Гросвенор, хью, 2-й герцог вестминстерский

Nickname «Bend’Or»

Azure, a bend or, the ancient Grosvenor arms

From his childhood and during his adult life he was known within family circles as «Bendor», which was also the name of the racehorse Bend Or owned by his grandfather the first Duke, which won The Derby in 1880, the year following his grandson’s birth. The name is a jovial reference to the ancient lost and much lamented former armorials of the family: Azure, a bend or, which were awarded to the Scrope family in the famous case of 1389 heard before the Court of Chivalry, known as Scrope v Grosvenor. His wife Loelia wrote in her memoirs: «Of course everybody, even his parents and sisters, would normally have addressed the baby as «Belgrave» so they may have thought that any nickname was preferable. At all events it stuck, and my husband’s friends never called him anything but Bendor or Benny».

Military service

The Duke c. 1900

Lord Grosvenor had taken a commission with the Royal Horse Guards and was in South Africa serving in the Second Boer War, when in December 1899 he succeeded his grandfather. After a brief visit back home, he returned in February 1900 to serve with the Imperial Yeomanry, as an ADC to Lord Roberts and Lord Milner. Arriving in Cape Town, he was reported to leave that city for the front in early March. He resigned his commission in December 1901, and was appointed captain of the Cheshire (Earl of Chester´s) Imperial Yeomanry the following month. The war ended in May 1902. He subsequently invested in land in South Africa and Rhodesia, and visited the colony with his wife in late 1902.

In 1908, the Duke competed in the London Olympics as a motorboat racer for Great Britain. On 1 April 1908, he was named honorary lieutenant-colonel of the 16th Battalion, the London Regiment, a post he held until 1915.

In the First World War the Duke volunteered for front-line combat and served with distinction, showing both initiative in battle and technical skill with motor-cars. Whilst attached to the Cheshire Yeomanry he developed a prototype Rolls-Royce Armoured Car for their use. During their 1916 campaign in Egypt, as part of the Western Frontier Force under General William Peyton, the Duke (then a major) commanded the armoured cars of the regiment and took part in the destruction of a Senussi force at the Action of Agagia on 26 February 1916. On 14 March 1916, he led the armoured cars on a daring raid against superior forces that destroyed the enemy camp at Bir Asiso. Learning that the crews of HMT Moorina and HMS Tara were being held in poor conditions at Bir Hakeim, he led the nine armoured cars—with three armed but unarmoured cars and a further 28 cars and ambulances—on a 120-mile (190 km) dash across the desert to rescue them. Their Senussi captors attempted to run away but were gunned down by the enraged British rescuers. The prisoners attempted to stop the killings but failed. They had subsisted on little more than the snails in which the region abounded, but said their captors had not been overly cruel. However, the chief jailor responsible for the snail diet, a Moslem cleric nicknamed «Holy Joe», was hanged to general approval. The Duke received the DSO for his exploits. He was subsequently promoted colonel and on 26 May 1917, he was named honorary colonel of the regiment.

Notes

1. ^ [unreliable source]
2. Loelia, Duchess of Westminster, Memoirs of, London, 1961, pp.172-4
3. Loelia, Duchess of Westminster, Memoirs of, London, 1961, p.173
4. ^ The Complete Peerage, Volume XII, Part II. St Catherine’s Press. 1959. p. 543.
5. Vaughan, Hal, Sleeping With The Enemy: Coco Chanel’s Secret War, Alfred A. Knopf, 2011, p.39-45
6. Vaughan, Hal (2011). Sleeping With The Enemy: Coco Chanel’s Secret War. Chatto & Windus. p. 41. ISBN .
7. Lacey, Robert (1983). Aristocrats. Hutchinson. p. 164. ISBN .
8. «Court Circular». The Times (36081). London. 5 March 1900. p. 9.
9. «Court News». The Times (36896). London. 11 October 1902. p. 11.
10. Gwatkin-Williams, Capt. R., In the Hands of the Senussi p. 105–106
11. Vaughan, Hal, Sleeping With The Enemy: Coco Chanel’s Secret War, Alfred A. Knopf, 2011, p. 36-37
12. Vaughan, Hal, Sleeping With the Enemy: Coco Chanel’s Secret War, Alfred A. Knopf, 2011, p. 101.
13. Vaughan, Hal, Sleeping With The Enemy: Coco Chanel’s Secret War, Alfred A. Knopf, 2011, p. 161.
14. Vaughan, Hal, Sleeping With The Enemy: Coco Chanel’s Secret War, Alfred A. Knopf, 2011, p. 169–175.
15. The Guinness Book of Records. Guinness Superlatives Ltd. 1972. p. 178. ISBN 0-900424-06-0.This record was superseded by those charged on the estate of Sir John Ellerman, 2nd Baronet, who died in 1973. According to the National Archives currency converter, £18m in 1955 (nearest year to his death) would be worth £313,560,000 in 2005.

