Keeping up with the Manners: Glamorous trio of sisters open up their fairytale Belvoir Castle home for whimsical Alice In Wonderland-style photoshoot
- Lady Violet, 26, Lady Alice, 24, and Lady Eliza, 22, posed for whimsical shoot at their fairy-tale castle home
- Three sisters opened the doors of the decadent Belvior Castle for the Alice in Wonderland style photos
- Currently the castle is home to the 11th Duke and Duchess and their five children, including three Duchesses
- Reveal incredible interiors as the face of modern aristocracy drip in jewellery and elaborate outfits
For many little girls, living in a fairy-tale castle is but a dream – but now the three glamorous Manners sisters have opened up the doors of their decadent home to reveal the reality.
Lady Violet, 26, Lady Alice, 24, and Lady Eliza, 22, have given a sneak peek inside their elaborate home, Belvoir Castle, in whimsical Alive in Wonderland themed shoot for Paper magazine.
Dripping in jewels and fantastically-whimsical costumes, the three Manners sisters revealed what life is truly like inside the castle in Leicestershire, while also revealing peoples preconceptions of them.
In one of the snaps, the three daughters of the UK’s 11th Duke of Rutland, pose in front of a huge painted ceiling, while in others they perch on the end of enormously grand four poster beds.
(from left to right) Ladies Eliza, Alice and Violet pose in front of an incredible painted ceiling as they enjoy a glass of champagne and three colourful cakes
Ladies Eliza, Alice and Violet bring a modern attitude to Britain’s aristocracy as they relax in the grounds of their home in Leicestershire (from left to right)
A portrait of Lady Violet revealed the incredible tapestries hanging in the romantic childhood home of the three sisters, who are the daughters of the Duke of Rutland
Youngest sister Eliza slumps on the floor of the fairy tale castle, while a portrait of Frances Count of Rutland in the background appears to watch on
The glamorous Manners sisters pose in one of the incredible bedrooms in the castle (l-r Lady Eliza Manners, Lady Alice Manners and Lady Violet Manners)
The current custodians of Belvoir Castle, the 11th Duke and Duchess of Rutland have three daughters – each one more glamorous than the next.
Lady Violet Manners, Lady Alice and Lady Eliza grew up in neo-Gothic splendour in the Leicestershire stately pile, along with their younger brothers, Charles, Marquess of Granby, 20, and Lord Hugo Manners, 16.
Now, they’re familiar faces on the London scene, regularly appearing in the pages of society bible Tatler or Vanity Fair.
Talking about her reputation as a party girl Violet said: ‘People thought I lived purely to party. Of course, I loved it probably as much as all the other 18-year-olds of my time. I still love the late nights, my fun with friends and dancing, but I think the misconception was that was solely my life.’
Despite their parents’ separation in 2012, the Manners family remain a tight-knit unit, with the Duke and Duchess simply rejigging their living quarters so they could both remain in residence at Belvoir Castle.
Lady Alice and Violet pose alongside some furry friends in the decadent castle where they grew up in Leicestershire. The sisters were once dubbed the ‘real-life Crawley sisters’ in a nod to TV’s Downton Abbey
The Duchesses – who all attended a traditional all-girls boarding school, £29,000-a-year Queen Margaret’s in York – are said to love a party (l-r Lady Eliza, Alice and Violet)
Lady Violet wows in a red and pink ensemble as she relaxes in her decadent childhood home of Belvior Castle in Leicestershire
Charismatic Emma, who counts Susannah Constantine among her closest friend, often boasts about her children on Instagram and proudly shared a snap of Charles’ Tatler photo shoot with the caption ‘My breakout boy,’ with a heart emoji.
Just like the fifth Duchess for whom the youngest of the Manners sisters – who all attended a traditional all-girls boarding school, £29,000-a-year Queen Margaret’s in York – is named, the glamorous trio famously love a party.
Eliza’s 18th birthday bash saw her and her bother Emma take to the stage to entertain guests with a rendition of Cat Stevens’ Father and Son.
Her father the Duke, David Manners, dressed as a ringmaster in a top hat for the circus-themed bash.
Now 22, she plans to go into Interior design, after studying business management at university: ‘Growing up at Belvoir, we have had the privilege to be constantly surrounded by such beautiful pieces of art, furniture and history. My mum also has such a flair for decorating. I think that I have absorbed it all!’
Just hanging around! Lady Violet and Alice lounge around in the gardens of the romantic castle in decadent tweed suits for the photoshoot
Lady Alice and Lady Eliza don trendy visors and groovy jumpers as they pose in an elaborate sitting area, adorned with gold-framed paintings and embellished wallpapers
The trio of glamorous sisters, who were once dubbed a modern day version of Downton Abbey’s Crawley Sisters, dripped in jewels
Eldest sister Lady Alice channeled her namesake as she posed in a millenial pink room that most Influencers could only dream of
Eliza’s party followed Alice’s similarly lavish 18th birthday party at the castle, which had an Arabian Nights theme, and saw her two brothers arrive by camel.
The fifth Duchess Elizabeth and her Duke John Henry, who sold land and property worth £283million in today’s money to fund their fairytale castle, took inspiration from their trips to Paris for the interiors of their spectacular home, an influence seen in the Louis XVI-inspired Elizabeth Saloon – location of that secret panel.
Evidence of their taste for lavish entertaining lies in the castle archives, with the cellar books from 1806 to 1807 indicating that more than 2,500 bottles of wine were consumed within that period alone.
The Duke would also inform the Leicestershire Militia band what time he wanted guests to gather for breakfast, and they would bang the drums accordingly to alert people staying in the castle – and give them time to get back to their allocated rooms should they have wandered into somebody else’s overnight.
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