1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:05,680 Speaker 1: Okay, imagine a world with unlimited access to whatever you want. 2 00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:08,760 Speaker 1: It's the Gilded Age, and your legal father is a 3 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:13,480 Speaker 1: retired British Army officer and successful banker. Your mother is 4 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:17,680 Speaker 1: a French beauty, and it turns out you are allegedly 5 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:21,599 Speaker 1: the illegitimate but much adored child of one of the 6 00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:24,400 Speaker 1: richest men in the world. Sounds like a life of 7 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:28,240 Speaker 1: ease and very little drama, right, However, the life of 8 00:00:28,280 --> 00:00:33,680 Speaker 1: Almina Rothschild Herbert was anything but lacking in drama. I'm 9 00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:37,559 Speaker 1: Patty Steele, from limitless money to life as a countess 10 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:40,640 Speaker 1: at high Clear Castle to the curse of King Tuck. 11 00:00:41,159 --> 00:00:49,080 Speaker 1: That's next on the backstory. The backstory is back. The 12 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:52,680 Speaker 1: final saga of the Downton Abbey franchise has just arrived 13 00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:55,560 Speaker 1: in theaters and is a huge success with like a 14 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:58,800 Speaker 1: ninety two un Rotten Tomatoes. But the drama in the 15 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:03,080 Speaker 1: film has nothing on the real life drama of Almina Rothschild. 16 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:06,800 Speaker 1: In eighteen ninety five, at the age of nineteen, she 17 00:01:06,959 --> 00:01:12,039 Speaker 1: married George Edward Stanhope Mullin Herbert, fifth Earl of Carnarvon, 18 00:01:12,400 --> 00:01:16,560 Speaker 1: whose family estate was and is High Clear Castle of 19 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:20,319 Speaker 1: Downton Abbey Fame High Clear is a five thousand acre 20 00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:24,320 Speaker 1: estate built in sixteen seventy nine. It's been the family 21 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:27,280 Speaker 1: seat of the Earl of Carnarvan for almost three hundred 22 00:01:27,319 --> 00:01:30,759 Speaker 1: and fifty years. So how did Almina and high Clear 23 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:34,920 Speaker 1: get tied up in the curse of King Tut's tomb. Well, 24 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:38,679 Speaker 1: let's go back a little bit. Despite her questionable paternity, 25 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:44,000 Speaker 1: Almina's birth father, Alfred Rothschild, lavished her with love and money, 26 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:46,920 Speaker 1: though he never married her mother even when she was 27 00:01:46,959 --> 00:01:49,559 Speaker 1: a widow, and he was always a bachelor. He never 28 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:53,400 Speaker 1: married to anybody. He enjoyed the bachelor life. But for 29 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:56,960 Speaker 1: Almina's fifth birthday, Rothschild gave her a pony and a 30 00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:01,160 Speaker 1: private firework show. The gifting and mun for her lavish 31 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:05,240 Speaker 1: lifestyle went on throughout her childhood. When she turned eighteen, 32 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:09,400 Speaker 1: she was presented to Queen Victoria at Buckingham Palace wearing 33 00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:13,080 Speaker 1: spectacular diamonds. There was talk in the palace of the 34 00:02:13,160 --> 00:02:16,840 Speaker 1: possibility of her huge dowry, which has no doubt how 35 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:20,240 Speaker 1: the Earl of Carnarvon got interested. As was often the 36 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:24,120 Speaker 1: case in those days, marriage was a business transaction. In 37 00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:27,600 Speaker 1: this case, the Earl needed a male heir to inherit 38 00:02:27,639 --> 00:02:31,320 Speaker 1: the title, and as importantly, he needed vast amounts of 39 00:02:31,360 --> 00:02:34,080 Speaker 1: money to get the castle in shape and keep it running. 40 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:38,040 Speaker 1: Plus he had other interests as well as for the bride. 