Now that Prince Harry and Meghan are abdicating their duties in the House of Windsor, I've been wondering: what is this strange power that American women wield over English aristocrats? Downton Abbey was the fictional representation of a very real phenomenon: English dukes, counts, and viscounts have snapped up a good many American women in marriage.  Some notable examples: Nancy Witcher Langhorne married Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount of Astor.  Jennie Jerome wed Lord Randolph Churchill (and later gave birth to Winston).  Consuelo Vanderbilt married the duke of Marlborough.  Railroad heiress Francis Ellen Work married James Roche, 3rd Baron of Fermoy (their great granddaughter was Diana, Princess of Wales and mother of William and Harry). Often, these were marriages of convenience.  The English gentry needed American fortunes to help them maintain their vast estates, and rich American women sought titles. But only...(Read Full Post)