothing compared to Consuelo's.
I remember reading about her, Winthrop Rutherfurd, and the Duke of Marlborough in some American Girl book ages ago. I was a wee one at the time. (Young enough to fit into that hideous Halloween store wig. 😅) I wish I could have given Consuelo a big hug. 😢
That's just how they took photos then. Hiring a photographer to haul the bulky camera apparatus and click 1-2 pictures was considered a whole event in those days. Since it was so formal, no one was encouraged to smile.
I think nobody could freeze a smile for is long, so neutral face is easier to shoot for both the subject and the photographer for a nice picture at first shot.
She was stunning I would that I were that beautiful.... I just read a book called To Marry And English Lord and it talks about Consuelo and all the American Heiresses who married into the British Aristocracy... it’s a great read I highly recommend it. ❤️
Day M my mom was from England, I went to finishing school as a child, to learn how to be a lady lol anyway, my mom use to tie my arms behind my back in the “crossed” position, I hated it then, but it’s funny I find myself slouching I cross my arms behind my back, or if I’m just standing around I subconsciously cross my arms behind my back lol a lot of people arnt even able to do it, I did it for hours, daily, as a child and find a weird comfort in it now lol although I never forced my daughters to cross their arms behind their back so I could tie them up lol
I definitely hope to visit this place. I could only imagine living there. Its probably worse then with gossip and rumors, than today with social media. God bless those people.
I would love to see a movie made about the life stories of Alva and Consuelo. I’m no actress, but I think the opportunity to play a character such as Alva or Consuelo would be quite compelling and exciting.
I can tell you....having the pressure " what will everyone think" ..is inner torture...a B+ in high school was not good enough and in college..B&C grades were classes to be taken over to improve gpa! Going out with friends only one night per weekend...i worked most weekend nights getting done at 9 or 10...but had to be home by midnight. Sunday early church because i worked brunch 10-2...and rest of afternoon family time...church youth group every sunday night 6-8 pm. Dance and piano lessons during the week...school dance team and swim team practices...was on the school newspaper &yearbook commitees...was co-president 2 years of the AFS club...which was hosting foreign exchange student programs...could only put 80 miles per week on my car which included to& from school & work. At home...lawn mowing..evening dishes & laundry- then homework..lots of it!! Was also in chorus...which held extra practices for performances...was not allowed to date formally...a tad bit my senior year..but when?? And not allowed to go to prom!
i taught myself such manners growing up. However having to go to a horrible school I was forced to sit up in the most painful chair ever. On top of that being physically assaulted by a teacher.
Though the control on her daughters upbringing is quite despairing, I do admire Consuelo's mother for aspiring a bit more for her daughter. Not just a rich mans wife, but a Duchess. Someone who actually has influence among society,
My family were friends my grandfather had a home near theirs. He had coal mines called a coal Barron. I was adopted then abandoned when they divorced. Totally brutal people. I had to go through excruciating training as well.
i live close to Newport, and was able to tour Marble house. it is the most magical place i’ve ever been, and i felt just like a princess just walking through the halls.
The child's soul wasn't strong enough to overcome her fears and run away or just say no. The mom made sure she started the abuse early. The child was never taught how to be confident and I'm sure she was punished if she did. What an awful life.
I have seen a device advertised on tv that reminds me of her back brace. It is a device that is similar and will force the wearer to set up very straight. Supposed to prevent back and neck problems.
Alva paid for her abuse and arrogance when she was humiliated by her husbands affair which led her own divorce.I have seen this entire episode and mother and daughter ended working together in the fight for women's rights years later after Consuelo had been freed from that monster that she had been forced to marry just for the Duchess title..
American exceptionalism and pride stems from certain values that manifest themselves in its constitution. Those values find their inspiration in the ideas of the "siècle des lumières" and those of the French revolution: that all people are born with equal and unalienable rights, in direct opposition to feudalism in which some people have certain privileges by right of birth (divine right). So Americans trying to emulate European feudalism seems like a betrayal of their own values and identity. It happened in the age of the robber barons, it is happening again in this day and age.
What a horrible mother! Treated her daughter like a commodity to the highest bidder all for an aristocratic title while living vicariously through her.
