Jump to content

Lady Helen Taylor

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other people named Helen Taylor, seeHelen Taylor (disambiguation).

Lady Helen Taylor
Born
Helen Marina Lucy Windsor

(1964-04-28)28 April 1964(age 60)
Iver,Buckinghamshire,England
OccupationBusiness representative
Spouse
Timothy Taylor
​
(m.1992)​
Children4
Parents
RelativesHouse of Windsor
Education

Lady Helen Marina Lucy Taylor(néeWindsor;born 28 April 1964) is a relative of theBritish royal family.She is the daughter ofPrince Edward, Duke of Kent,andKatharine, Duchess of Kent,and a great-granddaughter ofGeorge V.She is currently 47th in the line ofsuccession to the British throne.

Early life and youth

[edit]

Born atCoppins,a country house inIver,Buckinghamshire,Lady Helen is the only daughter of theDukeandDuchess of Kent.She was educated at Eton End[1]School inDatchet,then atSt Mary's School, Wantage,[2]andGordonstoun.[3]At Gordonstoun, she was one of 20sixth formgirls "in the robustly masculine environment of Gordonstoun," wrote Alan Hamilton.[4]

She was called "Melons" in the popular press.[5][6]

"I was slightly chubby, it was the boys at Gordonstoun who called me that. I think there are only about two people who call me that now. The original context has long gone"[7]

During the 1980s her boyfriend wasNigel Oakes,who "appalled the Queen" after she smuggled him into her parents'grace-and-favourhome,York House, St James's Palace.[8][9]

According toLol TolhurstofThe Cure,Lady Helen was a "mad Cure fan" who visited the band backstage at a gig inBathin 1983.[10]

Career

[edit]

After she left Gordonstoun (where she had art class), she was desperate[11]to come to London and earn money, starting in 1984 at Christie's auction house in their Contemporary Department.[12]

Lady Helen worked with the art dealerKarsten Schubertbetween 1987 and 1991, behind the front desk, and was later credited with discoveringRachel WhitereadandGary Hume,but confessed in a television interview that she had turned down representing artistDamien Hirst.[13]

For 17 years, Lady Helen was a fashion ambassador and muse toGiorgio Armani.[14]

Marriage and children

[edit]

At 19, Lady Helen met[11]Timothy Verner Taylor (born 8 August 1963), an art dealer and the eldest son of Commander Michael Verner Taylor,RNand Susan Geraldine Percy. They married nine years later, on 18 July 1992, atSt. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.The bride wore a Catherine Walker design.[15]Giorgio Armaniprovided an outfit for her wedding.[16]

In 1998, her husband was diagnosed withHodgkin's disease.[11]

Lady Helen and her husband have four children, who immediately follow her in theLine of succession to the British throne:

  • Columbus George Donald Taylor (born 6 August 1994)
  • Cassius Edward Taylor (born 26 December 1996)
  • Eloise Olivia Katherine Taylor (born 2 March 2003)
  • Estella Olga Elizabeth Taylor (born 21 December 2004)

Charity work

[edit]

She is a patron of theCLIC Sargentchildren's cancer charity.[17]

She is a trustee ofThe Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.[12]

She is on the advisory board of theGlyndebourne Festival Operaafter being a trustee.[12][18][19]

References

[edit]
  1. ^Kidd, Charles; Montague-Smith, Patrick (1982).Debrett's book of royal children.W. Morrow. p.151.ISBN9780688013806.
  2. ^Panton, James (2011).Historical Dictionary of the British Monarchy.Scarecrow Press. p.362.ISBN9780810874978.
  3. ^Express, Sunday (July 1983).A Week in the life of the royal family.Macmillan Publishing Company. p.143.ISBN9780026154307.
  4. ^Hamilton, Alan (1986).The Royal 100: a who's who of the first 100 people in line of succession to the British throne(Illustrated ed.). Pavilion.ISBN9780907516934.
  5. ^People MagazineArchive: Windsor Castle Lights Up with Lasers as the 'queenyboppers'—four Royal Cousins—turn 21Archived13 May 2016 at theWayback Machine8 July 1985 Vol. 24 No. 2 "Lady Helen Windsor, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, is known as" Melons "because of her ample proportions." & "True to form, Lady Helen—" Melons "—was at the center of the party's only controversy. Her ex-boyfriend, Oakes, crashed the event and was escorted out by police."
  6. ^Dolby, Karen (14 November 2017).The Wicked Wit of Queen Elizabeth II.Penguin.ISBN9780451492272.Retrieved21 May2018– via Google Books.
  7. ^"How Lady Helen said farewell to Melons".scotsman.com.Retrieved21 May2018.
  8. ^"why so wild about harry?".scotsman.com.Retrieved21 March2018.
  9. ^"The Londoner: The naked truth of Mary Beard at college".standard.co.uk.20 March 2018.Retrieved21 March2018.
  10. ^Tolhurst, Laurence (2016). "Chapter 15: The Top".Cured: The Tale of Two Imaginary Boys.Quercus.ISBN978-1-78429-339-0.
  11. ^abc"Portrait of a Lady".standard.co.uk.13 April 2012.Retrieved21 May2018.
  12. ^abc"Who we are".The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.Retrieved21 May2018.
  13. ^The Anniston Star. 19 July 1992. Anniston, Alabama Page 23"Lady Helen is a director of London's Karsten Schubert gallery of contemporary art. Taylor, 29, is a dealer with the Waddington Galleries..."
  14. ^
  15. ^"'Iconic royal wedding gowns ".Harper's Bazaar.13 April 2018.Retrieved16 May2018.
  16. ^"Armani and muse part ways".FashionUnited.4 July 2009. Archived fromthe originalon 4 July 2009.Retrieved21 May2018– via archive.org.
  17. ^"CLIC Sargent – Caring for Children and Young People with Cancer: Midsummer party raises £400,000 for children and young people with cancer".Archived fromthe originalon 23 July 2011.Retrieved21 March2016.
  18. ^"Glyndebourne Annual Report 2016"(PDF).Cloudinary.com.Retrieved2 July2022.
  19. ^"Glyndebourne Annual Report 2015"(PDF).Cloudinary.com.Retrieved2 July2022.
Lady Helen Taylor
Born:28 April 1964
Lines of succession
Preceded by
Louis Windsor
 Line of succession to the British throne
granddaughter ofGeorge, Duke of Kent
great-granddaughter ofGeorge V 		Succeeded by
Columbus Taylor
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lady_Helen_Taylor&oldid=1217468522"