Nonetheless, her noble antecedents in the United Kingdom did not suffice to permit Laura to contract an equal marriage with a cadet of a German mediatised family of princely rank in 19th century Europe.
When the Countess von Gleichen's brother, Francis, inherited his cousin's Marquessate of Hertford in 1870, the Queen granted her the rank and style of the daughter of a marquess by Royal Warrant of Precedence, entitling her to prefix Lady to her name [REF].