Several years back I had an opportunity to tour Marble House and other palace-like mansions in Newport, RI. These palaces were called "cottages" and were the summer dwellings of the rich and famous US tycoons of that time. The luxury and the opulence of these "cottages" including Marble House is mind boggling. These structures take your breath away as you enter through the front door. You just wonder how people lived in such opulence the equivalent on kings and queens. These "cottages" were used ONLY for a few weeks in the summer when the wives of tne tycoons would throw lavish parties trying to outdo their neighbors each year. Thereafter, the families would return to their permanent mansions in New York and elsewhere. Story goes that when Alva Vanderbilt remarried, she went to live with her new husband, locked up Marble House, and used it for "storage". I hope you get a chance to visit Marbe House and enjoy the tours as much as I did. I bought a small souvenir and brought a piece of history back to my humble abode. LOL ☺
It's diabolical. I had a disciplined upbringing and I'm not even at her rich level, but I agreed it was hard then, though I can say it shapes me good. What got me thinking is how she's far more trapped in a sense of how she lived a well-off lifestyle but with such sad daily. I can say it makes living poorly a better option if they have a happy family. But then again, I believe it's a matter of perspective and how you view your life to be.
I live very close by where the family Vanderbilt started out, a small speck of houses in the very North of Friesland, in the Netherlands. It is in imaginable that these very down to earth people resulted in such decadence and moral degradation.
Can everyone endure this? Absolutely! When you are poor, you can dream and hope for better. When you’re rich and miserable, and have everything, what can you hope for? Nothing.
I most certainly could endure every bit of her pampered upbringing. The better question is could Consuelo have endured mine?
+Ashlie Neevel Being born into money isn't all that it's cracked up to be, I can tell you that based on personal experience. Money and having a pampered upbringing does not equal happiness, especially when you have extremely abrasive and controlling parents.
Yes, the pampering of being strapped to a steel rod for hours while simultaneously attempting to learn a foreign language. Oh, and wonderful weekend lunches on the yard with your mother reciting everything you learned that week. What a pampered existence! Did you even watch the video?
koko...A lot of us had all that bad but none of the good she experienced. Yes, we could endure that kind of upbringing. And yes, we watched the video.
Lara, you are incorrectly assuming that I haven't been able to create wealth ON MY OWN.I have..
Do you know what it's like to be the youngest child born into a wealthy family? It's true that you're extremely spoiled, with literally everything being handed to you on silver platter; I certainly was. I always had nice clothing and toys, and for my 16th birthday my parents bought me a new car (they did the same when I turned 21). However, despite all of that, there's a dark side to coming from a wealthy family that this video describes.
There's very little freedom to do what you want. It's to the point where you feel as if you're in a prison. My parents never allowed me to go to sleepovers, parties (even simple birthday parties), or hang with my friends whenever they called. They were controlling and overly-protective. As a teenager, if my parents didn't like the person I was dating, it ended very quickly. My siblings and I were forced to keep absolutely everything that happened in our family a secret. We couldn't speak about anything, even family vacations. Because we lived in a very large house (Victorian mansion, more specifically) that was considered the largest house in town, we were always the center of attention. We couldn't do anything without everyone whispering about it, and my family was very much apart of the so-called "rumor mill". If I had my friends over, they were given instructions on how to handle themselves. Friends were expected to have a certain amount of decorum while in the house due to my parents having expensive decor all over. Some of the rooms were even gated off and only adults could be in them. We always sat down and ate dinner together and were not allowed to speak until my parents were finished talking about their day. So yes I came from a family with privilege, but that doesn't mean it's all happy and fantastic. My parents today are just as controlling as they were when I was growing up.
The thing that I noticed most was this: not a single member of that family seemed remotely contented by their fabulous wealth. All that money and the only thing Mrs. Vanderbilt cared about was that her daughter could become a Duchess. They had everything most people then could have ever wished for, but it was never quite enough, it seems.
NONE of them. And I’ve read several books about the Vanderbilts. Even Gloria Vanderbilt was miserable and that was the end of the money. Too much money causes problems.
And a broke Duke at that.
Today is instagram, tiktoks, all abt social media that can validate you. But in the past, social class /status was. Money can't grant you into certain circle, that's why they obsessed with royalty titles.
