Hannah de Rothschild

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Hannah de Rothschild

Hannah Primrose, Countess of Rosebery (27 July 1851 – 19 November 1890) was the daughter of Mayer de Rothschild and his wife Juliana, née Cohen. Upon the death of her father in 1874 she became the richest woman in Britain.
Her husband, the 5th Earl of Rosebery . . . become Prime Minister.



Hannah de Rothschild aged 20 in a Ruskinesque pose photographed by Julia Margaret Cameron



Another obstacle was the Rothschild family itself: it was their custom to marry cousins.
The Jewish Chronicle announced its "most poignant grief" at the prospect, and cryptically added, "If the flame seize on the cedars, how will fare the hyssop on the wall: if the leviathan is brought up with a hook, how will the minnows escape,"[28] demonstrating what a threat to the social fabric of the Jewish faith the Jewish elders saw in the prospect of such a marriage. The quotation, originally from the Babylonian Talmud, can be taken to mean that the elders and respected members and more notable members of the Jewish faith should set a good example by strictly following the teachings of the Jewish articles of faith which frown upon marriage to members of other religions.

Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery





Hannah de Rothschild's father Baron Meyer de Rothschild married his cousin Julia Cohen in 1850. [My own comment :  Remember here the very family ties between Karl Marx and House of Rothschild throuth Cohen.]



Mayer Amschel de Rothschild died in 1874, leaving his daughter not only Mentmore (with its priceless art collection), his London mansion, and innumerable investments, but also the sum of two million pounds sterling in cash. Thus, Hannah de Rothschild became the wealthiest woman in England.



Hannah de Rothschild was first introduced to her future husband, the 28-year-old Earl of Rosebery, by Lady Beaconsfield, the wife of Benjamin Disraeli, at Newmarket Racecourse. The Disraelis were close friends and neighbours of the Rothschilds in Buckinghamshire.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Disraeli
Disraeli had two years earlier negotiated with the Rothschild bank for Britain to borrow four million pounds sterling at low interest to fund the purchase of the large block of shares owned by the Khedive of Egypt in the Suez Canal; Cowles, p. 146. Disraeli, born a Jew, had certain similarities to Rosebery: both were ambitious, both were to be Prime Minister and both married heiresses not renowned for their beauty.

As early as 1876, there were rumours of an engagement. However, several hurdles had to be overcome before a marriage could take place. While the Jewish Rothschilds were accepted into society, and indeed were close friends of some members of the royal family including the Prince of Wales, as elsewhere in Europe, anti-Semitic feelings were prevalent in the upper echelons of society and particularly so amongst those closest to the Queen at court, where following the death of the Prince Consort in 1861 the Rothschilds became pointedly excluded.


Barnbougle Castle - The original Rosebery family seat.

Published commentators on the Roseberys claim their marriage was happy . . . However, much evidence suggests that Rosebery, while professing to be happy, was at times irritated and bored by Hannah, who was always keen to accommodate his every whim. . . . Rosebery then left his newborn child and wife (who was again pregnant) for a year-long tour of Australia. On another occasion, when the Roseberys were travelling in India, Rosebery is reported to have announced "I will travel ahead, Hannah and the rest of the heavy baggage will follow the next day."


A house party at Dalmeny during the Midlothian campaign. Gladstone is seated centre (holding his hat) while Mrs Gladstone appears to be suffering from toothache. Hannah Rosebery stands third from right. Lord Rosebery is seated on the ground on the right.

Playing for the gallery
The Queens equerry Arthur Edward Hardinge referred to the Rothschild's dining tables as "resplendent with the Hebrew gold" going so far as to say a visiting Russian royal needed a "corrective" visit to Westminster Abbey following acceptance of Rothschild hospitality. Queen Victoria herself expressed anti-Semitic views in 1873 when it was proposed that Lionel de Rothschild be elevated to the peerage the Queen refused and expressed a reluctance to make a Jew a peer - saying "to make a Jew a peer is a step she could not consent to" and furthermore stated to give "a title and mark of her approbation to a Jew". Lord Spencer advised the Prince and Princess of Wales against attending a Rothschild ball with the words "The Prince ought only to visit those of undoubted position in Society." However, this did not prevent the Prince from accepting Rothschild's invitations and gifts privately. While one could be friends with Jews and accept their hospitality, their social status was still not sufficiently elevated to include marriage into the peerage without unfavourable comment.

Rosebery's own mother was horrified at the thought of a Jewess, even a Rothschild, in the family. Rosebery too felt there was an impassable barrier of faith; at this time, it was inconceivable that any children could be reared as Jews. Although it has been stated that Rosebery himself was devoid of any anti-Semitic views, this was not always true, especially in later life. McKinstry records several instances of tactless anti-Semitic remarks, and the cancelling of subscriptions to Jewish charities soon after his wife's death. In his government departments Jewish civil servants often waited for promotions. Even though Rosebery explained this as his fear of being seen to favour the Jews, it could in itself be construed as anti-Semitic.



Lady Rosebery died of typhoid at Dalmeny in 1890. She fought the disease, but it was found that she was also suffering from Bright's disease, which had weakened her, making it impossible to survive the attack. [ . . . ] Shortly after his wife's death, Rosebery left his grieving children and went alone on a tour of Spain.

Hannah, Countess of Rosebery by George Frederick Watts. After her death her widower always travelled with this portrait close to him.



The marriage produced four children: Lady Sybil Primrose, born in 1879; Lady Margaret Primrose, born in 1881; the heir Harry Primrose, Lord Dalmeny (later 6th Earl of Rosebery), born in 1882; and finally the Honourable Neil Primrose, born the same year as his elder brother.

The Roseberys' daughter Lady Sybil Primrose (1879–1955) painted by Lord Frederic Leighton



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannah_de_Rothschild#Death_and_legacy
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