Stella Isaacs, Marchioness of Reading and Baroness Swanborough (1894-1971)
Stella Marchioness of Reading, was the 2nd wife of the Marquess of Reading. He married her after the death of his first wife Alice in the year 1930.
In 1925, she was invited to join the staff of the Viceroy in Delhi, India. Initially, she served as secretary to Lady Reading, the wife of Rufus Isaacs, 1st Earl of Reading, the Viceroy. However, she soon ascended to the position of chief of staff to the Viceroy, and later worked as his private secretary at Imperial Chemical Industries and at his home in Curzon Street, Mayfair, London.
Following Alice Isaacs' passing in 1930, Stella Charnaud took on the role of the political hostess for Rufus Isaacs.
The couple eventually married on 6 August 1931, despite their considerable age difference, and their union was celebrated with "universal applause". From that moment on, she became known as Lady Reading or Marchioness of Reading.
Although the transition from secretary to wife of a man twice her age, who was also foreign secretary, could have been daunting for many women, she handled the situation with ease and was widely accepted in her new role.
In 1932, Lady Reading became the chair of the Personal Service League, an organization that sought to alleviate poverty during the Great Depression.
Although her marriage was brief and Lord Reading passed away in 1935, it had a profound impact on her life and work. Lord Reading encouraged her to "serve the country" after his passing, and stressed the importance of the relationship between the United States and the UK.
Stella Isaacs, Marchioness of Reading, was a prominent English philanthropist who made significant contributions to British society in various fields. She is best remembered as the founder and chairman of the Women's Voluntary Service (WVS), now known as Royal Voluntary Service, which recruited one million women from all walks of life during World War II to assist the government and local authorities in a wide range of duties, from supporting the armed services to evacuating vulnerable people from cities at risk of bombing.
Lady Reading also established Women's Home Industries, a highly successful exponent of British craft and cultural traditions in clothing and textiles, which became a prolific exporter to the United States and Canada. In addition to her philanthropic work, she served on the boards of various cultural bodies, including the BBC Advisory Board and Glyndebourne, and was a keen early supporter of the University of Sussex.
In 1958, Lady Reading became the first woman to take a seat in the House of Lords in her own right, where she continued to advocate for issues related to refugees, displaced persons, and the rights of prisoners on release. Her dedication and contributions to various aspects of British society were widely recognized, including her appointment as a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1941, promotion to Dame Grand Cross (GBE) in 1944, and the conferral of honorary doctorates by several universities in the UK and abroad.
Above the Dowager Marchioness of Reading at the coronation in the year 1937, wearing a smaller diamond and pearl tiara, with an high center part.
Another tiara of diamond and emeralds with an high center was in her possession. The very important emerald and diamond Tiara set with a fine range of eleven step-cut emeralds.
Mounted in a single row within diamonds borders terminated by cable twist motifs and surmounded by two stylised leaves each seet with a cabochon emerald and confronted on either side of a cabochon emerald drop suspended from a pars-shped diamond in a husk-like mount, the whole pierced in a diapered pattern and pave-set with circular-cut diamonds.
The base is probably wearable without the top of the tiara. The emeralds could be brought from india from his time as viceroy.
It was sold after her death in the year 1965.
Source: Archive Ursula Butschal;Sothebys;The Times;the life of Rufus Isaacs, First Marquess of Reading
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