@@aslater5 well, they solved that problem by pissing away their fortunes. Apparently no one ever told them of perpetual trusts.
THE wig on that kid though. Resembles closer to Rasputin than an aristocrat.
Aidan The Lover Boy O'Dwyer
LOL!
Aidan The Lover Boy O'Dwyer LMAO
Why ya gotta come after her wig like that 😂😂
Low budget documentary. Now, if she was Halle Berry, she would've asked for a $5000 human hair wig. So, I've heard.
Aidan The Lover Boy O'Dwyer: Behave..LOL
I would rather be rich and miserable then poor and miserable !
Frances Van Siclen my father always said "riches wont make you happy, but neither will poverty!"
Cher said "I've been rich and I've been poor...rich is better".
Money can't buy happiness, but it does buy food and shelter so you can pursue said happiness.
finally a sensible comment
Storm Bolt I say “money doesn’t buy happiness but it gives you options!”
A prison is a prison no matter how pretty the walls are
Oh shut up
Things like this are why the phrase “gilded cage” was invented.
So, so true!
And there is the prison of poverty too. It's horrible. Childhood poverty....
People that say that have obviously never lived true poverty.
Abuse is abuse I'd rather be poor and in a loving home than rich and treated like an asset
Like I say its possible to be happy in a tenant building and miserable in a mansion.
danielle diller I was in a home like this but my folks weren’t quite as rich. My mother wanted me to live out her life too. I grew up in a well off neighborhood but was very unhappy
@@oksanakoontz8400 that's sad I hope your free and happier now and are loved as you deserve to
@JustJ WhoIsAsking no I don't actually I myself grew up in a poorer family and was abused and the thought that people using money as just another way to control their kids makes me glad we really didn't have any.
LOL, I'd rather be rich and miserable than the regular kind of poor. Poor and happy is a LOT rarer than you think.
Poverty sucks and abuse sucks. Whether you’re fearing a lack of food or the wrath of a brutally oppressive mother, neither is easy to live with. Kind of hard to say that one is necessarily worse than the other.
If only they could be separate like they are in the comparison in your comment. Sometimes poverty AND abuse are combined😱😱😱😱
Emma Philomena Omg you know what she means 🙄 shut up
That’s true as proven by the low fund documentary. That’s the sort of wif you’ll get with no money
Rich or not I'm thinking this girl was a prisoner enduring the rich form of child abuse. Poor girl would rather have lived elsewhere I guarantee it
Chica 411 Exactly. The pic of her with her brothers and her mother, shows very unhappy expressions on the kids faces. So many people commenting here are so negative because they are jealous of the wealth she grew up in. It is sad and pathetic when they will deliberately overlook the abuse because they are angry that her family. over a hundred years ago or so, had a rich lifestyle and use that as a reason to bash her, a CHILD. These commenters need to do some serious self examination and stop acting like martyrs and feeling sorry for themselves. The green monster is driving them.
rhon715 I couldn't agree with you more!! I admire wealthy people for being who they are and what they've accomplished in their lives, not to mention the fact that a lot of wealthy people donate to charities, a fact which people conveniently forget when they bash wealthy people out of jealousy!!
Chica 411 😢😥💔😥😢😥😢
.
She would probably rather live somewhere else I agree but it's not always that simple. Sometimes you get so hooked by the security and luxury of wealth that you endure abuse time and time again because you're too afraid of what would happen if you didn't.
I read that she was forced to marry a man she didn't love so her mother could move up in society. On her wedding day they had to use a lot of make up and cover her face with a veil to hide the fact that she had been crying. Consuelo reminds me of Rose, from Titanic.
soundmixer yes good point there
Believe that and you will believe anything.
soundmixer It was said that Alva locked her in a room days before her wedding because Consuelo didn’t want to marry the Duke of Marlborough.
I felt sorry for Consuelo that she ended up being trapped by her mother, Alva that she only cares for the social climbing of staying in. Alva just reminds me of Ruth (social status climber) from Titanic (movie)
I wouldn't be surprised that James Cameron used the Vanderbilts as inspiration to Ruth and Rose.
