A Court of exceptional, splendour was held by the King and Queen at Buckingham Palace in May, 1905, and as the then Mistress of the Robes, the Duchess of Buccleugh, was unable to attend through being in mourning, her place was taken by the Duchess of Portland, none eclipsing her in that brilliant throng of English nobility.  She wore a gown of ivory velvet, brocaded round the skirt with bouquets of flowers and trimmed with Italian lace and cream chiffon; the train of superb Brussels lace belonged to Marie Antoinette.  Her jewels were diamonds, pearls and emeralds.

A brilliant Chapter of the Garter was held in November, 1906, and was followed by a banquet.  The regal appearance of the Duchess may be gathered from a description of her dress of cloudy white, embroidered with mother-of-pearl, a high diamond tiara on her dark hair and a magnificent bouquet of flowers, surrounded with a wealth of glittering diamonds on her corsage.

Miss May Cavendish-Bentinck was married to Mr. John Ford on November 3rd, 1906, when Lady Victoria Cavendish-Bentinck made her appearance for the first time as a bridesmaid.  Mr. Ford was secretary of the British Legation at Copenhagen and the bride was one of the Duke’s cousins.  Lady Victoria Cavendish-Bentinck, the Duke’s only daughter, will probably be presented at Court next season.

CHAPTER X

CLAIMS TO THE PORTLAND PEERAGE BY MRS. DRUCE AND MR. G.H.  DRUCE.

Full of romance as the Portland peerage was up to recent years, there is still another chapter to be added, in relating some of the statements made in connection with the claims put forward by Mrs. Druce and Mr. G.H.  Druce to the honours and wealth of the Bentincks.  It must be stated emphatically that there is no intention whatever to comment upon these claims or to prejudice their fair consideration, in the tribunals of the land.  No literary sketch of the great House of Portland would be complete without it summarised the salient points in the Druce claims as they have appeared from time to time in newspaper reports and in the narratives of those who knew the fifth Duke in his lifetime.  This compilation is intended to epitomise the history of the illustrious family of Bentinck in consecutive order of the events as they have occurred, in such a manner as is not found in any other publication; but in no way to influence opinion either on one side or the other.  It was in 1898 that public attention was called to the case, when Mrs. Druce set up a claim to the Portland peerage on behalf of her son.

The ground on which it was based was that her father-in-law, Mr. Thomas Charles Druce, and the fifth Duke of Portland were one and the same person; that in fact the Duke had a double existence.

Mr. Druce was in a large way of business at the Baker-street Bazaar, an enterprise opened about 1834 or 1835, with a capital estimated at 100,000l.  At that time the Duke had not succeeded to his family estates, but was Marquis of Titchfield.  It was known that he and his brothers had been successful in horse-racing and if, as Marquis, he could spare 100,000l. to open this London business, some indication is given of his winnings.