41 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:41,800 Speaker 1: Due to whispers about her being illegitimate, Almina needed to 42 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:45,880 Speaker 1: get some respectability out of the bargain. Marrying an earl 43 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:48,960 Speaker 1: with a giant castle and turning yourself into a countess 44 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:52,120 Speaker 1: did the trick, but it was her dowry that sealed 45 00:02:52,120 --> 00:02:56,519 Speaker 1: the deal. Alfred Rothschild gave them a five hundred thousand 46 00:02:56,560 --> 00:02:59,440 Speaker 1: pound trust for the marriage. It's about one hundred and 47 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:04,200 Speaker 1: fifteen million dollars today. Plus when Alfred died, she got 48 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:08,400 Speaker 1: another seventy five thousand pounds almost four million dollars today, 49 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:12,360 Speaker 1: along with his magnificent home in London and his massive 50 00:03:12,480 --> 00:03:17,160 Speaker 1: art collection worth hundreds of millions. More So, High Clear 51 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:20,880 Speaker 1: is where the young Countess Almina finds herself running the 52 00:03:20,960 --> 00:03:24,640 Speaker 1: show for her husband, the Earl, when she's still a teenager. 53 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:28,480 Speaker 1: Her family money made sure the castle was outfitted with 54 00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:33,320 Speaker 1: all sorts of modern luxuries, and Almina was this glamorous countess, 55 00:03:33,639 --> 00:03:39,800 Speaker 1: beautiful elegant, educated, but behind the scenes her marriage was miserable. Again, 56 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:43,600 Speaker 1: it was a business deal. Almina quickly had two children, 57 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:46,760 Speaker 1: in eighteen ninety eight, a little boy who would become 58 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:49,760 Speaker 1: the sixth Earl, and in nineteen oh one a daughter. 59 00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:55,040 Speaker 1: Her husband was away frequently fascinated with ancient Egyptian culture. 60 00:03:55,400 --> 00:03:57,880 Speaker 1: He'd go on these long trips to that part of 61 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:02,680 Speaker 1: the world, his wife's money back the expeditions. Meantime, during 62 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:07,000 Speaker 1: World War One, Almina transformed High Clear Castle into a 63 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:11,360 Speaker 1: hospital for wounded officers. She began giving speeches to women's 64 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:15,760 Speaker 1: groups and hosting political fundraisers. All this while her husband 65 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:20,160 Speaker 1: continued to chase antiquities in Egypt with her money. Occasionally 66 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:23,279 Speaker 1: Almina would go to Egypt with him, but she wasn't 67 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:27,680 Speaker 1: there with her husband when Howard Carter, the archaeologist he backed, 68 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:32,960 Speaker 1: discovered King Tutankhammon's tomb. The Earl was not only Carter's 69 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:35,679 Speaker 1: financial backer in the search for Tut in the Valley 70 00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:38,560 Speaker 1: of the Kings. He was by Carter's side at the 71 00:04:38,600 --> 00:04:41,880 Speaker 1: opening of the tomb in November of nineteen twenty two, 72 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:46,359 Speaker 1: and that's where the King Tut curse kicked in. After 73 00:04:46,400 --> 00:04:49,559 Speaker 1: the tomb was opened, a writer in New York shared 74 00:04:49,600 --> 00:04:53,280 Speaker 1: a story about what was called the Pharaoh's Curse, alleging 75 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:56,960 Speaker 1: that anyone who violated the King's tomb would die a 76 00:04:57,040 --> 00:05:02,200 Speaker 1: terrible death. The story became a sense everywhere. Then, four 77 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:05,560 Speaker 1: months after the opening, in March of nineteen twenty three, 78 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:08,839 Speaker 1: Almina had to travel to Egypt to be with her husband, 79 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:12,960 Speaker 1: who was horribly sick with blood poisoning after being bitten 80 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:16,240 Speaker 1: by a mosquito. The Earl died on the fifth of 81 00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:19,840 Speaker 1: April nineteen twenty three, and Almina took his body back 82 00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:23,159 