Carole Middleton vs Lady Curzon: As wedding rumours hot up is Cressida Bonas' mother about to take most glamorous royal in-law title?

  • Lady Mary Gaye Curzon is blue-blooded and champions Sloaney style
  • Carole, 67, loves to experiment with fashion trends
  • Duo may come head-to-head at upcoming events

By Bianca London for MailOnline

Published: | Updated:

Their wardrobes couldn't be more different, but Carole Middleton, mother of the Duchess of Cambridge, and Lady Mary Gaye Curzon, mother to Cressida Bonas, might soon have to start coordinating outfits.

If Cressy and Harry follow in Kate and Wills' footsteps and get wed, the two mother-in-laws will come head-to-head at some of the most stylish - and photographed - events in the society calendar.

So is Carole Middleton's position as Britain’s most glamorous royal mother-in-law under threat and will the two women be style sisters or fashion foes?

Battle of the glam in-laws: As Lady Mary Gaye Curson's daughter Cressida gets closer to Prince Harry, will she have to compete for attention with Kate's mother Carole Middleton?
Battle of the glam in-laws: As Lady Mary Gaye Curson's daughter Cressida gets closer to Prince Harry, will she have to compete for attention with Kate's mother Carole Middleton (left)?

Battle of the glamorous in-laws: As Lady Mary Gaye Curson's daughter Cressida gets closer to Prince Harry, will she have to compete for attention with Kate's mother Carole Middleton (left)?

Raised at the start of her life in a council flat, Carole is a former air hostess whose ancestors were working-class labourers and miners. Carole, 59, and husband Michael now run a multi-million pound mail-order company, Party Pieces.

By contrast, Lady Mary Gaye, 67, is just about as blue-blooded as you can get.

Her late father, Edward Curzon, was the 6th Earl Howe, godson of King Edward VII, a World War II naval officer and later a conservative politician. Her mother, Grace Wakeling, was the daughter of a British colonialist in South Africa.

While Carole was busy training to be an air hostess, Lady Mary Gaye was one of the most glamorous debutantes of her day and a blue-coloured cocktail - because of her blue-blooded credentials - called The Curzon was even invented at Claridge’s in her honour.

In contrast to Carole Middleton, who has been happily married to Michael for 33 years, Lady Mary Gaye was notorious for her four marriages and four divorces.

Her first husband was Esmond Cooper-Key, grandson of the 2nd Viscount Rothermere, who she wed in 1971. He died of a brain tumour in 1985.

Different upbringings: While Carole, pictured left at the birth of Prince George, was raised at the start of her life in a council flat, Lady Mary Gaye is just about as blue-blooded as you can get
Different upbringings: While Carole, pictured left at the birth of Prince George, was raised at the start of her life in a council flat, Lady Mary Gaye, right with Christopher Shaw, is just about as blue-blooded as you can get

Different upbringings: While Carole, pictured left at the birth of Prince George, began life in a council flat, Lady Mary Gaye, right with ex-husband Christopher Shaw, is just about as blue-blooded as you can get

Husband number two was John Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe, whom she married in 1977 at Kensington registry office.

They had three children: Georgiana, now a 34-year-old sculptress; Isabella, 33, now married to Sir Richard Branson’s son Sam; and Jacobi, 29, a PR who is a good friend of the Duke of Cambridge.

That relationship, however, broke down after nine years, and Lady Mary Gaye began an affair with old Harrovian businessman, Jeffrey Bonas, Cressida’s father, while he was still married to his first wife, Elspeth.

Lady Mary Gaye and Jeffrey married in 1988 and Cressida, named after the character in Shakespeare’s Troilus And Cressida, was born a year later. 

In 1994 she met financier Christopher Shaw and the pair tied the knot in 1996.

The couple became known for their extravagant parties, particularly those at Royal Ascot, where Lady Mary Gaye’s was the biggest tent in the No 1 car park, containing a mobile kitchen complete with cook, butler and tables laid with silver cutlery.

Shaw left Lady Mary Gaye in 2000 and she retreated to Chelsea, where she has remained ever since. 

Style queen: It was Carole not daughters Kate or Pippa who recently featured in a Vogue style poll

Style queen: It was Carole not daughters Kate or Pippa who recently featured in a Vogue style poll

Today, Lady Mary Gaye is an archetypal Chelsea lady and a keen charity fundraiser known for her Sloaney style, impeccable manners and charming personality.

Her friends say that she still throws 'the most fabulous parties - always has and always will' and say that she is 'extremely well-liked in society.'

Despite Carole's more humble beginnings, she has gone on to conquer the fashion world for women of a certain age.

At age 59 she recently topped a Vogue.com style poll, with daughters Pippa and Kate clearly taking after her style.

Carole even has the golden approval of sharp-tongued Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld, 78, who even went so far as to call the 57-year-old Middleton matriarch 'sexy'.

And Asda designed a clothing range with a nod to Kate's mother after customers said they wanted to emulate Mrs Middleton’s 'elegant' style.

Meanwhile Lady Mary Gaye sports more of a classic Sloane ranger style and covets pearls, tailored blazers and twee suits.

Catwalk: Carole loves making a fashion statement, while Lady Mary Gaye (right) sticks to a more Sloaney style
Catwalk: Carole loves making a fashion statement, while Lady Mary Gaye (right) sticks to a more Sloaney style

Catwalk: Carole loves making a fashion statement, while Lady Mary Gaye (right) sticks to a more Sloaney style

UK Fashion blogger Lydia Faye Jones said: 'Carole is a more daring dresser. Whether she's baring some leg on a trip to the shops or sporting a leopard print dress at Wimbledon, she's not afraid to take risks in the name of fashion.

'Lady Mary Gaye, on the other hand, oozes sophisticated old school glamour with her up-dos, pearls and brooches.

'If the two glamorous in-laws come head-to-head at events, it really will turn into a catwalk. Kate Middleton, who?'


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