Lady Constance Sibell Grosvenor1

F, #9258, b. 22 August 1875, d. 8 July 1957

Last Edited=5 Mar 2017

Consanguinity Index=0.72%

Lady Constance Grosvenor
     Lady Constance Sibell Grosvenor was born on 22 August 1875. She was the daughter of and . She married , son of and , on 15 July 1899. She died on 8 July 1957 at age 81.     After her marriage, Lady Constance Sibell Grosvenor was styled as Countess of Shaftesbury on 15 July 1899. From 15 July 1899, her married name became Ashley-Cooper. She held the office of Extra Lady of the Bedchamber to HM Queen Mary. On 20 August 1900 she was granted the rank of a duke’s daughter. She was appointed Dame of Justice, Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem (D.J.St.J.)

Браки

Первая жена герцога в 1902 году

16 февраля 1901 года герцог женился на Констанс Эдвине Корнуоллис-Уэст (1876—1970). В этом браке родились трое детей:

• Леди Урсула Мария Оливия Гросвенор (21 февраля 1902—1978), в 1924 году вышла замуж Уильяма Патрика Филмер-Сэнки и развелась с ним в 1940 году. Второй раз вышла замуж за майора Стивена Вернона в 1940 году. Первому мужу она родила двух сыновей: Патрика (он женился на актрисе Жозефин Гриффин) и Кристофера Филмер-Сэнки. Потомки леди Урсулы от её первого мужа — единственные потомки 2-го герцога. Они проживают в Великобритании, Австралии и Швеции.
• Эдвард Джордж Хью Гросвенор, Эрл Гросвенор (1904—1909), умер в возрасте 4 лет в результате операции по удалению аппендицита.
• Леди Мэри Констанс Гросвенор (27 Июня 1910—2000).

26 ноября 1920 года герцог женился на Вайолет Мэри Нельсон (1891—1983) (развёлся в 1926 году). В 1930 году женился на Лоэлии Марии Понсонби (1902—1993), с которой развёлся в 1947 году (супруги не могли иметь детей). Наконец, в 1947 году он вступил в четвёртый брак — с Энн (Нэнси) Уинифред Салливан (1915—2003), пережившей его на пятьдесят лет.

После Коко Шанель герцог был очарован бразилианкой Эме де Хеерен, которая не планировала выходить за него замуж и которой он дарил множество ювелирных изделий, когда-то бывших частью драгоценностей французской короны.

Estate

His ancestral country estate in Cheshire, the 54-bedroom Eaton Hall, consisted of 11,000 acres (45 km2) of parkland, gardens and stables. The main residence had its walls hung with master works, paintings by Goya, Rubens, Raphael, Rembrandt, Hals, and Velázquez. An avid participant in the hunting life, the Duke owned lodges reserved for the sport in Scotland and France (the Château Woolsack). According to his Times obituary (21 July 1953), «he was busy up to the day of his death in great schemes of afforestation in Cheshire, in the Lake District, and in Scotland.»

For sea excursions, he had his choice of two yachts, Cutty Sark and Flying Cloud. For ground transportation he had 17 Rolls Royce automobiles and a private train built to facilitate travel from Eaton Hall directly into London, where his townhouse Grosvenor House was located. Grosvenor House was later leased to the United States for use as the American Embassy.

