Duchesses and Princesses- Georgiana, Grace, Diana and Kate

Georgiana Cavendish, The Duchess of Devonshire

I was pondering a few aristocratic ladies of the past two centuries recently and came up with an interesting theory. And that is that a smart commoner can make a much better Princess or Duchess than an ill prepared aristocratic beauty.  For instance, take Georgiana Spencer Cavendish, The Duchess of Devonshire who was portrayed by Kiera Knightley in The Duchess 2008. Although she was a teen member of the aristocracy, and expected from an early age to marry another aristocrat, she was wholly unprepared for her life as the wife of The 5th Duke of Devonshire. Sad, wasted life of a very promising young woman.  Her enormous intelligence and charm didn't save her from a fairly unhappy life.

Grace Kelly, The Princess of Monaco

Grace Kelly on the other hand was rather a self-made woman. She went to New York City at 18 to study acting and got her first film role at age 22 in Fourteen Hours. She had worked on her elocution and used a tape recorder to perfect her speech while at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She consciously molded herself into a graceful, poised actress. She coped well with the attention she received for her roles in Rear Window, Mogambo, To Catch a Thief, and when she won an Oscar for The Country Girl.  In short, she was made to be in the public eye. And she made a very successful princess. Yes, her life was not long, but she handled her role well and was beloved by the world.

Diana, the Princess of Wales

Then we have the tragic story of Lady Diana Spencer. Unbelievably, she is actually the great great great great niece of Georgiana Spencer Cavendish above. Same story, 200 years later. Wow! Again, we have a teenager, born into the aristocracy yet totally unprepared for the responsibility of being the wife of a rather cold older Prince. Well, we know how this ended up don't we? She didn't have to stay married like Georgiana did as it was the 20th century but happiness certainly eluded her, except that which she found through her children and the odd lover.  That does sound like her great (x 4) aunt Georgiana, doesn't it?

Catherine, The Duchess of Cambridge

So you see where I am going with this? Here we have another young lady from well heeled but common stock. She gets her butt into St. Andrew's University which just happens to be where Prince William will be attending. She befriends him and they date during their university years. She basically grooms herself to be a princess, or a minor royal at least if it didn't work out with William. She will do fine because she has consciously pursued this path. She is a grown-up and has her eyes wide open. And guess what? We the public love to see what she is wearing, what she is doing and what she has to say, just like we did with her predecessors. 200 years hasn't changed that much in a Duchess' life!

Thanks to the TIFF exhibit "Grace Kelly- From Movie Star to Princess" which my sister and I saw this past weekend during our girl's weekend in Toronto and which inspired this post. If you are in Toronto between now and January 22, 2012 I highly recommend it. Lots of Princess Grace's clothes including a replica of her wedding dress. Mmmmm....

P.S. If you are like me and can't get enough of the new Duchess Catherine, I can recommend a blog called "What Kate Wore" which dishes on her clothes and style in a respectful, almost reverent way. We all just love looking at photos of her don't we? It is going to get insane when she has kids. But at least she will be prepared!

The Duchess 2008 with Kiera Knightley

The Duchess 2008

The Duchess is one film I am glad to own. Having read the book about the remarkable Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire I really enjoyed the silver screen version of her life. The costumes and locations alone would make this worth watching, but the tragic story of the vivacious teenager married off to a cold fish 10 years older is enthralling. It was marketed as a similar story to Princess Diana, who was her great-great-great-great niece and I must say, the Spencer family have some pretty amazing women. Georgiana was also the great-great-great-great-grandmother of Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York via her illegitimate love child, Eliza Courtney. What a story, huh? You can't write this stuff!

Kiera Knightley and Ralph Fiennes as the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire

I like both Kiera Knightley and Ralph Fiennes but I wouldn't call myself a fan of either one. However, they both do an amazing job here as the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. If there was ever an illustration of the saying "money can't buy happiness" this story would be it! I think the servants looked happier than this pair.

Domenic Cooper as Charles Grey (The future Earl Grey as in Earl Grey tea!)

The chemistry between Kiera Knightley and Domenic Cooper as politician Charles Grey is electric. So is the chemistry between Kiera Knightley and Hayley Atwell as Bess Foster for that matter! This is certainly a different tale than Pride and Prejudice, which was the other film Kiera Knightley did at Chatsworth in Derbyshire England. Real life doesn't have the happy ending that novels do however.

The famous fox outfit based on historical records from the Charles Fox Whig campaign

The costumes are breathtaking. Georgiana was the Princess Di or Kate Middleton of her day. All eyes were on her for style and she may reasonably be called the first "celebrity", followed by media wherever she went. There is a great scene where the "paparazzi" of the day are furiously sketching her outfit before she disappeared into a social event.
 

Charlotte Rampling as Georgaina's mother Lady Spencer

Charlotte Rampling is luminous as Lady Spencer, Georgiana's slightly scary mother. Not warm and fuzzy but very believable.

Hayley Atwell as Elizabeth Foster or Bess, the third person in the marriage

Hayley Atwell gives a wonderful performance as Lady Elizabeth Foster, the third person in the marriage. Starting out as Georgiana's friend, she ends up right in the middle of the marriage! Highly unusual, even for the times methinks.

The Duchess and Charlotte, the Duke's illegitimate daughter on the grounds of Chatsworth

Georgiana, The Duchess of Devonshire: There are limits to the sacrifices one makes for one's children.
Bess Foster: No, there aren't. No limits whatsoever.

"When she arrives, all eyes are upon her. When absent, she is the subject of universal conversation. And what we see her wearing tonight, I look forward to seeing the rest of you wearing tomorrow!" 

Georgiana Cavendish, The Duchess of Devonshire

If there is a fault to be found with this film, it would be that it romanticizes the Duchess and her faults. Her gambling is glossed over, whereas in real life it dominated her entire life. Her friends would avoid her so as not to be asked for money to pay her debts. And yet, of course, we want the romanticized version on screen, don't we? But she was an amazing woman...more amazing than can ever be shown in 110 minutes.

Having just re-watched this last night, I can wholeheartedly recommend this for an evening's entertainment. Especially if you don't mind a good cry at the end.