Wallace Collection of the wealthiest families in Europe. They owned large properties in England, Wales and Ireland, and increased their wealth through successful marriages. Politically of lesser importance, the 3rd and 4th Marquess and Sir Richard Wallace became leading art collectors of their time. The Wallace Collection, comprising about 5,500 works of art, was bequeathed to the British nation by Lady Wallace in 1897. The state then decided to buy Hertford House to display the collection and it was opened as a museum in 1900. As a museum the Wallace Collection's main strength is perhaps its extraordinary array of 18th-century French art:
Marquess of Normanby of Buckingham and Normanby, and hence Constantine Phipps, 2nd Earl of Mulgrave was the step-great-great-grandson of the 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby. Upon his death, Constantine Phipps, 1st Marquess of Normanby was succeeded by his son, the 2nd Marquess. He was a Liberal politician and also served as Governor of New Zealand. His grandson, the fourth Marquess, served briefly as a Labour Lord-in-waiting (government whip in the House of Lords) in 1945 and was also Lord Lieutenant of the North Riding of Yorkshire and of North Yorkshire. As of 2013 the titles are held by the latter's eldest son,