Why y’all put that ragtag wig on that child’s head? 😩
Girl! I screamed when I saw it! 😂😂😂😂😂🤦🏾♀️
The couldn’t even brush it or anything
That’s a total shake and go wig straight out of the bag from party city 😂😂
I want that wig...i'll put it on the end of a stick and mop my hardwood floors with it! :-D
Nia Jones 😂
Nia Jones that part
I am astounded that one interviewee disparagingly refers to Consuelo's passing of the entrance papers to both Oxford & Cambridge Universities with "flying colors" as indicating that she was "extremely well-trained".
It sounds like Consuelo had a brilliant mind. Pity it was wasted upon becoming a decorative wife for a clueless British aristocrat.
WWZenaDo Women were not expected to be be educated. They advanced by marrying well and she did. Her money bought her a title and her brain allowed her to achieve status and power.
B Davis Probably the education would be in music, some languages, and social graces.
Her mother wanted her to have a title. The English Gentry were being taxed out of their great estates. She had money and he had the title.
WWZenaDo So she wasn't decorative, instead she was just a fat paycheck?
B Davis Nowadays it is the death tax. When a noble person dies, the estate is taxed. That is why many of the great houses end up being given to the nation or have opened to the public. Also why many treasures end up in museums.
Pampered life?..She had a domineering,abusive mother who forced her into a loveless marriage with a poor duke.
Linda Watkin like that doesnt happen RIGHT NOW...AND UNDER MUCH WORSE CONDTIONS...WAKE UP...
Ber P. How pleasant you are.
Agusta Sister that doesn’t take away from the fact that her situation wasn’t great. of course there’s going to be someone who has it worse than you.
She never had an actual job or had to earn her own money... that is a pampered life.
Imagine being starving with several other siblings with barely any roof over ur head, while not getting proper education, and regular hygiene.
can we just talk about the fact that they never called her educated, or said anyone taught her anything. it was always that she was ‘well trained’ like a dog.
And dont forget they called her "well bred"
Yep, even the term "well-bred" like an animal 😩
Oliver Elijah they did say she well educated...
Look at how you people think, GET OFF THE INTERNET FOR 1 WEEK AND WATCH YOUR ATTITUDES AND LIFE CHANGE
They said "well bred" too
Wow, living in the New England area, I have visited the Marble House and several others in the gorgeous Newport, RI coast line many times in the past and have brought my own children here. I remember always being quite impressed and marveling at the classic architecture, design and opulent decor of those days. I often wondered what it was actually like to be in a society such as this. My own suspicions are now reconfirmed. During the tours, that I took, of this particular mansion, never, was a negative word spoken of them, however, the narratives implied heavily that there was a more deeper, darker side to the stories told of the Vanderbilt’s than was actually presented. This is a great video, it really puts things in perspective for when I reflect back on my experiences there. The next time I visit Marble house will be with eyes wide open. Thank you so much for this detailed video. I have always admired the style of the Vanderbilts and that era in general. It is a unique and meaningful experience for me to learn so much of their lifestyles. Well done 😊
"Well-bred, well-trained..." Are we still talking about a person?
0 5, your avatar is so cute!
It's a figure of speech. It's a little old fashioned.
She may have been American royalty but was being treated like an animal. She was wealthy but the physical and emotional pain she must have suffered at Mom's hands is disheartening.
Alva is equivalent to a modern pageant mom.
Okay but can we talk abt that wig they put on that little girl though
Right? Like they couldn’t find girl who is a brunette lol.
It was indeed a hideous mop.
One that we can expect from the smithsonian.
What a horrible abusive childhood. Sad she was never able to experience being a child with her own thoughts.
Poor Consuelo! She ended up being married off at 19 to the 9th Duke of Marlborough, who didn’t care about anything but her money and most of their marriage was spent living apart. The marriage was finally annulled in 1926 and Consuelo went on to marry a French author and found happiness. I wouldn’t trade my life for hers for any amount of money. Unless Alva got killed off as part of the deal! That woman was an absolute horror!
Not a French author. A French aviator.
A DUKE...Many royals are penniless but they have a title. . They think a title is enough..All they have to do is marry a sucker... But these marriages can be unsafe. Look at what happened to Sunny Von Bulow..
