British statesman George Curzon and his first wife, American heiress Mary Leiter, were married in 1895. They had a total of three children, all girls.
The first two were named Mary Irene (b. 1896) and Cynthia Blanche (b. 1898).
The third — born in early 1904, while George was serving as Viceroy of India — was named Alexandra Naldera.
Why?
Her first name honored her godmother, Queen Alexandra, and her middle name came from the Indian hill station of Naldera, which is where she was conceived in mid-1903.
Naldera — located about 20 miles away from the city of Shimla, the summer capital of British India — was where George and Mary “would withdraw for a respite from official duties, where Mary could rest and Curzon could work out of doors.”
The settlement’s name (now spelled Naldehra) was likely derived from the term Nag Devta, meaning “serpent deity” — a nod to the local Naga temple.
Sources:
- George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston – Wikipedia
- de Courcy, Anne. The Fishing Fleet: Husband-Hunting in the Raj. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2012.
- Cory, Charlotte. “The Delhi Durbar 1903 Revisited.” Sunday Times 29 Dec. 2002.
Image: George Curzon with his wife posing with a hunted Bengal tiger, 1903
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