Speaker 1: to Britain for burial. Then, a friend of Carter's who 83 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:26,039 Speaker 1: was given a mummified hand from the tomb, had his 84 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:30,160 Speaker 1: house burned down and his replacement house flooded out, and 85 00:05:30,279 --> 00:05:33,920 Speaker 1: George Gould, son of robber Baron J. Gould, visited the 86 00:05:33,960 --> 00:05:37,320 Speaker 1: tomb and died of a fever that may. In addition, 87 00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:40,760 Speaker 1: the doctor who x rayed tuts Money, another member of 88 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:44,039 Speaker 1: the team, and the Earl's half brother all got sick 89 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:48,360 Speaker 1: and died within seven years, and Howard, Carter's personal secretary 90 00:05:48,839 --> 00:05:53,240 Speaker 1: was murdered during the same time period. Meantime, Almina continued 91 00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:57,440 Speaker 1: to financially back Carter's excavation of the tomb until nineteen 92 00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:01,000 Speaker 1: twenty five. At that point, she reached a settlement with 93 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:04,200 Speaker 1: the Egyptian government where she gave up any claim on 94 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:07,560 Speaker 1: the contents of the tomb in exchange for around fifty 95 00:06:07,640 --> 00:06:11,440 Speaker 1: thousand dollars or about a million dollars today. But the 96 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:14,839 Speaker 1: curse still seems to have impacted Almina's life, at least 97 00:06:14,920 --> 00:06:18,359 Speaker 1: to a certain extent. Six months after the Earl died, 98 00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:21,159 Speaker 1: she married again, this time to a man who was 99 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:24,440 Speaker 1: going through a messy divorce. She had to help him 100 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:27,640 Speaker 1: battle back in court. They won, but it cost her 101 00:06:27,760 --> 00:06:31,520 Speaker 1: hundreds of thousands of dollars. Her second husband died just 102 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:35,120 Speaker 1: fifteen years after they were married, and from there Almina's 103 00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:39,080 Speaker 1: life got less fabulous. During her life, she had gone 104 00:06:39,080 --> 00:06:43,120 Speaker 1: through tens of millions of dollars, and by nineteen fifty one, 105 00:06:43,279 --> 00:06:46,600 Speaker 1: when she was seventy five, she had to declare bankruptcy. 106 00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:49,760 Speaker 1: She lived the last eighteen years of her life in 107 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:54,320 Speaker 1: a small row house with a housekeeper companion. Almina Rothschild 108 00:06:54,400 --> 00:06:57,800 Speaker 1: Herbert died in nineteen sixty nine at the age of 109 00:06:57,960 --> 00:07:01,720 Speaker 1: ninety three, a tarnish ending to a life that had 110 00:07:01,960 --> 00:07:05,720 Speaker 1: glittered in the Gilded Age. Hope you like the Backstory 111 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:08,680 Speaker 1: with Patty Steele. Please leave a review. I would love 112 00:07:08,680 --> 00:07:11,440 Speaker 1: it if you'd subscribe or follow for free to get 113 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:15,320 Speaker 1: new episodes delivered automatically. Also feel free to dm me 114 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:17,000 Speaker 1: if you have a story you'd like me to cover. 115 00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:21,240 Speaker 1: On Facebook, It's Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. 116 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:32,360 Speaker 1: I'm Patty Steele. The Backstories a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, 117 00:07:32,520 --> 00:07:36,400 Speaker 1: the Elvis Durand Group, and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer 118 00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:39,760 Speaker 1: is Doug Fraser. Our writer Jake Kushner. We have new 119 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:43,320 Speaker 1: episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Feel free to reach out 120 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:46,800 Speaker 1: to me with comments and even story suggestions on Instagram 121 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:50,000 Speaker 1: at Real Patty Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele. 122 00:07:50,400 --> 00:07:53,360 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to the Backstory with Patty Steele. The 123 00:07:53,440 --> 00:07:56,400 Speaker 1: pieces of history you didn't know you needed to know.