During the late 19th century, nearly 200 wealthy young American women were caught up in marriages with members of British and European nobility. 

The goal was to secure aristocratic titles that would create a solid social position for the American family wishing to climb through the snobbery of Gilded Age society. The European gentlemen, meanwhile, wanted the American funds to shore up crumbling wealth and in some cases quite literally repair the ancestral estate.   

But many of these forced marriages ended in sadness, divorce or even tragedy although some grew into true love matches.  

Join Carl for this ENCORE episode as he unravels the social politics of some of the most famous Gilded Age Million Dollar Princesses including the model for The Gilded Age's Gladys Russell herself - Consuelo Vanderbilt who became the Duchess of Marlborough with her marriage to the Duke. .