Thank god her second marriage was happy and genuine
Alva didn't want a daughter; she wanted a prized show horse. Kind of sad...
i love how they got Elizabeth McGovern to narrate this. She plays “Cora” in Downtown Abbey, who is a dollar princess on the show
I have read several books pertaining to the lives & characters of Alva & Consuelo. Though not my field, I find this mini-docu accurate, which is the best thing history can attain, Bravo, Smithsonian again!!!
I love the Newport mansions so much. I’ve been a dozen times. It never gets old and is the best day trip.
I've been to The Marble House in Newport, RI many, many times. Just gorgeous.
Why on earth did these viewers dislike this? It is historical commentary.
Hating on rich folks I assume
Wheres the rest it was just getting good.
jessica belin Of course she does. Death is inevitable, even for the richest of people.
Christopher D. ..she became duchess of Marlborough
Jan Jacobsen it was a loveless marriage that she was coerced into and ended in divorce. She did remarry later and was quite happy.
In the end one of her descendants becomes a host on CNN....
I think the full episodes are on their paying services *crying
Everyone in the comments is saying they could’ve endured her upbringing because she was a rich kid. This wasn’t a spoiled kid who got a smart phone by 10 and had access to her parents money to come and go as she pleased like a Gossip Girl episode. It seems she had no freedom to do anything and would never escape that life. I’d rather be poor with some freedom to be whoever I want to be.
with all do respect, I agree with you. on the other hand, the times were different, after all. just look at the richest kids in wealthy families today.
@@wisdomfromthecave exactly. This girl doesn’t seem like she had any freedom or happiness
Alva was a narcissist. Not content to live her own life, but her daughter's as well. Those kids do not look happy.
3:19 the phrase “exceptionally well bred young woman” is unsettling and it’s even more unsettling that there are a lot of people who still think this way
money doesn't solve all problems.. mentally unhealthy parents that are rich can still mentally abuse their children. It's just not as obvious because of how glamorous and perfect everything looks on the outside.
I have been to The Breakers, another mansion owned by the Vanderbilts, on a tour in 1990. It has the most amazing view from the balcony of the Atlantic.
I remember reading how at her wedding, Consuelo was crying because she didn’t want to marry the Duke of Marlborough, but Alva made her
I had a very strict, rigid upbringing. I had to refer to my parents as “sir” and “ma’am”. I had to get up at 5:30 seven days a week to take care of farm animals and clean horse stalls.
After school, I had to do it again, then again before bed. I had to babysit my younger brother for 8 hours a day during the summers and I had to clean the house every single day.
I wanted a phone in my room at age 11 so I had to low crawl under the length of the house (80 ft) to run the phone wires and feed them up through my floor. I was never given an allowance and I was expected to maintain my A average in school. For even minor infractions, I was whipped with a belt until I was 17.
I joined the military at age 18 to get a break!
Courage... When hard times come, keep faith with God.
BRANDY BRENT BB blue blush my life has been about 90% hard times. I pray unceasingly to get through it🙂
I hope you are living a better and easier life now
Kelly do u still talk to your parents?
Sorry. According to what u have said. Dont see abuse but extreme discipline that u hated. U even had ur own phone. U lived a rural life in which u had to help out in the family business. U got up early. U were disciplined for offenses. Ur parents loved u. They taught u discipline, hard work, and responsibility. Im sure u are the better for it.
She wrote "The Glitter and the Gold" which contains many really interesting historic tidbits.
wholeNwon Like what?
Paula Johnson like what? Give examples please, I’m fascinated!
The Breakers was also a summer cottage of the Vanderbuilts. It was built in Newport as well as Marble House.
I grew up just a few towns away from Newport, practically next to the Colt Mansion in downtown Bristol. Toured the mansions in Newport frequently, even played trumpet in the rotunda of one mansion owned by Salve Regina University. Loving history, degreed in it, this part of my childhood got my love of architecture.
Gosh! I came from a middle class upbringing. My parents were financially very comfortable. I wouldn't change my childhood for nothing. I thought the bain of my existence was washing dishes because my parents built a home with no dishwasher and having to read five books a week or writing book reports in the summer and literally reading the 2 sets of encyclopedias and reading the dictionary. At least my sister and I had a fun and loving childhood. Po consuela.
I certainly wouldn't wanna slip down those marble stairs.
That's so funny - every time I see marble floors or staircases (aside from, "yikes - too much!") that's the first thing I think of.