Lt.-Col. Lord Arthur Hugh Grosvenor1

M, #9255, b. 31 May 1860, d. 29 April 1929

Last Edited=4 Jan 2013

Consanguinity Index=7.07%

     Lt.-Col. Lord Arthur Hugh Grosvenor was born on 31 May 1860. He was the son of and . He married , daughter of and , on 12 April 1893. He died on 29 April 1929 at age 68.     He was educated at . He was educated at . He gained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the 3rd Battalion, Cheshire Volunteer Regiment. He fought in the Boer War between 1900 and 1901. He was awarded the Territorial Decoration (T.D.) He held the office of Justice of the Peace (J.P.) for Cheshire. He held the office of Deputy Lieutenant (D.L.) of Cheshire.

Герцоги Вестминстер (1874)

• 1874—1899: Хью Лупус Гросвенор, 3-й маркиз и 1-й герцог Вестминстер (1825—1899), второй сын 2-го маркиза Вестминстера
• 1899—1953: Хью Ричард Артур Гросвенор, 2-й герцог Вестминстер (1879—1953), сын Виктора Гросвенора, графа Гросвенора (1853—1884) и внук 1-го герцога Вестминстера
• 1953—1963: Уильям Гросвенор, 3-й герцог Вестминстер (1894—1963), сын лорда Генри Гросвенора (1861—1914) и внук 1-го герцога Вестминстера
• 1963—1967: Джеральд Хью Гросвенор, 4-й герцог Вестминстер (1907—1967), старший сын лорда Хью Гросвенора (1884—1914) и внук 1-го герцога Вестминстера
• 1967—1979: Роберт Георг Гросвенор, 5-й герцог Вестминстер (1910—1979), младший сын лорда Хью Гросвенора (1884—1914) и внук 1-го герцога Вестминстера
• 1979—2016: Джеральд Кавендиш Гросвенор, 6-й герцог Вестминстер (1951—2016), единственный сын 5-го герцога Вестминстера
• С 2016 года: Хью Ричард Луис Гросвенор, 7-й герцог Вестминстер (род. ), единственный сын 6-го герцога Вестминстера

Наследники

У герцогского титула наследников нет. Наследник титулов маркиза, графа, виконта, барона и баронета — , прапраправнук 1-го маркиза Вестминстера.

William Grosvenor, 3rd Duke of Westminster1

M, #9251, b. 23 December 1894, d. 22 February 1963

Last Edited=8 Apr 2012

Consanguinity Index=0.23%

     William Grosvenor, 3rd Duke of Westminster was born on 23 December 1894. He was the son of and . He died on 22 February 1963 at age 68, unmarried.     He succeeded as the 6th Baron Grosvenor of Eaton, co. Chester on 19 July 1953. He succeeded as the 12th Baronet Grosvenor, of Eaton, co. Chester on 19 July 1953. He succeeded as the 6th Viscount Belgrave on 19 July 1953. He succeeded as the 3rd Duke of Westminster on 19 July 1953. He succeeded as the 5th Marquess of Westminster on 19 July 1953. He succeeded as the 6th Earl Grosvenor on 19 July 1953.

Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 9th Earl of Shaftesbury

M, #9259, b. 31 August 1869, d. 25 March 1961

Last Edited=5 Mar 2017

Consanguinity Index=0.0%

     Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 9th Earl of Shaftesbury was born on 31 August 1869. He was the son of and . He married , daughter of and , on 15 July 1899. He died on 25 March 1961 at age 91.     He was educated at . He succeeded as the 10th Baronet Cooper, of Rockbourne, Hampshire on 13 April 1886. He succeeded as the 9th Earl of Shaftesbury on 13 April 1886. He succeeded as the 9th Baron Cooper of Pawlett, co. Somerset on 13 April 1886. He succeeded as the 9th Baron Ashley of Wimborne St. Giles, co. Dorset on 13 April 1886. He was educated at . He gained the rank of 2nd Lieutenant in 1890 in the 10th Hussars. He gained the rank of Lieutenant in 1891. He was Military Secretary to the Governor of Victoria between 1895 and 1898. He gained the rank of Captain in 1898. He held the office of Chamberlain to HRH The Princess of Wales in 1901. He was member of the London School Board between 1901 and 1903. He held the office of Lieutenant of Belfast between 1903 and 1911. He was Commissioner of the Congested Districts Board of Ireland between 1903 and 1914. He was appointed Knight Commander, Royal Victorian Order (K.C.V.O.) in 1906. He held the office of Lord Mayor of Belfast in 1907. He was Chancellor of Queen’s University, Belfast between 1909 and 1923. He held the office of Chamberlain to HM Queen Mary between 1910 and 1922. He held the office of Justice of the Peace (J.P.) for Dorset. He was appointed Knight, Order of St. Patrick (K.P.) in 1911. He was Colonel of the 1st SW Mounted Brigade, Territorial Forces between 1913 and 1916. He fought in the First World War. He held the office of Lord-Lieutenant of Dorset between 1916 and 1952. He was appointed Commander, Order of the British Empire (C.B.E.) in 1919. He held the office of Younger Brother of Trinity House in 1920. He was appointed Knight Grand Cross, Royal Victorian Order (G.C.V.O.) in 1920. He was appointed Privy Counsellor (P.C.) in 1922. He held the office of Lord Steward of the Household between 1922 and 1936. He was chairman of the Dorset County Council between 1924 and 1946. He was awarded the Grand Officier, Ordre national de la Légion d’honneur. He held the office of Bailiff Grand Cross, Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem.

