Charlotte von Rothschild

Who was Charlotte von Rothschild?

Charlotte von Rothschild was a German-born British socialite. She was a member of the Rothschild banking family of Naples, but was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

She was the eldest child and only daughter of Carl Mayer von Rothschild and Adelheid Herz. Because endogamy within the Rothschild family was an essential part of their strategy to ensure that control of their wealth remained in family hands, on June 15, 1836, two days after her seventeenth birthday, the beautiful Charlotte married Lionel de Rothschild, her first cousin from the English branch of the family. They had the following children:

Leonora

Evelina

Nathan Mayer

Alfred Charles

Leopold

The couple maintained residences at 148 Piccadilly and Gunnersbury Park in London where, in the tradition of the English family, she used the style "de" Rothschild. Charlotte von Rothschild's arranged marriage flourished for 43 years based on great love and mutual respect. In an era when male and female roles were clearly defined, Charlotte had been better educated in art than her husband and would be instrumental in most of their art assemblage.