What is really astonishing is that if someone like the Vanderbilts saw the ease even a very low middle class American family lived in they would be astonished. They wouldn’t need servants as they could see we have these fancy machines to instantly cook for us, machines that clean our clothes, clothes that were easy to wear, places to buy everything you could possibly want in ONE building, a magic machine to get you there, entertainment in your home etc. They would think this modest family was rich beyond measure. It is merely a persons point of view.
I find it so ironic, considering he Alva fought for women’s rights and suffrage. Yet, forced her daughter to endure all that.
Isn’t that called a hypocrite?
A perfect depiction of familial narcissism. You're not allowed to be yourself at all, we fully mould you and control your upbringing, because it has to be a certain way we need it to be in order to achieve our goals.
Consuelo was trained in everything except in how to be her own self.
If we're going to talk in social classes, the healthiest place to be is middle class. Poverty can be good. I started there and I'm comfortably in the lower middle class zone.
Poverty can be toxic too for some people. It can be exceptionally traumatizing and it can create narcissists/sociopaths who look up to the rich. In order to get from poor to rich in a single lifetime, you cannot be an averagely good person. You have to be bad (narcissist) or evil (malignant narcissist and sociopath). In rare cases you could be some kind of a wonder child/person of modest origins who may invent something, but a lot of times you wouldn't care much about becoming filthy rich.
Rich circles have always had more toxic (bad and evil) individuals who may have the power, but their hunger for more power is insatiable. They got their money through power fights, intrigue and generally some bad deeds that may have hurt other people (at least financially, mentally) and they continue to do so in their pursuit of even more power. In more sinister cases, the toxic individuals may have hurt people physically as they ascended to power.
Consuelo was one of the victims of emotional, mental and physical abuse (yes, strapping your child to a steel cross is physical abuse) of her overambitious (toxically ambitious) parents who wanted more power on top of what they already got with the money they earned.
Living in a mansion without much meaningful human contact and warmth compares to solitary confinement in prison. Marble just looks better than the prison walls.
True
Alva and William Vanderbilt were abusers plain and simple .
They treated their daughter like an object not a human with feelings
Poor Consuelo. Her upbringing was TORTURE. I doubt y'all could have survived it or survived a mother like Alva. I thought MY father was stern and he was---the sternest man alive. Yet this was nothing compared to Consuelo's.
I remember reading about her, Winthrop Rutherfurd, and the Duke of Marlborough in some American Girl book ages ago. I was a wee one at the time. (Young enough to fit into that hideous Halloween store wig. 😅)
I wish I could have given Consuelo a big hug. 😢
As they said if the U.S. was a monarchy then the Vanderbilts would've been the reigning family and Conselou as princess royal.
The narrator sounds like Cora from Downton Abbey.
Edit: Oh wait... It is her. 😅
Elizabeth McGovern.
I was about to comment the same thing before I realised 😅
I knew it! 🤗
The back rod she had to wear, reminds me of the back brace. I had to wear 24/7 for my back. The scoliosis milwaukee brace.
Milwaukee brace was worse. The girdle was so painful. Horrible contraption. 2years in that thing.
CeeEemDee Dees Glad you are out of it.
all the kids look sad in the painting
That's just how they took photos then. Hiring a photographer to haul the bulky camera apparatus and click 1-2 pictures was considered a whole event in those days. Since it was so formal, no one was encouraged to smile.
Shoba Macintyre they also had to sit or stand forever for photos ...they were not snap shots until much later....for a reason.
Smiling wasn’t the custom then.
That is what I was saying!
I think nobody could freeze a smile for is long, so neutral face is easier to shoot for both the subject and the photographer for a nice picture at first shot.
She was stunning I would that I were that beautiful.... I just read a book called To Marry And English Lord and it talks about Consuelo and all the American Heiresses who married into the British Aristocracy... it’s a great read I highly recommend it. ❤️
NEWPORT MANSIONS ARE GIGANTIC AND BEAUTIFUL AND THE LOCATION IS THE PERFECT PLACE TO BRING UP A CHILD IS JUST BEAUTIFUL.
I'd be down for trying that steel rod situation. My poor posture gives me sooooo many back issues.