Военная служба

Герцог около 1900

Лорд Гросвенор проводил комиссию Королевской Конной гвардии в был в Южной Африке, во время второй англо-Бурской войны, когда в декабре 1899 году он стал преемником своего деда. После краткого визита домой он вернулся как адъютант Лорда Робертса и Лорда Мильнера в составе имперских Йоменри в феврале 1900 г. Он ушел в отставку в декабре 1901 года, и был назначен капитаном имперских Йоменри Чешира (графства Чешир). Впоследствии он делал инвестиции в землю в Южной Африке и Родезии.

В 1908 году герцог участвовал в лондонской Олимпиаде в качестве гонщика мотобота . 1 апреля 1908 года он был назначен почетным генерал-полковником 16-го батальона, в Лондонского полка, и занимал эту должность до 1915 года.

В Первую мировую войну герцог служил на передовой, проявлял инициативу в бою и технические навыки в работе с машинами. После присоединения к чеширским йоменам он разработал прототип Бронированного автомобиля Роллс-Ройс . Во время кампании в 1916 году в Египте, в составе западных пограничных войск при генерале Уильяме Пейтоне, герцог (тогда ещё майор) командовал бронированными автомобилями полка и принимал участие в уничтожении Сенусси 26 февраля 1916 года. 14 марта 1916 года он возглавил вылазку бронированных машин против превосходящих сил, уничтожил вражеский лагерь в Бир Асисо. 26 мая 1917 года он был назначен почетным полковником.

Political ideology

The 2nd Duke’s portrait bust at St Mary’s Church, Eccleston

In 1931, the Duke, a Conservative, exposed his brother-in-law William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp (1872–1938) as a homosexual to the King and Queen. He reportedly hoped to ruin the Liberal Party through Beauchamp. The king was horrified, supposedly saying, «I thought men like that shot themselves.»

During the run-up to the Second World War, he supported various right-wing and anti-Semitic causes, including the Right Club. «His anti-Semitic rants were notorious», according to a biographer of Coco Chanel. In her book The Light of the Common Day, Lady Diana Cooper reminisces back to 1 September 1939. She and her husband, the prominent Conservative Duff Cooper, were lunching at London’s Savoy Grill with the Duke of Westminster. She recalls:

The Duke, known for his pro-German sympathies, was reportedly instrumental in influencing his former mistress, Coco Chanel, to use her association with Winston Churchill to broker a bilateral peace agreement between the British and the Nazis. In late 1943 or early 1944, Chanel and her current lover, Nazi espionage agent Baron Hans Gunther von Dinklage, undertook such an assignment. Codenamed «Operation Modellhut», it was an attempt through the British Embassy in Madrid, via Chanel, to influence Churchill, and thereby persuade the British to negotiate a separate peace with Germany. This mission as planned ultimately met with failure, as Churchill had no interest.

Chanel

Westminster and Chanel

In 1925, he was introduced to Gabrielle («Coco») Chanel after a party in Monte Carlo and pursued her. He was as extravagant with her as he was with all of his lovers. He purchased a home for Chanel in London’s prestigious Mayfair district, and in 1927 gave her a parcel of land on the French Riviera at Roquebrune-Cap-Martin where Chanel built her villa, La Pausa. His romantic liaison with Chanel lasted ten years. An illustration of both Westminster’s extravagance and orchestrated technique in the courting of women has endured in the form of various apocryphal stories. He purportedly concealed a huge uncut emerald at the bottom of a crate of vegetables delivered to Chanel. Disguised as a deliveryman, Westminster appeared at Chanel’s apartment with an enormous bouquet of flowers. His ruse was only uncovered after Chanel’s assistant offered “the delivery boy” a tip.

