Scrap Downton Abbey or The Crown, the Manners sisters are the best example of what modern aristochrats are like these days.
Described as “people born in the highest social class, who have special titles”, aristocracy sounds like some old-time concept, outdated. It fits the likes of old-age royals, Downton Abbey or Little Women. Until you meet the Manners Sisters, that is.
With their aristocratic pedigree, palatial estate, and glamorous lifestyle, the Manners sisters epitomize British nobility. As daughters of the 11th Duke and Duchess of Rutland, Violet, Alice, and Eliza Manners were born into privilege at Belvoir Castle, a 356-room architectural wonder, which, unsurprisingly, was featured in The Crown. Though not royalty, the sisters inherited courtesy titles as Ladies, and their gilded upbringing evokes images of Downton Abbey’s fictional Crawleys.
Yet with stylish flair and youthful verve, the Manners sisters also represent more modern aristocracy. Their Instagram chronicles jet-setting adventures and fashionable pursuits. Once known as the “bad Manners sisters,” they have evolved into figures at the intersection of tradition and trend – a royal-esque version of the Kardashians, if you will.
Although the entire Manners family are Tatler darlings, the Manners sisters and their five bedroom house in Fulham have also headlined the tabloids for their outlandish parties. Hosted in what woudl have otherwise been a quiet neighbourhood, the Manner’s house parties beckoned a couple of noise complaints, granting the sisters the nifty nickname of “the bad Manners sisters”.
But for all their bad manners these socialites have also done well in carving themselves carreers in their prospective interests. Lady Eliza, which studied at Newcastle, has a booming interior design business. Lady Alice went into fashion, scoring herself a few modelling contracts and even her own column in The Sunday Telegraph. And Lady Violet, having skipped college for work experience, now runs a successful marketing and brand strategy consultancy named LVM Creative Relations.