Day M my mom was from England, I went to finishing school as a child, to learn how to be a lady lol anyway, my mom use to tie my arms behind my back in the “crossed” position, I hated it then, but it’s funny I find myself slouching I cross my arms behind my back, or if I’m just standing around I subconsciously cross my arms behind my back lol a lot of people arnt even able to do it, I did it for hours, daily, as a child and find a weird comfort in it now lol although I never forced my daughters to cross their arms behind their back so I could tie them up lol
I looked at it and i kind of wanted that torture device for myself it seemed so relieving for back pain
I definitely hope to visit this place. I could only imagine living there. Its probably worse then with gossip and rumors, than today with social media. God bless those people.
I would love to see a movie made about the life stories of Alva and Consuelo. I’m no actress, but I think the opportunity to play a character such as Alva or Consuelo would be quite compelling and exciting.
just visited this "cottage" and it really is beautiful
I can tell you....having the pressure " what will everyone think" ..is inner torture...a B+ in high school was not good enough and in college..B&C grades were classes to be taken over to improve gpa! Going out with friends only one night per weekend...i worked most weekend nights getting done at 9 or 10...but had to be home by midnight. Sunday early church because i worked brunch 10-2...and rest of afternoon family time...church youth group every sunday night 6-8 pm. Dance and piano lessons during the week...school dance team and swim team practices...was on the school newspaper &yearbook commitees...was co-president 2 years of the AFS club...which was hosting foreign exchange student programs...could only put 80 miles per week on my car which included to& from school & work. At home...lawn mowing..evening dishes & laundry- then homework..lots of it!! Was also in chorus...which held extra practices for performances...was not allowed to date formally...a tad bit my senior year..but when?? And not allowed to go to prom!
Dear Lord, that’s controlling! Do a happy balance for your own.
I was so into the history that when the clip ended I thought "Where is the rest of it? I need to know what happened next!!!"
She got a divorce had several children.her father gave the 5 million
This amazing story is told in the book "Fortune's Children: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt"
i taught myself such manners growing up. However having to go to a horrible school I was forced to sit up in the most painful chair ever. On top of that being physically assaulted by a teacher.
Though the control on her daughters upbringing is quite despairing, I do admire Consuelo's mother for aspiring a bit more for her daughter. Not just a rich mans wife, but a Duchess. Someone who actually has influence among society,
mrpetersonandsnappyturtle who cares
Rayven Wilson but at what cost?
Maybe_ but the way she went about it was terrible
This is at a time where a Duchy wasn't as......amazing as it used to be. It was mostly the name you got. I wouldn't trade my entire life for a name.
I got to tour this mansion, the Marble House! It's so beautiful inside and outside! I would love to go back to Newport, R.I. someday!
ok? but did it just really end? I don't think this video finished itself.
She lived to tell, so she endured it. Not every child could say the same. Literally.
My family were friends my grandfather had a home near theirs. He had coal mines called a coal Barron. I was adopted then abandoned when they divorced. Totally brutal people. I had to go through excruciating training as well.
Do better when you have your own family. ♥️
i live close to Newport, and was able to tour Marble house. it is the most magical place i’ve ever been, and i felt just like a princess just walking through the halls.
No thanks. Not worth losing my soul for.
The child's soul wasn't strong enough to overcome her fears and run away or just say no. The mom made sure she started the abuse early. The child was never taught how to be confident and I'm sure she was punished if she did. What an awful life.
The fast paced classical piece in the beginning is Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4, “Italian”
I have seen a device advertised on tv that reminds me of her back brace. It is a device that is similar and will force the wearer to set up very straight. Supposed to prevent back and neck problems.
Got to know about Consuelo when I read a book by Daisy Goodwin. The title of the book is The American Heiress/The Duchess.
The Vanderbilt's are broke today and their houses are either lost to history or museums like Marble or Biltmore house ..
Anderson Cooper disagrees
Operation Mockingbird.
@@John-Adams bingo
@@John-Adams Huh?
Proof?
I’ve toured this house many times. It’s insane.
Why do people need to have a competition about who had the worst life and which situation is the worst...
Poor rich folk syndrome.
Elizabeth Mcgovern has a great narrative voice.
Awesome. Very inspiring!
..the wealth, not necessarily the routine.