Потомок Пушкина и крестный отец принца Джорджа

О новом герцоге Вестминстерском известно, что он учился в государственной начальной школе, а потом пошел в частную среднюю школу рядом с семейным домом в Чешире. Затем он изучал управление сельскими угодьями в университете Ньюкасла.

Сейчас молодой человек работает менеджером в компании Bio-bean, которая занимается экологическими технологиями и перерабатывает кофейную гущу в передовые биохимические вещества и биотопливо.

Хью Гросвенор является самым старшим наследником мужского пола скончавшегося герцога, поэтому по принципу первородства, применяемому в английском обычном праве, титул и состояние отца перешли именно к нему. У Хью есть три сестры, две старшие — леди Тамара Гросвенор и леди Эдвина Гросвенор, и одна младшая — леди Виола Гросвенор.

Кроме того, Хью Гросвенор тесно связан с британской королевской семьей: он крестный отец принца Джорджа, а его мать Наталия Филлипс — крестная мать принца Уильяма.

По материнской линии самый молодой британский миллиардер является потомком поэта Александра Пушкина. В 1867 году младшая дочь Пушкина Наталья вышла замуж за немецкого принца Николая Вильгельма Нассау и переехала в Великобританию. Их дочь София стала супругой великого князя Михаила Михайловича Романова, внука русского императора Николая I. У пары родилась дочь Анастасия, которая вышла замуж за состоятельного алмазного магната Харольда Вагнера.

Дочь Анастасии и Харольда и есть Наталья Филлипс — мать Хью Гросвенора.

Early life and character

Like many of his social class whose lives were ones of privilege and leisure, the Duke occupied himself in the pursuit of pleasure. He was described as «a pure Victorian who had eyes for his shotgun, his hunters, his dogs … a man who enjoyed hiding diamonds under the pillow of his mistresses …» He was prompt to seek military service, volunteering to fight as a front-line officer in both the Boer War and the First World War. As a nineteen year old, he briefly attended a French boarding school run by the Count de Mauny, who was rumoured to have made sexual advances towards some of its pupils. In later life the Duke was notable for being virulently opposed to such practices.

Самые молодые миллиардеры мира

• Всего девять миллиардеров в мире моложе 30 лет
• Самая молодая из них — норвежка Александра Андерсен. Ей 20 лет, и ее состояние оценивается в 1,8 млрд долларов. Она и ее старшая сестра Катарина (ей 21 год) вместе получили по 42% принадлежащей их семье инвестиционной компании Ferd.
• Следующий в списке молодых миллиардеров — Густав Магнар Витзё, тоже из Норвегии. Ему 23 года, и он унаследовал от своего отца 47% компании, занимающейся рыбным бизнесом. Состояние молодого человека оценивается в 1,73 млрд долларов.
• Американцу Эвану Шпигелю 26 лет, он создатель мобильного приложения Snapchat. Его состояние оценивается в 2,1 млрд долларов.
• Хью Гросвенор — единственный британский миллиардер младше 30 лет.

Издание Vanity fair в 2013 году назвало Хью Гросвенора «абсурдно богатым» молодым человеком с «детским лицом». А британская версия журнала Tatler включила его в лист влиятельных людей Великобритании с таким описанием: «Выпускник Ньюкасла с собственной коллекцией вина, который сходит с ума от девчонок в неоне».

Наследство Хью Гросвенора оценивается примерно в 9 млрд фунтов. Его отцу принадлежала значительная часть земли в престижных районах центрального Лондона — Мэйфэйр и Белгравия, а также многие ценные объекты недвижимости в сельской местности и за пределами Великобритании — в частности, в Ванкувере, Токио и Гонконге.

