She was the 18th century celebrity who made men faint in awe of her beauty by her very presence. But her beauty - and her vanity - led to her demise as the lead-based make-up she insisted on plastering on daily resulted first in the loss of her looks, then deadly blood poisoning. Now the grand 7ft mirror in which Maria Gunning, the former Countess of Coventry, admired her stunning reflection has been auctioned off for more than £300,000. Labelled the first victim of vanity, Maria died aged 27 in 1760 after her love of make-up resulted in her untimely death. The 253-year-old mirror sold well above its estimate even though her condition meant she the society hostess used it for a matter of just months. A glorious George II giltwood overmantel design, it was bought for her by her husband The Sixth Earl of Coventry in 1759, who is said to have been so frustrated by his wife's love of make up that he would chase her around the dinner table with a handkerchief, trying wipe it from her face.
With stunning scenery and otherworldly vistas, Iceland’s rural beauty is inescapable – especially for Hollywood .
GLAMPING is taken to a whole new level in the form of the luxurious Pop-Up Hotel .
A lazy otter finds the ideal spot to soak up the sun and sleep off his lunch .
This is the amazing moment two white-tailed kites take an in-flight meal - exchanging prey at 100 foot high in mid air .
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With the full moon looming behind him, this polar bear nestles down for the night .
A diving mad couple have finally taken the plunge, having tied the knot 30ft underwater .
TENNIS was a game made for three according to the first Victorian rule book .
PICKING up a tiny tea-pot with its paws, a little red squirrel struggles to prepare its morning tea .