She’s trying so hard not to laugh when she strapped up to that thing😂😂😂
Alva paid for her abuse and arrogance when she was humiliated by her husbands affair which led her own divorce.I have seen this entire episode and mother and daughter ended working together in the fight for women's rights years later after Consuelo had been freed from that monster that she had been forced to marry just for the Duchess title..
Wonderful documentary, thank you for posting.
If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as to these women I am blind.
American exceptionalism and pride stems from certain values that manifest themselves in its constitution. Those values find their inspiration in the ideas of the "siècle des lumières" and those of the French revolution: that all people are born with equal and unalienable rights, in direct opposition to feudalism in which some people have certain privileges by right of birth (divine right). So Americans trying to emulate European feudalism seems like a betrayal of their own values and identity. It happened in the age of the robber barons, it is happening again in this day and age.
I'm quiet happy with having been raised as a normal person.
To me it's all about friends and having a childhood meant for kids.
Really that’s it? 4:30 mins. My curiosity about Consuelo will now make me find a 2 hour documentary about her! 😑
No matter if rich or poor the abuse of children is one of the saddest things that can happen to anyone
Love that Cora Crawley is the narrator for an excerpt on an American aristocrat. 😄
I need that steel posture brace thing!
That Party City wig makes the girl look like she's from The Ring
Very beautiful young lady
What a sad life, her husband only married her for her money, and she was totally disrespected by the servants
Oh yes been inside the exquisite Marble House on an audio tour once. My favorite mansion after "The Breakers"
What a horrible mother! Treated her daughter like a commodity to the highest bidder all for an aristocratic title while living vicariously through her.
They all did. It was normal, unfortunately.
Yes..that is what they do..it's all about the money
I lived a few doors down from the marble house for many years. Love Bellevue Ave in Newport
I’m getting Mommie Dearest vibes from Alva.
Is there a part 2? I am intrigued by this lol
Is this narrated by Lady Grantham?
TorontoLibertarian yes.
LMAO 😂😂😂
Several years back I had an opportunity to tour Marble House and other palace-like mansions in Newport, RI. These palaces were called "cottages" and were the summer dwellings of the rich and famous US tycoons of that time. The luxury and the opulence of these "cottages" including Marble House is mind boggling. These structures take your breath away as you enter through the front door. You just wonder how people lived in such opulence the equivalent on kings and queens. These "cottages" were used ONLY for a few weeks in the summer when the wives of tne tycoons would throw lavish parties trying to outdo their neighbors each year. Thereafter, the families would return to their permanent mansions in New York and elsewhere. Story goes that when Alva Vanderbilt remarried, she went to live with her new husband, locked up Marble House, and used it for "storage". I hope you get a chance to visit Marbe House and enjoy the tours as much as I did. I bought a small souvenir and brought a piece of history back to my humble abode. LOL ☺
I'm guessing the wig budget for this was about five dollars?!
@Thing That Reads A Lot You're Hilarious!!🤣
@@Jylart The young actress who played young Consuela said her hair was dark; she left a comment higher up.
My question is why Mr. Vanderbilt never stepped in whenever Alva was getting out of hand with poor little Consuelo 😐
where the continuation to this..just ended abruptly
jessie james look channel titled
my most beautiful pictures
Poor Consuelo said, "I spent the morning of my wedding day in tears and alone - no one came near me.” 😢
It's diabolical. I had a disciplined upbringing and I'm not even at her rich level, but I agreed it was hard then, though I can say it shapes me good. What got me thinking is how she's far more trapped in a sense of how she lived a well-off lifestyle but with such sad daily. I can say it makes living poorly a better option if they have a happy family. But then again, I believe it's a matter of perspective and how you view your life to be.
I live very close by where the family Vanderbilt started out, a small speck of houses in the very North of Friesland, in the Netherlands. It is in imaginable that these very down to earth people resulted in such decadence and moral degradation.
2:59 ok but why does she look like she’s about to burst out laughing?
I think she is meant to be about to cry I mean a rod strapped to your back has got to hurt
Can everyone endure this? Absolutely! When you are poor, you can dream and hope for better. When you’re rich and miserable, and have everything, what can you hope for? Nothing.
I'm poor and I have no hope, and the more I hope, the more it is crushed. Why not stop hoping instead and just let things flow?