Gerald Hugh Grosvenor, 4th Duke of Westminster1

M, #9252, b. 13 February 1907, d. 25 February 1967

Last Edited=8 Apr 2012

Consanguinity Index=0.0%

Gerald Grosvenor, 4th Duke of Westminster
     Gerald Hugh Grosvenor, 4th Duke of Westminster was born on 13 February 1907. He was the son of and . He married , daughter of , on 11 April 1945. He died on 25 February 1967 at age 60, without issue.     He was educated at . He was educated at . He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (D.S.O.) He was appointed Privy Counsellor (P.C.) He gained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the 9th Lancers. He held the office of High Sheriff of Cheshire in 1959. He gained the rank of Colonel in 1961 in the 9th/12th Lancers. He succeeded as the 6th Marquess of Westminster on 22 February 1963. He succeeded as the 4th Duke of Westminster on 22 February 1963. He succeeded as the 7th Baron Grosvenor of Eaton, co. Chester on 22 February 1963. He succeeded as the 7th Earl Grosvenor on 22 February 1963. He succeeded as the 13th Baronet Grosvenor, of Eaton, co. Chester on 22 February 1963. He succeeded as the 7th Viscount Belgrave on 22 February 1963. He was admitted to Yeomen of the Guard in 1964. He held the office of Lord Steward of the Household between 1964 and 1967. He held the office of Deputy Lieutenant (D.L.) of Cheshire in 1967.

Имущество

Родовое поместье в Чешире, 54-х комнатный Итон-Холл состоял из 11,000 акра (0,045 км2) парковых насаждений, садов и конюшни. В доме висели картины Гойи, Рубенса, Рафаэля, Рембрандта, Хальсаи Веласкеса. Заядлый охотник, герцог владел домиками в Шотландии и Франции (Шато Седалище). Согласно некрологу в Times (21 июля 1953), «Он был занят вплоть до дня своей смерти большими схемами лесонасаждений в Чешире, в озерном крае, и в Шотландии.»

Для морских экскурсий у него было два парусных судна «Катти Сарк», и яхта, «Летящее облако». Для передвижений по сушевладел 17-ю «Роллс-Ройсами» и частным поездом, построенном, чтобы облегчить путешествие из Итон-Холла в Лондон, где был расположен его таунхаус Гросвенор дом . Grosvenor House был позже сдан в аренду США для использования в качестве американского посольства.

Death and succession

The Duke died of coronary thrombosis at Loch More Lodge on his Scottish estate in Sutherland in 1953, aged 74, and was buried in the churchyard of Eccleston Church near Eaton Hall, Cheshire.

His large estate attracted then-record death duties of £18m, which took between July 1953 and August 1964 to pay off to the Inland Revenue.

He left two daughters. His titles and the entailed Westminster estate passed to his cousin, William Grosvenor, and thence to the two sons of his youngest half-uncle Lord Hugh Grosvenor (killed in action in 1914). The title is now held by Hugh Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster.

Marriages and issue

The Duke’s first wife, Constance Lewis in 1902

On 16 February 1901, the Duke married Constance Edwina (Shelagh) Cornwallis-West (1876–1970). They had three children:

• Lady Ursula Mary Olivia Grosvenor (21 February 1902 – 1978), married, firstly, William Patrick Filmer-Sankey in 1924 and was divorced in 1940. She married, secondly, Major Stephen Vernon in 1940. By her first husband she had two sons, Patrick (who married the film actress Josephine Griffin) and Christopher Filmer-Sankey, the younger dying in her lifetime. Her child by her second husband died young. Lady Ursula’s descendants by her first husband are the sole descendants of the 2nd Duke. They reside in the UK, Australia and Sweden.
• Edward George Hugh Grosvenor, Earl Grosvenor (1904–1909), who died aged 4, after an operation for appendicitis.
• Lady Mary Constance Grosvenor (27 June 1910 – 2000).

On 26 November 1920, the Duke became the second husband of Violet Mary Nelson (1891–1983). They were divorced in 1926.

Westminster married Loelia Mary Ponsonby (1902–1993) on 20 February 1930. The couple were unable to have children and divorced in 1947 after several years of separation.

He married Anne (Nancy) Winifred Sullivan (1915–2003) on 7 February 1947. She outlived him by fifty years.

The Duke was known for multiple love affairs and spectacular presents. After Coco Chanel he was fascinated by the Brazilian Aimée de Heeren who was not interested in marrying him and to whom he gave significant jewellery, once part of the French Crown Jewels.