A High Society Lady And The Curse That Followed Her
A Rags to Riches Cinderella story that ends with the cleaning lady at a Seattle Theater
May Yohe was once the toast of stage and high society. But, despite wealth and prestige, she earned a living in her final years as a “janitress” ( I guess in those days a janitor was titled by gender.)
While cleaning up as a charwoman at the elegant Edwardian Coliseum Theater on Seattle’s early waterfront, the owner who had once hired her onstage discovered her with mop and rag in hand.
She very well could have been a princess since one of her admirers was Prince William of Wales, in the United Kingdom. May settled for a Duke, the Duke of Newcastle: Sir Francis Hope.
She wore the famous gem at her wedding reception in 1894.
Her royal family had access to many jewels, but one of the most dazzling belonging to Phillip Hope (as he was known by most) was given to May as wedding present. For a century, it has been known as the cursed “Hope Diamond,” and it now sits permanently in the Smithsonian Museum.
Back to May Yohe, and the stone cold historical facts.
Sir Francis Hope was fond of womanizing, and May had other admirers. She soon scandalized all of Europe by taking up with a new husband. Major Putnam Strong was an…
