Lady Constance Stewart-Richardson Explained

Constance Stewart-Richardson
Birth Date:6 April 1882
Birth Place:Belgravia, London, England
Death Place:London, England
Father:Francis Mackenzie
Spouse:
Children:3

Lady Constance Stewart-Richardson (; later Matthew; 6 April 1882[1] – 24 November 1932) was a British dancer and author.[2]

Biography

She was a daughter of Francis Mackenzie Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl of Cromartie (1852–1893) and sister of Sibell Lilian Blunt-Mackenzie, 3rd Countess of Cromartie (1878–1962). Her paternal grandparents were George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland, and Anne Hay-Mackenzie, 1st Countess of Cromartie.

In 1904, Constance married Sir Edward Austin Stewart-Richardson, 15th Baronet (1872–1914) and bore him two sons. She lived in Pitfour Castle in Perthshire.[3]

In 1910 her semi-clad dancing for the "shilling seats" of theatres incurred the displeasure of Edward VII, who considered it unsuitable behaviour for a noblewoman, and she was barred from Court – which constituted social death.[4]

In 1913 she danced in Judith, a drama based on the Book of Judith, in Vienna.[5] The same year, she published Dancing, Beauty, and Games (1913). In September 1913 she arrived in New York to accompany the French actress Polaire on her American tour.[6]

Her husband, an officer in the Black Watch, was killed in 1914 at the First Battle of Ypres. She went on to marry (in 1921 in London) Mr Dennis Leckie Matthew, an ex-guards officer who had spent several years in Chile pre-1914 observing German activities in South America for the British Government. He acted as a King's Messenger. They had a daughter, Anita, who was brought up (when both parents died in the early 1930s) by her Scottish half-family.

Lady Constance Matthew died in London on 24 November 1932.[7]

Publications

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Fashionable World . Morning Post . 7 April 1882 . 9 October 2023 . British Newspaper Archive. subscription .
  2. News: Lady Constance Seen in Arab Garb: Titled Dancer Says She is on the Stage to Promote Art and Earn Money . How an Arab costume can be adapted to the dictates of modern fashion was shown yesterday by Lady Constance Stewart Richardson, who arrived on the Olympic. Lady Constance, who used to come over here to hunt and visit friends, is now here in the role of a professional dancer, and she is going to make her appearance next week. . . 9 . June 12, 1913 . 2023-11-11 . Newspapers.com.
  3. Encyclopedia: Every Woman's Encyclopaedia . Lady Constance Stewart Richardson . 1910 . 2009-12-31 .
  4. News: A Cat May Look at a King . . 55 . 13 Feb 1910 . 2023-11-11 . Newspapers.com.
  5. News: Titled Dancer in 'Judith': Lady Constance Stewart-Richardson to Appear Before Vienna Aristocrats. . . The New York Times . London . 1913-02-09 . February 10, 1913 . 2023-11-11 . Newspapers.com.
  6. News: The New York Times . 21 September 1913 . Mlle. Polaire Here With Ring in Nose . 35 . 2023-11-11 . Newspapers.com.
  7. News: Lady Constance Matthew . . 7 . 1932-11-26 . 2023-11-11 . Newspapers.com.