American Women and Royal Marriages: NJ’s Dollar Princesses 

Hosted by Melissa Ziobro, Specialist Professor of Public History in the Department of History and Anthropology

The topic of American women and royal marriage has been popularized since British Prince Harry wed American actress Meghan Markle in 2018- but did you know that marriages between American women and European nobles once happened by the hundreds? During the Gilded Age, wealthy American heiresses married impoverished European nobles by the score. The marriages secured social status for “new money” American families often slighted by the established elites in their own country; while the infusion of American dollars allowed the impoverished nobility across the Atlantic to continue to maintain the lifestyles to which their families had been accustomed for generations. There were literally hundreds of these marriages, some more famous than others- including several featuring brides with roots in NJ. Join us as we discuss the so-called “dollar princesses” of the Gilded Age, to include Lady Monson (nee Romaine Stone, daughter of General Roy Stone of Morristown NJ), Lady Roberts (nee Elizabeth Marie LaRoche, daughter of William Tell LaRoche of Harrington Park, NJ), and Princess Miguel de Braganza (nee Anita Stewart, born in Elberon, NJ), and more. 

Join via Zoom at 7pm EDT on May 7. Email Stacey Ayers at sayers@monmouth.edu if you plan to attend!