Social Victorians/People/Farquharson

Also Known As

 * Family name: Farquharson
 * Lt.-Col. Alexander Haldane Farquharson of Invercauld

Friends

 * Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, gave the bridegroom a gift for his wedding: "a diamond pin in the form of the Prince of Wales's plume"
 * Capt. the Hon. Julian Byng, 10th Royal Hussars, Alexander Farquharson's best man at his wedding

Present at Their Wedding (some of the attendees)

 * The Duke of Cambridge
 * Duke of Teck, and Prince Alexander of Teck
 * the Austrian Ambassador
 * the Spanish Ambassador
 * the Earl of Sefton, Countess of Sefton, and the Ladies Rose and Gertrude Molynenx
 * the Earl of Lonsdale
 * the Earl of March and Ladies Gordon Lennox
 * Julia Countess of Jersey and Mr Brandling
 * Lord and Lady Dorchester
 * Lord Alcester
 * Lady Barham Coventry
 * Lord Rowton
 * Lord Willoughby de Eresby and Lady Cecilie  Willoughby
 * Helen Lady Forbes and Miss Blanche  Forbes
 * Lady Hothfield
 * Hon. Lady Cotterell and the Misses Cotterell
 * Hon. Alec Yorke
 * Miss Musgrave
 * Hon. Nellie Bass
 * Hon. Sidney Agar
 * Gen. Sir Cranford Fraser, V.C.
 * the Misses Farquharson
 * Miss Myles
 * Mr William Gillett
 * Mrs George Forbes
 * Mrs Berens
 * Countess Howe and her daughters, the Ladies Curzon
 * Isabella Countess of Wilton
 * Lady Burton
 * Lady Dorothy Nevill and Miss Nevill

Organizations

 * 10th Royal Hussars

Timeline
1895 November 30, a Miss Flo Farquharson was bridesmaid, with Muriel Wilson, Miss Gathorne Hardy, Miss Flo Farquharson, Miss Dudley Ward, Miss Graham Murray, Miss Lutzow, and Miss Millicent James at the wedding of Miss Ida Forbes to Sir Archibald Edmonstone, of Duntreath (details in 1895).

1893 January 16, Alexander Haldane Farquharson of Invercauld and Zoë Caroline Musgrave married.

1897 July 2, Friday, Mr. and Mrs. Farquharson attended the Duchess of Devonshire's fancy-dress ball at Devonshire House.

Costume at the Duchess of Devonshire's 2 July 1897 Fancy-dress Ball
It is likely (see Note, below) that Zoë Farquharson (at 338) and Alexander Farquharson (at 458) attended the Duchess of Devonshire's fancy-dress ball. She was dressed as L'Archiduchesse Louise in the Quadrille of the Louis XV. and Louis XVI. Period. The Gentlewoman says that she was a "lady of Court of Louis XVI.," wearing a "white and blue dress with old blue train edged ermine, with lace petticoat."

Alfred Ellis's portrait of "Mrs Farquharson as Louise, wife of the Archduke Leopold of Austria" in costume is photogravure #230 in the album presented to the Duchess of Devonshire and now in the National Portrait Gallery. The printing on the portrait says, "Mrs Farquharson as Louise wife of the Archduke Leopold of Austria."

It is not clear who Zoë Farquharson meant by Louise, wife of Archduke Leopold of Austria, as no Archduke Leopold of Austria from the period Louis XVV and XVI had a wife named Louise. An Archduchess Maria Louise was in the courts of the King of France, but she married Napoléon.

Demographics

 * Nationality: Scotland

Family

 * Lt.-Col. Alexander Haldane Farquharson of Invercauld (12 March 1867 – 17 March 1936)
 * Zoë Caroline Musgrave (12 October 1871 – 23 December 1929)
 * 1) Myrtle Farquharson of Invercauld (1897 – 11 May 1941)
 * 2) Sylvia Farquharson of Invercauld (1899 – 17 March 1950)

Notes and Questions

 * 1) They are listed as Mr. and Mrs. Farquharson in the Morning Post, Times, and Gentlewoman, and in the Album, the NPG has Mrs. but not Mr. Farquharson, based on the letterpress on the portrait. Searching The Peerage and Wikipedia did not turn up any obvious choices; looking at old periodicals in Google Books turned up an M.P. named Farquharson, but he died before the ball. In the newspapers, however, I found a wedding for 1893, and the guest list includes many of the people who would indicate the social network of the Prince of Wales, and the article mentions a gift from him to the bridegroom. So I believe that it is likely these are the right Farquharsons.
 * 2) A Dr. Farquharson was present at some social events of this time; a portrait of him was published in Vanity Fair, 30 May 1895.